There was a new and noticeable feeling of comfort surrounding the Liberty in training camp — a stark difference from the first foray of their superteam a year ago.
This time around, the core pieces were all in attendance, and even more importantly, healthy.
They also have few roster questions to answer with seven key returning players — including the starting five of Breanna Stewart, Jonquel Jones, Courtney Vandersloot, Sabrina Ionescu and Betnijah Laney-Hamilton.
Their quest to get back to the WNBA Finals — and win it all this time — begins Tuesday night in Washington against the Mystics.
“For this team to stick together, it meant a lot because we all had to sacrifice to stay together as well,” Jones told The Post at media day earlier this month. “We had to take less money and we had to kind of sacrifice our roles, like all of us on the starting five could have gone to any other team and been a main player on a team. But that’s not what it’s about. It’s about us coming together collectively to be able to win a championship and when you want to do that, you have to be selfless and I think a lot of us have shown that in the past and also just coming back together this year.”
Last year, the first month of the regular season felt like training camp as Vandersloot was dealing with a concussion and Jones was nursing a foot injury.
This season, there were no injuries to manage, and it should be all systems go as the season tips off.
However, even with a year of chemistry under their belt, there is still work that remains to be done.
The “hunger” to finish what they started, as Vandersloot said, cannot be lost after their WNBA Finals defeat to the Aces.
“Oh my gosh, honestly, it still sticks with me. I don’t think it’ll not stick with me,” Stewart said of the championship series, which ended when Vandersloot missed a potential go-ahead 3-pointer in the closing seconds of Game 4 at Barclays Center, giving the Aces a back-to-back titles. “I was really frustrated for a while, probably at least a few months, just the way things ended. And last seconds on the court, me not shooting the last shot, those types of things were tough because I would like to have gotten a shot up there. But now it’s kind of like turning the page and how can I learn from this?”
With their core in place, the Liberty are heavy favorites to make it back to the Finals, but they can’t be overly reliant on the starters.
Head coach Sandy Brondello said she needs to be “smarter” this season and manage her starters carefully so as to not “kill them too early.”
It took its toll as the backcourt of Ionescu and Vandersloot struggled for a combined 17 points in Game 2 and an ice-cold Stewart shot 3-for-17 from the field in Game 4.
And the Liberty bench, which on paper appeared to be an advantage against the Aces, was outplayed by the Vegas’ backups.
The Liberty have been clear since last season’s exit interviews about their focus on rebuilding their bench with athleticism, length and strong defenders.
Kayla Thornton and second-year pro Nyara Sabally return and are expected to be leaders off the bench.
The back end of the roster now includes Kennedy Burke and Ivana Dojkic (both acquired via free agency), Leonie Fiebich (acquired through a four-team trade) and Marquesha Davis (the team’s first-round pick). Davis said she believes she could be a “dog on defense.”
“The only way you can build chemistry is time. And Vegas had that. You see the continuity,” Brondello said. “How they’ve grown over the years, and we’re hoping that we can take a huge step this year, too, because we understand how each other plays now and then our execution. Hopefully that will go to another level.”