Liberty Seek To Bring Commissioner's Cup (Away From) Home
Lord Stanley's was bestowed in Sunrise to start this week but another Cup is making its way to the home of the New York Islanders thanks to the New York Liberty.
The Liberty will play for in-season glory on Tuesday night, as they'll have a chance to retain their Commissioner's Cup title against the Minnesota Lynx (8 p.m. ET, Amazon Prime Video). New York will look to become the first repeat winner of competition, which tipped off in 2021.
As the only team to work through its speedy pool play slate with a perfect 5-0 mark, the Liberty earned the right to play for the trophy in front of their home crowd in Brooklyn. But a scheduling conflict with the NBA Draft's opening round at their home arena of Barclays Center moved the title game to UBS Arena at Belmont Park, a 20-mile drive from Atlantic Avenue.
"I only found out just before you guys," head coach Sandy Brondello said during a pregame session last week. "It's unfortunate but it is what it is. We want to host in New York. I've never been to this arena, but I've heard it's a very nice one, so we're still going to put on a good show and hopefully win another championship for the New York Liberty. We're pros. We're going to do what we need to do, go out and play a really good basketball game."
A report from Doug Feinberg stated that Liberty management was aware of a potential conflict as early as December. New York reportedly offered to have the Lynx's upcoming regular season visit in July double as the Commissioner's Cup final but the visitors rejected the notion.
Liberty players are understandably none too pleased about the switch, especially considering the distinct homecourt advantage Brooklyn has offered: per Across the Timeline, the Liberty's average attendance of just over 12,000 in its first nine home games is good for second-best in the WNBA, behind only an Indiana Fever group aided by the arrival of top draft pick Caitlin Clark.
Eager to live up to the championship reputation of its geographic identity, however, the team's focus lingers solely on the floor rather than the stands.
"No one's going to feel sorry for us, so we can't feel sorry for ourselves," Jonquel Jones said. "It (stinks) that we're going to be playing at UBS, I'm not going to sugarcoat it. "We want to play here at Barclays with our home crowd and everything. But, ultimately, it's still New York. It's still New York and we understand that our fans and front office are going to do whatever's possible to support us."
Located in Elmont, NY, UBS Arena has been home of the NHL's Islanders since 2021. The establishment also houses the Professional Women's Hockey League's New York team, sharing such duties with Total Mortgage Arena in Bridgeport, CT and has also hosted college basketball games featuring the St. John's Red Storm and the Iona Gaels.
UBS Arena will become the seventh tri-state area venue to host a Liberty home game, joining Barclays Center, Madison Square Garden, Radio City Music Hall, Arthur Ashe Stadium, Prudential Center, and Westchester County Center.
GEOFF MAGLIOCCHETTI
Editor-In-Chief at All Knicks