Liberty Star Jonquel Jones Undergoes Surgery

Jones' third season in New York was a painful one, and it's perhaps hardly surprising to see her right leg adorned in a cast at this time: the 2021 league MVP was one of several medical casualties that the Liberty endured during their championship defense, enduring an ankle ailment that kept her out for just over a month. Jones originally injured the ankle at the start of June before an on-floor setback awaited just about two weeks later.

In addition to Jones, the Liberty also had to go without fellow franchise faces Sabrina Ionescu, Betnijah Laney-Hamilton, and Breanna Stewart for extended periods. That played a part in the Liberty falling to fifth on the WNBA playoff bracket and falling to 27-17 after posting 32-win seasons in each of the prior two campaigns.

Jones' 2025 Season

She averaged 13.6 points and 8.1 rebounds while shooting 49 percent from the field, her lowest such output since 2019. The campaign ended in heartbreaking fashion, as Jones shot 1-of-10 from the field (including 0-of-5 from three-point range) with eight rebounds in the Liberty's narrow elimination defeat to the aforementioned Mercury in Game 3 of the WNBA's opening round.

Jones' surgery is perhaps one of the first orders of seafoam business to attend next to the search for a new head coach, as the team parted ways with four-year boss Sandy Brondello shortly after the loss to Phoenix. As a whole, the WNBA is just over a week away from the expiration of its current collective bargaining agreement, which has been the subject on tense discussions between the players union and commissioner Cathy Engelbert.

Jones is one countless free agents on the 2026 horizon with the CBA situation unresolved, along with Ionescu and Stewart. The latter gave a verbal commitment to stick around after the loss to the Mercury while Liberty general manager Jonathan Kolb stated that he had the "utmost confidence" that his group would be able to keep the headlining core together.