The 2022 WNBA Playoffs are well underway, featuring some of the brightest stars in the game— Sabrina Ionescu, Sue Bird, A’ja Wilson, Candace Parker and more. Some of the outstanding play from one team in particular has drawn comparisons to the NBA’s Memphis Grizzlies and what they’ve been able to do the last couple of seasons.
The No. 7 New York Liberty, a clear underdog against the No. 2 Chicago Sky, used a miraculous and historic 13-0 run to defeat the defending WNBA champions 98-91 in Game 1 of the 2022 WNBA Playoffs.
Keep in mind, the first round of the WNBA playoffs is a best-of-three format, which adds extra layers of intrigue, excitement and grit. That was absolutely on display in this game, led by the Liberty’s Sabrina Ionescu and her 22 points, 7 rebounds, and 6 assists.
New York Liberty drawing comparisons to Ja Morant and Memphis Grizzlies
During a segment on NBA Today, WNBA Countdown host Christine Williamson joined the show to talk about the historic win by the New York Liberty in Game 1 of the first-round series vs the Chicago Sky.
“You know, this team really reminds me of the Memphis Grizzlies,” Williamson said. “They went out against the defending champion Sky and they had absolutely no fear, right? They go into this one and they said ‘Why not us?'”
Williamson characterized the Liberty’s approach to Game 1 perfectly— they had no fear going up against the defending champs.
“They come out and they just don’t care who they are playing and they were able to get that win, she added.
As host Jorge Sedano noted, that 13-0 run is the third-largest largest comeback in WNBA history.
The swagger and attitude the Liberty played with, never backing down against the heavy favorites was absolutely reminiscent from what we’ve seen from the Ja Morant-led Memphis Grizzlies in the past couple of seasons.
The Liberty have been underdogs the entire season, barely squeaking into the playoffs as a seven seed in an eight-team playoff.
You’ll recall that’s exactly what happened to the Memphis Grizzlies back in 2021 when they had to knock off the Golden State Warriors in the 2021 Play-in Tournament and threw a haymaker punch to upset the No. 1 seeded Utah Jazz in the first round of the 2021 playoffs.
We saw some of it in this year’s Playoffs, too. When Ja Morant went down with an injury during the Western Conference Semifinals vs Golden State, the Grizzlies still found a way to pull off a historic 39-point blow-out win in Game 5 to and lived to fight another day.
Williamson is absolutely right— we’re seeing that same sort of fire, passion and will-to-win from the New York Liberty in this year’s playoffs vs the Chicago Sky.
You can catch Game 2 of the Liberty and Sky on ESPN at 11 AM CT on August 20.