New York Liberty Bump Up One Notch in WNBA Power Rankings

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Joe Rutland | Last updated Jul 22, 2025 1:35 PM ET

As the Minnesota Lynx keep stretching their lead in the WNBA standings right now, some New York Liberty fans might wonder if New York can overtake Minnesota. It's going to be a lot of work for them to make it happen.

Entering the WNBA's second half, the Liberty are 15-6 overall and saw them get bumped up to the No. 2 spot in the latest WNBA Power Rankings, according to ESPN. New York has a heck of a stretch of games facing it this week.

The Liberty start up second-half play against the Caitlin Clark-less Indiana Fever on Tuesday, July 22. New York follows that up with games against the Phoenix Mercury, Los Angeles Sparks, and Dallas Wings.

Looking ahead, ESPN reporter Michael Voepel points out that New York and Minnesota have some tough games against each other. "The two teams still have all four regular-season meetings left, starting July 30 at Minnesota," Voepel wrote.

New York Liberty get good news as Jonquel Jones rejoins team while adding two-time WNBA All-Star Emma Meesseman

While Breanna Stewart and Sabrina Ionescu will get attention from the Liberty's opponents, the team actually has gotten stronger. Center Jonquel Jones, who has been out of action due to injuries, is due back for Tuesday's clash against the Fever. Additionally, the Liberty announced that Emma Meesseman will join New York upon her return to the WNBA.

Sabrina Ionescu gifted Adam Sandler a pair of her Nike Sabrina 3s at The Tonight Show and he wasted no time putting them on pic.twitter.com/dwuxvae62O
— Nice Kicks (@nicekicks) July 22, 2025

"Although Meesseman, a 2019 WNBA Finals MVP with the Washington Mystics, last played in the U.S. over two seasons ago, she has been arguably the best player in Europe in recent years," The Athletic's Ben Pickman wrote on Monday, July 21.

"Meesseman led the Turkish powerhouse Fenerbahçe to EuroLeague championships in 2023 and 2024, and she won EuroLeague MVP honors in each of the past three years," Pickman wrote. "She also led the Paris Olympics in scoring in 2024." She's also a two-time WNBA All-Star, so adding someone with this type of resume' will help the Liberty.

Liberty coach Sandy Brondello is a veteran of the WNBA wars. She knows what it takes to keep a team headed in the right direction. Brondello proved this point last season as New York won the WNBA Finals.

With Meesseman and Jones now part of the Liberty's lineup, can this be enough to keep New York bearing down on first-place Minnesota? That's a question which will linger over their heads at this time.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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