DiDi Richards Among Liberty's Final Roster Cuts
BROOKLYN-The New York Liberty's 2023 regular season roster was fully realized on Tuesday, but the team's 12-woman roster will not include fan favorite reserve DiDi Richards, who was cut alongside Morgan Green, Sika Konè, and Stephanie Mawuli.
A second-round pick from the 2021 WNBA Draft, Richards went through one of the most inspirational stories of her rookie class: during an October 2020 practice with Baylor University, Richards was temporarily paralyzed from the waist down after a collision. She worked her way back to the floor less than six weeks after the incident and partook in the Bears' NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament run to the regional final round. In addition to the Elite Eight, Richards partook in Baylor's 2019 national championship trek and won the Naismith Defensive Player of the Year Award in the following season.
In New York, Richards continued to make a reputation for herself as a defensive standout and was nominated to the WNBA's All-Rookie Team alongside fellow New Yorker and Rookie of the Year Michaela Onyenwere (traded to Phoenix earlier this offseason). In 45 appearances, Richards averaged 2.3 points and 1.3 minutes in just over 11 minutes a game.
Other Tuesday departures included Konè, a Malian-born third-round pick in the 2022 draft. Koné notably put up 10 points and four rebounds in the first of two Liberty preseason games on Wednesday against the Connecticut Sun, leading the team in scoring alongside fellow 2022 draftee Nyara Sabally. Green and Mawuli, both looking to make their WNBA debuts, were both in New York on training camp deals.
The 2023 Liberty season opens on Friday night when New York battles the Washington Mystics on the road (7 p.m. ET, WWOR/NBA TV).
Geoff Magliocchetti is on Twitter @GeoffJMags
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