The Liberty are one of the WNBA’s original franchises. Yet, it took 28 years for the organization to finally win a WNBA championship trophy.
The work of Liberty general manager Jonathan Kolb — with oversight and assistance from progressive owners Joe Tsai and Clara Wu Tsai — made that happen with organizational and roster transactions that catapulted his team into the WNBA’s upper echelon.
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Some of the moves were bold and a few went under the radar — but all were intended to keep the franchise relevant in a time the league experienced rapid growth.
Let’s take a look at some of the highlights of Kolb’s Liberty tenure since his arrival in March 2019.
FIRING SANDY BRONDELLO
This was the most shocking move.
Eleven months and three days. That’s how much time separated Sandy Brondello’s firing and her team winning a WNBA title — the Liberty’s first in franchise history. Brondello led her team through a thrilling WNBA Finals series that ended with an overtime Game 5 home victory to clinch a championship over the Minnesota Lynx.
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But that wasn’t enough to buy Brondello more time, as Kolb decided to part ways citing the need to stay modern in an ever-changing WNBA landscape.
The move shocked the WNBA world. It came days after multiple Liberty players publicly backed Brondello following the team’s first-round postseason exit.
Kolb’s two-month search resulted in the hiring of Warriors assistant coach Chris DeMarco.
2023 WINTER HEIST
The 2023 winter offseason officially stamped the Liberty as the WNBA’s newest superteam. Kolb and the Liberty front office made huge splashes that led to an eventual WNBA Final berth: free agent signings of Breanna Stewart and Courtney Vandersloot.
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And a month prior, Jonquel Jones landed in New York following a three-team trade involving the Connecticut Sun and Dallas Wings.
The acquisitions added to a roster that already included stars Sabrina Ionescu and Betnijah Laney-Hamilton.
The roster — that at the time included six players who played in All-Star Games — catapulted the team to a 32-8 record, the best in franchise history. They were led by Stewart, who earned her second MVP award.
The magical season, however, ended in disappointment after losing to A’ja Wilson and the Las Vegas Aces, 3-1, in the WNBA Finals.
FINDING A DIAMOND IN THE ROUGH
The three-team deal that brought Jones to Brooklyn was mainly centered around the Bahamian star, defensive specialist Rebecca Allen and All-Star Natasha Howard.
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Not much fanfare surrounded Kayla Thornton, who at the time was considered just a throw-in in the deal.
But not to Kolb.
The throw-in eventually turned into one of Brondello’s trusted players on the roster.
Thornton turned into the Liberty’s Swiss Army Knife while contributing off the bench in all 40 regular-season games in 2023.
She regularly filled in for injured starters in 2024, making 11 starts while the Liberty dealt with injuries to its frontcourt and backcourt. The 2024 season featured Thornton’s best three-point percentage (35.7%) and most starts since her 2022 season in Dallas.
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Kolb’s diamond-in-the-rough find later became coveted, though.
After winning her first ring, the veteran never got a chance to defend that title after the Golden State Valkyries selected her in the 2024 expansion draft. Thornton’s new team afforded her with a new role that resulted in career-best numbers: 14.0 points and 7.0 rebounds per game in 22 appearances (all starts).
Unfortunately, a season-ending knee surgery abruptly stopped her All-Star season.
FINDING ANOTHER DIAMOND IN THE ROUGH
The big deals always get the headlines and fanfare.
But it’s the under-the-radar moves that help put together a team suited for a deep playoff run.
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Similarly to Thornton’s arrival, the arrival of Leonie Fiebich didn’t make huge waves.
Fiebich landed in New York as part of a 2023 four-team deal surrounded around former Liberty 2021 Rookie of the Year Michaela Onyenwere and former No. 3 overall pick Diamond DeShields.
The Los Angeles Sparks drafted Fiebich in 2020 before her rights were later acquired by the Chicago Sky. The lengthy forward was stashed overseas and while playing in Europe, the German previously said the Sky didn’t have much contact with her despite owning her rights.
Fast forward to her time in New York, Fiebich is revered around the league as a fierce defender with the ability to knock down three-pointers above a 40% clip.
She was a mainstay in Brondello’s system and is slated to remain that under DeMarco.
