Can the Liberty keep them there?

New York is the center of the basketball universe, and things promise to get even more exciting this summer.

When the New York Knicks won the NBA championship, it broke a decades long men’s basketball title drought in New York. They joined two Tri-State women’s teams - the New York Liberty and Gotham FC, twice - in performances worthy of the Canyon of Heroes.

“I’m just so excited for those guys,” Sabrina Ionescu said after her return to the court in a convincing 86-64 win over the Washington Mystics.

“Obviously really good friends with a lot of them. They've supported us at games, and especially Mikal. What an amazing accomplishment for them, but also for the city, for the fan base who have been waiting a really long time. I think the beautiful thing is, whether they're winning or losing, the support always stayed the same.”

The win over the ‘Stics was not only the return of Sab, it also marked a seventh-straight victory and punched New York’s ticket to a record-setting third Commissioner’s Cup Final.

While the Liberty and two other teams - Las Vegas Aces and Minnesota Lynx - have all appeared in two Commissioner’s Cup Finals, no team has won the title twice.

Can the Liberty keep the NYC vibes high while making league history?

The Liberty serve as an inclusive home for New York Knicks and Brooklyn Nets fans. The 2023 Commissioner’s Cup champs and 2024 WNBA champs bridge the men’s sports divide and give all New Yorker sports fans a team they can agree on.

Whether the Liberty celebrate or not come June 30th, the team hopes their third Cup appearance bodes well for their championship goals come the fall.

“New York is the best city in the world,” Syracuse native Breanna Stewart said Sunday. “For (the Knicks) to bring an NBA Championship back home after 53 years or whatever it is huge and our goal has always been a championship,” Stewart said.

“We know that we were short of that last year and wanting to do that as well, but yeah, the City would be crazy,” she added, referring to bringing another WNBA title to Brooklyn.

As championship fever rolls on in NY, the Liberty hope to keep up the momentum. On the latest edition of Gotta Get Up, Erica L. Ayala and I broke down what's clicking for this team — and what still needs to prove itself.

Here’s what you need to know today:

⛈️ The race for the Cup
Who will face the Liberty in the Commissioner’s Cup Final?

🎧The Extra Possession Rewind
ICYMI: Lexie Brown was waived. Now what?

🏀 A moment of truth?
The Phoenix Mercury are trying to save their season.

💰 Money moves
Schedule expanding to 50 games next year!

🗓 Upcoming games
What’s on deck to begin the week.

📰 What we’re reading
Some great writing that’s come across our desks.

THE PHOENIX MERCURY FACE A MOMENT OF TRUTH

It’s been a disappointing season for the Phoenix Mercury, and they’re trying their best to dig out of the hole they’ve found themselves in.

At 4-11 and riding a three game losing streak, the Mercury find themselves near the bottom of the WNBA standings. Phoenix has made the playoffs each season under head coach Nate Tibbetts, including a WNBA Finals appearance last year.

Thanks to injuries and free agency departures, the roster is radically different than 2025. However, they aren’t using that as an excuse for their struggles.

“It starts with the coaches. That’s on them. They’re the ones that tell us what to do, and when they’re holding us accountable, it makes my job easier to hold people accountable as well,” Alyssa Thomas said.

To Thomas’ point, the Mercury were fifth in defensive rating in 2025.

This year? 11th.

With competition only getting tougher in the WNBA, Phoenix won’t be able to succeed if the defense continues to struggle.

This is pretty new territory for Thomas as she hasn’t missed the postseason since 2016. AT has consistently played at an MVP level for the past few years and will need to raise her game to get the team back on the right track.

Phoenix’s offense hasn’t been much better.

Thomas is shooting worse from the field, which becomes doubly harmful considering most of her scoring prowess comes from inside of ten feet.

And despite a career high 41 points against the Los Angeles Sparks, Kahleah Copper is shooting a career worst 35.5 percent from the field and 25 percent from three point range. When your two leading options are struggling, it makes winning even more challenging.

Despite the struggles, there’s still hope in the Desert that things can turn around.

Time is starting to run out on the Phoenix Mercury. They’re closer to last place than they are the eighth seed. With health and some returns to form, they can make a run.

However, if the struggles continue, maybe it’s a sign that big changes should be on the way.

THE WNBA SCHEDULE OFFICIALLY EXPANDS

The WNBA schedule is expanding once again.

Last year, the Women’s Basketball Roundup discussed the reporting from our very own Erica L. Ayala about the WNBA looking to expand the schedule.

Erica and Terrika Foster-Brasby reported for CBS Sports that Cathy Engelbert planned to push the WNBA calendar into November.

After completion of the new CBA, there was reporting that indicated the WNBA planned to increase the number of games played per season with the calendar running through November 21. Now, those plans have come to fruition.

On June 17, the WNBA announced that the regular season schedule will expand to 50 games beginning in 2027. The league has been on a hot streak and with fan interest continuing to rise, the league wants to give the public as much WNBA basketball as possible.

"This move reflects our commitment to growing the game and creating more opportunities for fans to watch the best players in the world and experience the extraordinary talent and competition that define the WNBA," Engelbert said.

There are still plenty of questions the league needs to answer.

The WNBA is continuing to rise. Fans are engaged at home and in person at games. The players’ profiles continue to rise. And networks want to help tell the story of the league.

With more games on the horizon, the league has a chance to reach even higher heights.

Here’s the schedule for the next few days

At Black Rosie Media, we love to give flowers to other writers and creators in the women’s basketball community.

Here’s what we’re reading: