Olympic medals are secured. And star players returned to their respective clubs.
It’s time to resume WNBA basketball.
The 2024 Paris Olympics ended on a high note as Team USA held on for a one-point victory over France to secure its eighth straight gold medal. Breanna Stewart and Sabrina Ionescu led Team USA to its 61st consecutive win and now face a short turnaround as WNBA action resumes.
After just four days of rest, the American duo and the Liberty (21-4) start their push towards the postseason in Los Angeles to play the rebuilding Sparks (6-18) on Thursday night. The soft landing spot is something Sandy Brondello and her team will enjoy, considering Stewart and Ionescu weren’t the only members participating in Olympic activities. Liberty athletic trainer Terri Acosta also joined Team USA’s staff.
Brondello stayed in Paris until the final weekend as she led Australia to a bronze-medal finish. Germans Nyara Sabally and Leonie Fiebich played their final Olympic game on Aug. 7, a 13-point quarterfinal loss to France.
So there will be no complaints from Brondello’s squad as they take on the second-easiest schedule for the final 15 games of the regular season. The teams left on the Liberty’s schedule have a combined winning percentage of .442.
The Minnesota Lynx — another championship contender — own the easiest schedule, with their final 15 opponents combining for a winning percentage of .441. The Dallas Wings are owners of the WNBA’s toughest remaining schedule (.590 winning percentage).
After Thursday’s road matchup against the Sparks, the Liberty will have a day off before taking on their first test — and possibly their only one for a while — in a road matchup against the Las Vegas Aces. The Libs won their only matchup of the season against the defending champs after Jonquel Jones played her best offensive game of the season on June 15: 34 points (career-high) on 12-of-16 shooting to go along with eight rebounds and an assist.
The two WNBA Finals favorites meet again on Sept. 8. By that time, the Libs will take on teams they’ve gone 7-1 against in the first half of the season: the Dallas Wings (have yet to play), the Connecticut Sun (3-0), the Phoenix Mercury (1-1), the Los Angeles Sparks (2-0) and two games against the Seattle Storm (1-0).
After the September matchup against the Aces, Brondello’s team have just one game circled as a marquee matchup prior to the postseason: a home game against the Lynx on Sept. 15. That game is part of a final five-game stretch that includes matchups against the Wings (twice), Mystics and Dream. Including the Commissioner’s Cup Game loss, the Libs have a 7-2 record against those teams they’re slated to take on in the final five games of the season.
With the “easy” schedule up ahead, it’s worth checking to see if Brondello can find spots to rest some of her players that have logged heavy minutes through the first 25 games of the season. Before skipping out on rest and heading to the Paris Olympics, Stewart (34.4) and Ionescu (33.7) ranked sixth and 12th, respectively, in minutes per game.
Stewart received a rest day in last game before the Olympic break against a playoff-bound Sun squad. It’ll be easier to find those spots in the final stretch for Stewart, Ionescu and the rest of the Liberty stars.
Any team can lose on any given day in the WNBA. But the best team usually wins in basketball and the favorable schedule opposed to a tougher one is a much desired road taken to get through the dog days of an WNBA season. Especially with one of the team’s star being unavailable for a portion of them.
LANEY-HAMILTON’S TIMELINE
Liberty star Betnijah Laney-Hamilton spent the Olympic break rehabbing a right knee that underwent a successful procedure to “clean out” two loose bodies. On July 16, the team announced the guard would return in 4-6 weeks.
A return after six weeks keeps Laney-Hamilton out the rotation for six games and due for a return on Aug. 28 against the Sparks.
“B’s had some issues with the knee. … So it’s just managing that I don’t think there’s any restrictions when she comes back,” Brondello said last month.
In 2022, the 30-year-old played just nine games after undergoing surgery on her right knee.
And the same knee forced the 30-year-old to miss the final four games leading up to the Olympic break. The Liberty went undefeated during the stretch.
It’s another reason how the soft second-half schedule aids the Liberty as they look to make another deep postseason push. And Laney-Hamilton’s rehab time means rest for another Liberty star. She ranked 16th in the WNBA in minutes per game (33.0) while being a viable offensive option and guarding opposing team’s best perimeter player.
Brondello has said throughout the season that the team aims to finish no lower than the second overall seed and Laney-Hamilton’s injury poses no threat — at the moment — to foil those plans. The Libs entered Thursday atop the WNBA standings, 2.5 games ahead of the Sun and four games ahead of the third-place Lynx.
The loaded Liberty roster didn’t experience much decline with Laney-Hamilton sidelined, giving the training staff an extra reason to give the two-way star as much rehab time needed.
TRADE DEADLINE MOVES?
The WNBA trade deadline is set for Aug. 20, giving front offices a short amount of time to reevaluate needs post-Olympic break. The Liberty — as they did last season — likely won’t make any moves via trade. But they could go another route.
The more realistic option could be to sign an international free agent that immediately makes an impact on a championship-contending team.
Gabby Williams is weighing her WNBA options but also considering remaining in France for the rest of the summer to rest and capitalize on momentum around her Olympic performance, sources tell @Winsidr
— Rachel Galligan (@RachGall) August 13, 2024
The Paris Olympics showcased a target that could be in the running. French forward Gabby Williams, who recorded 19 points, seven rebounds and two assists in Sunday’s gold-medal game, is weighing her options of a WNBA move while also considering staying in France, per Winsidr’s Rachel Galligan.
The Liberty, Mercury and Storm are in play to sign Williams, per Winsidr. Williams last played for the Storm during the 2022-23 seasons. She is currently an unrestricted free agent and the WNBA’s prioritization rule didn’t allow her to represent both a WNBA club and her home country in the Summer Games.
In 2023, Williams averaged 8.4 points, 3.8 rebounds and 1.5 assists in just 10 games before being sidelined with a foot injury. She played in every game for the Storm in 2022 and earned All-Defensive Second Team honors.
Should the Liberty make any signing for the remainder of the season, rookie Jaylyn Sherrod’s expiring seven-day deal leaves an extra roster spot open.
