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Isabelle Harrison is Steadying New York’s Ship

Originally posted on The Lead | By Joseph Amoateng | Last updated Aug 5, 2025 9:48 PM ET

In 2024, Isabelle Harrison was playing in Chicago. Her season hadn’t been going so hot — all of her season averages were way down from her previous campaign with Dallas. The Sky faithful weren’t exactly partial to Harrison’s struggles, and it seemed for all the money in the world that she would be gone in the offseason. Indeed, she wasn’t re-signed at the end of the year, and many believed the decision to be justified.

In January, the defending champion Liberty took a chance on the left-behind Harrison. The skepticism upon her arrival was brash and loud — fans piled on New York. Then, the games were played, and Harrison got a chance to prove those critics wrong; and to say she’s accomplished that is putting it kindly.

Climbing Mountains

Isabelle Harrison is a WNBA journeywoman by definition, and what a journey it has been. The Liberty are her fourth team, and she’s only stayed with one team for multiple years (DAL, 2019-2022). A standout Tennessee Volunteer, Harrison was the 12th pick in the 2015 draft, selected by the Phoenix Mercury. She sadly tore her ACL in her final year of college, however, and missed her entire rookie season.

In 2016 — her de facto rookie year — she didn’t get many minutes. Phoenix traded her to San Antonio before the 2017 season. She was part of the last San Antonio Stars team, where she broke out to average 11.4 points per game while shooting 50% from the field. Harrison faced more adversity when San Antonio became Las Vegas, as an undisclosed autoimmune disease kept her out for all of 2018. Her WNBA future was in serious doubt.

Finding a Groove

Then, the Dallas Wings came calling. The Aces sent Harrison, Moriah Jefferson, and two first-round picks to the Wings in a trade for Liz Cambage in 2019. Harrison signed a multi-year contract the next season. Finally, with a steady home, she could get into a groove. She turned into a solid bench contributor over the next four years, averaging 9.0 points and 5.2 rebounds during her Dallas tenure.

She wouldn’t re-sign with Dallas and instead signed with Chicago for the 2023 season.

Breaking News

It is now expected that the Dallas Wings will be parting ways with Isabelle Harrison. Izzy has been reported to be meeting with multiple teams in the league and none of them include Dallas.

Izzy averaged 8.7 ppg last season for the Wings. #WNBATwitter pic.twitter.com/AC3q450UQY

— Take Flight (@takeflightwnba) January 30, 2023

Unfortunately, more adversity hit, as Harrison tore her meniscus and missed the whole year. She came back in 2024 and, as previously mentioned, wasn’t great. Chicago let her go at the end of the year. Perhaps, in hindsight, Chicago should’ve been easier on her, especially coming off a meniscus tear.

The mountains that Isabelle Harrison climbed with grit and brilliance led her to New York, where she now shines brighter than she’s possibly ever shone.

New Home, New Harrison

Harrison’s New York stint has been a tale of silent impact. On the surface, it looks like Harrison is having one of the worst seasons of her career — she’s getting fewer minutes, points and rebounds per game than even last year. However, her box score is extremely deceiving.

Player Efficiency Rating (PER) is a per-minute rating of a player’s production on the court. The Liberty’s star trio of Breanna Stewart (23.0), Sabrina Ionescu (22.7), and Jonquel Jones (21.9) unsurprisingly occupy the top three spots in PER (minimum two games played). The fourth spot? That would be Harrison, sitting at 17.5 and above impact players such as Natasha Cloud and Leonie Fiebich.

It’s evident Harrison’s impact is felt on this team. She’s been especially effective over her last five and ten games:

Isabelle Harrison's impact on the game cannot be denied.

Energy, toughness, and timely buckets when she checks in.

In her last five:
– 11.3 PPG
– 3.0 RPG
– 1.0 SPG
– 68% FG%
– 71.2 TS%
– 16.1 MPG

Last 10:
– 8.8 PPG
– 3.0 RPG
– 1.1 SPG
– 61% FG%
– 33% 3P%
– 65.3 TS%
– 14.2 MPG pic.twitter.com/LmfRS8bi1l

— Liberty Lead (@LibertyLeadSM) July 31, 2025

For a bench player, she’s putting up outstanding production. Her 1.3 steals a night are huge defensively, and her efficiency on the offensive end has given New York a viable post option once the second-team gets on the floor. Notably, against the Indiana Fever on July 22, Harrison was a brilliant spark with 13 points in 17 minutes. She was key in keeping the Liberty afloat in that game before Jonquel and Sabrina took over in the fourth quarter.

Especially over the last month or so, Isabelle Harrison has contributed mightily and helped keep the Liberty steady. Now, she’ll be a big part of their attempt to soar the rest of the year.

This article first appeared on The Lead and was syndicated with permission.

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