Just over one week ago, the Dallas Wings and New York Liberty met for a high-profile matchup in Brooklyn. Going in, I suggested the showdown served as test of both teams’ quality, wondering how the outcome would further influence where Dallas and New York are in the championship contender conversation.
For the second time this season, the Wings answered affirmatively, claiming a confidence-boosting win over the Liberty in Barclays Center.
Tonight,
Dallas goes for the 3-0 season series sweep over New York, welcoming the Liberty into Arlington (9 p.m. ET, Prime Video).
Since that second matchup between the two teams, the Wings have only confirmed what the result said about them: This team, in fact, is for real, a status cemented by their current five-game winning streak.
The Liberty, likewise, have failed to ease the anxieties inspired by that loss. Subsequent losses to the Minnesota Lynx and Toronto Tempo—albeit on a very tough road back-to-back—have New York staggering through their second three-game losing streak of the season, raising further skepticism about whether they can finally get it together and begin to resemble the contenders they are supposed to be.
Or maybe, their time at the top of the league is expiring?
The juxtaposition between the ascendant Wings and lagging Liberty possibly is indicative of an emerging truth in the WNBA: Youth wins.
Forget tropes about the importance of experience, young legs, youthful energy and the zest required to navigate the rigors of a 44-game season might trump the lessons accrued through years in the league.
I’m not quite sure I totally believe this. As I wrote last week, I’m still inclined to give the Liberty the benefit of doubt—because they’ve done it before.
Similarly, shreds of skepticism still surround my evaluation of the Wings.
Is a team really going to go from worst in the league to a long playoff run? As Zack Ward wrote before the season, teams blessed with back-to-back No. 1 picks in the WNBA Draft have eventually enjoyed great success, but that success hasn’t been instant. Although the Wings already are outpacing their predecessors, it would still be shocking if they became the outlier of all outliers.
But, it’s also hard to ignore how the Wings, often led by Paige Bueckers, have found the resources, reserves and resiliency to turn close games into comfortable wins and come through in clutch situations. In comparison, the Liberty have increasingly demonstrated an inability to find the extra oomph needed to separate themselves at key moments.
For instance, since their last meeting, both teams have played the Toronto Tempo, a team that, until they defeated the Liberty, did not have a win over a playoff team. Dallas, which first played Toronto in Montreal, persevered through a back-and-forth game before ultimately winning with relative ease, powered by 34 points from Bueckers.
The Liberty, the Tempo’s opponent for their second Montreal game, fell down by 20 points before eventually inching ahead after a third-quarter outburst from Sabrina Ionescu. New York, however, failed to get the stops or make the shots down the stretch, with this end-of-game scenario resembling their loss to the Minnesota Lynx the day prior.
Another team that just played, and beat, the Tempo also illustrates the potential power of youth.
The Washington Mystics, set to go for their third-straight win and fifth win in six games against the Portland Fire on Thursday (7 p.m. ET, NBA TV), are ahead of schedule, seemingly disrupting the organization’s vision for a slower, steadier team build behind the All-Star play of Sonia Citron, Kiki Iriafen and Shakira Austin.
Beyond their Kitron+Kira combination, the Mystics are relying on recently-drafted players, most of whom are unproven and inconsistent. In some instances, such inexperience has cost them, as Washington does have some ugly losses, pockmarked by a torrent of turnovers that inhibit their ability to generate any offense.
Yet, with a now 12-10 record that has them ahead of the Liberty in the league standings, Washington’s spunk—from the bully ball of Cotie McMahon to the chaotic energy of Cass Prosper to the fearlessness of Alicia Florez to guile of Georgia Amoore—has served them well, and it serves as a contrast to the New York.
Heading into the season, the returns of Betnijah Laney-Hamilton, from a lost 2025 season due to injury, and Rebecca Allen, who spent 2025 with the Chicago Sky, seemed like the perfect depth pieces to strengthen the Liberty’s rotation. Both, however, have been near non-factors, with a combination of injury, age and/or a struggle to adjust to different offensive and defensive systems preventing them from adding the value expected. In turn, head coach Chris DeMarco has had to rely on players who do not have the two-way skills that Laney-Hamilton and Allen used to bring.
Nevertheless, for all this evidence of New York’s staleness, especially compared to the sizzle shown by Dallas and Washington, I think it’s still too soon to suggest the league has passed the Liberty by.
Injuries, especially the absences of Satou Sabally and Leonie Fiebich, coming after the time missed by Ionescu, are a factor. If the Liberty can establish a consistent, seven-player rotation of Stewart, Jones, Ionescu, Sabally, Fiebich, Marine Johannès and Pauline Astier, with the likes of Han Xu and Rebekah Gardner filling in as needed, it suddenly seems silly to worry about this team.
Plus, they did go undefeated in Commissioner’s Cup play before winning the Cup.
But, I do think it’s worth monitoring if a trend is emerging.
The WNBA, since it’s inauguration 30 years ago, has been a grown woman’s league. Seasoned players who have developed the requisite strength, skill and experiences traditionally have populated winning teams. For instance, Cynthia Cooper, the first WNBA-made superstar for the dynastic Houston Comets, was in her early-to-mid 30s when she was racking up MVPs and Finals MVPs, having spent a decade honing her game in Europe.
But, with new officiating points of emphases designed to discourage physicality and facilitate freedom of movement, is the prime age of WNBA excellence shifting?
Again, it’s way too early, and there’s not nearly enough evidence, to come even close to a definitive statement. However, I think it is conceivable that we’re on the leading edge of a change, one that, in addition to the league’s intentional stylistic shifts, is being facilitated by young players, possessing more skill than ever, arriving in the league ready and able to play difference-making basketball.
On the macro level, let me know if you think the WNBA is beginning to favor younger players and teams. And on the micro level, what are your predictions for this third and final Liberty-Wings matchup?
