Liberty’s Jonquel Jones: ‘New York was where I wanted to be’

Even before the news came out that WNBA superstar Breanna Stewart was headed to New York to play for the Liberty, Jonquel Jones had already been excited to get the next phase of her career underway in the Big Apple. After learning that Stewart would be joining, well, she was over the moon.

“Now I’m just like, you know, I’m just kind of having jitters right now,” Jones said in a phone interview with amNewYork. “Just really, really just ready to go and just to get on the court with them. Not even just to play a game, but to start practicing and really seeing how all the pieces fit together. I’m very confident that we’re gonna be able to win games. Just being able to get out there together and play together and feel each other out and everything like that.”

Jones had been the first major offseason addition that the Liberty had made when they pulled off a massive trade with the Connecticut Sun and Dallas Wings to bring Jones to New York. And the Liberty had been the only place that Jones had wanted to play.

The 2021 WNBA MVP confirmed to amNewYork that she had told the Sun that New York is where she wanted to go. Jones has one more year left on her contract, which she’ll now get to play out alongside Stewart and Liberty star Sabrina Ionescu.

“Definitely, New York was where I wanted to be in,” Jones said. “It was no other discussions where I wanted to be. And so it was just about obviously the city and like everybody knows, New York being a big basketball central place and everything you can do off the court. But the trajectory of the Liberty and the way that the organization was was slowly changing and turning into even just a quality organization.

“I saw what (head coach Sandy Brondello) and (assistant coach Olaf Lang) and the rest of the staff did, and the front office, last year and I knew that with some more talent and some other players that they had a lot of the pieces here that could come together and really make something special happen.”

Liberty forward Jonquel Jones arrives at the Barclays Center — January 20, 2023; Jonquel Jones arrives at the Barclays Center for the first time to be offically introduced as a member of the New York Liberty in Brooklyn, NY.Brandon Todd/New York Liberty

The 2021 WNBA MVP averaged 14.6 points, 8.6 rebounds and 1.2 blocks per game last season as the Connecticut Sun reached the WNBA Finals. She has been averaging 13.6 points, 8.3 rebounds and 1.6 assists while shooting above 50% over the course of her career.

Where Jones really excels is the versatility that she brings to the Liberty and she doesn’t expect that to change once she steps onto the court at Barclays Center. The 6’6″ forward said she has already been working with Lang and has spoken to Brondello about what to expect for the upcoming season.

Away from the court what made the Liberty so appealing has been the fact that they have been one of the organizations at the forefront of trying to grow the WNBA. Owners Joe and Clara Wu Tsai have been part of the new ownership groups to come in and try to raise where the league is.

The Nets, who fall under the same corporate umbrella of BSE Global, also boast two superstars in Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving that have been vocal in their support of the women’s game and the WNBA.

“I think it’s extremely important when you have guys like KD and Kyrie who are in a position where they can make changes,” Jones said about their support. “Also in a position where their voices carry way further than ours could ever. I think it’s important that they do what they’re doing it and I’m really happy to be able to say that we have guys like that playing for our men’s team who truly cares about the growth of women’s basketball. I think with Kobe (Bryant) being gone we need more, more guys to kind of step in and really just help us grow the league because Kobe was definitely a champion of that.”

Jones has already started to make her way into the community. On Wednesday, Jones was up in the Bronx working with middle schoolers on their basketball skills. The now New York basketball star is planning on taking advantage of her new surroundings and making an impact in the community.

She hasn’t decided where she’ll sink her teeth in, but has quickly taken to the area in Brooklyn.

“Before I came here I never would have thought that I would kind of have that sense of community so strongly in such a big city, but being in Brooklyn, I definitely feel that,” Jones said. “I’m definitely gonna take my time and really, really get to know the people in the area and really try to figure out where I can affect change.”