How defending WNBA champ Liberty might be even better in 2025 - ESPN

Ten games into their defense of the first championship in franchise history, the New York Liberty look poised to make a run at another ring.

Although New York's undefeated start came to an end in Saturday's 102-88 loss to the Indiana Fever — who got 32 points from Caitlin Clark in her return to the lineup — the Liberty still put together one of the best 10-game stretches in league history to start the season.

Despite the loss, New York boasts the second-best point differential (plus-15.7) for a WNBA team in its first 10 games, trailing only the 2016 Los Angeles Sparks (plus-16.5), who started 11-0 en route to the title. The addition of Natasha Cloud has helped fill the void left by Betnijah Laney-Hamilton's offseason knee surgery, while Kennedy Burke stepping up and the return of Marine Johannes has strengthened the Liberty bench.

We take a closer look at some of the questions about the defending champion, including the possibility New York could be better than last year, whether there are any weaknesses for the Liberty and the chances of a WNBA Finals rematch against the Minnesota Lynx.

At 8-2 on its way to a 12-2 start, New York hardly struggled at the outset in 2024. Yet last year's Liberty team wasn't as dominant as this season's group has been so far. New York had just three wins by more than 13 points in that stretch. The Liberty matched that by Game 3 this season and have won half their games by at least 19 points, boosting their point differential.

To some degree, that's probably a function of schedule. New York has played a combined seven games against the Chicago Sky, Connecticut Sun, Golden State Valkyries and Washington Mystics — four of the five teams with the lowest over/under win totals at ESPN BET