Xu York! Han Xu Accepts Liberty's Qualifying Offer, Back For 3rd Year
Han Xu has accepted the New York Liberty's free agency qualifying offer and will return for a third season in seafoam.
The 23-year-old Han is one of the Liberty's dwindling holdovers from last season as the quest to build a supposed "superteam" bid farewell to several teammates. Han enjoyed a breakout season coming off the bench last season, averaging 8.5 points and 3.6 rebounds over 32 appearances. She ranked third amongst qualifying players in field goal percentage at 44.4 percent and set a career-best in scoring with 24 points and eight boards in a July win in Las Vegas.
A native of Shijiazhuang in China's Heibei province, the 6-10 Han has been a fan favorite since her arrival as a second-round of the Liberty in the 2019 draft (taking due years off to the COVID-19 pandemic and international commitments). Upon her selection, Han became the first Chinese-born player to hear her name called at the WNBA Draft since Zheng Haixia in the inaugural edition in 1997.
In addition to her seafoam-branded endeavors, Han has also been a part of China's national team affairs, helping the team earn silver medal honors at the 2022 FIBA Women's Basketball World Cup in Sydney. She earned All-Tournament First-Team honors alongside new Liberty teammate Breanna Stewart for her efforts. Han's first unofficial WNBA contest against the Chinese national team, who visited Barclays Center for an exhibition in May 2019.
Han will work with a New York backcourt set to be headlined by another historic newcomer Jonquel Jones, who has arrived from Connecticut. Other interior stars currently stationed on the Liberty roster include 2021 WNBA champion Stef Dolson and 2022 first-round Nyara Sabally.
The 2023 Liberty season opens on May 19 when New York takes on the Washington Mystics.
Geoff Magliocchetti is on Twitter @GeoffJMags
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