Former Liberty Duo Takes on New Project
BROOKLYN—The basketball goddesses decreed that New York Liberty veterans Rebecca Allen and Michaela Onyenwere were destined to make a hardwood difference. They simply never specified where.
Allen and Onyenwere, now members of the Chicago Sky, are fleeting memories of the start of the Liberty's Brooklyn era, stationed for the start of what became a lasting relationship between the ballclub and the borough. Onyenwere embarked on a Rookie of the Year during the maiden voyage at Barclays Center back in 2021 while Allen is one of the rare women to rep the Liberty during their respective Manhattan, Westchester, and Brooklyn eras.
"Coming here and being drafted here, it's something that always is touched in my heart, and obviously having the memories, experiences I had here as well, is something I'll never forget," Onyenwere said. "They did a really great job of recruiting great talent to come here, and really invested in the facilities, the players. You really love to see organizations do that. [Owners] Joe and Clara [Tsai] have always been super, super vocal about just investing in the players in that way and it turned into a championship for them. So I'm just really happy for them in that way."
The duo came back to haunt its former employers upon their latest return: Onyenwere was 6-of-9 from the field, one of four Chicago starters to hit at least two-thirds of their tallies, while Allen came into the game late to play hounding defense as the Sky took a shocking 91-85 decision.
To newer fans, both Allen and Onyenwere are relative footnotes in New York history: Allen was traded to the Connecticut Sun in the famed 2023 deal that acquired Jonquel Jones while Onyenwere was cast off to Phoenix in a cost-cutting move that acquired the rights of another championship series starter in Leonie Fiebich. The latter has been stationed with the Sky since last season while Allen, ironically stationed with Phoenix after Onyenwere's departure, came over in the multi-pronged deal headlined by Alyssa Thomas' move to the desert.
Once upon a time, however, Allen and Onyenwere were penning the debut chapters of the Liberty's Brooklyn story, one that has brought forth franchise stability and victories both on and off the floor.
The reign started simple enough: New York wiggled its way into the Association's last playoff spot in 2021, Onyenwere's professional debut and Allen's return from a bubble opt-out. Further momentum was generated to another, more assured playoff showing the following year, setting the stage for the famed additions of Jones, Breanna Stewart, and the duo's current teammate Courtney Vandersloot.
Allen and Onyenwere were notable absences from last fall's championship parade but their contributions and landmarks on the title path have not been forgotten.
"They're both impactful players, and it's great for them, seeing them doing so well," Liberty head coach Sandy Brondello said, having continued to coach Allen on the Australian women's national team. "Michaela is still young, and she started to keep getting growing. You know, Beck Allen, it's just great to see her healthy again and back on the court. She had a very serious injury last year, and it's good to see her just back on the court doing what."
Whether it's coincidence, irony, or a direct decision by management, Allen and Onyenwere haven't been able to escape each other despite their metropolitan fate directing them elsewhere, a development that Onyenwere happily called "cool." They're now reunited on a Chicago landscape that's eerily similar to what they left in New York. The Sky (9-26) is eliminated from 2025 playoff contention but seeded sources of hope have emerged amidst the chaos.
With Allen's W longevity well-established, Onyenwere is working on establishing a similar residency, having become a bit of a journeywoman since her memorable freshman tour. Onyenwere, who recently expounded on her dreams of entering the family business as a dentist to Sabrina Messhia of the Daily Bruin, believes that her metropolitan beginnings helped convince that the hardwood was viable path, one where she can take on a stronger role, be it through leadership or on-floor activities, on a burgeoning group.
"I want people to remember Michaela as a person," Onyenwere said when discussing her developing legacy. "I think that, ultimately, basketball is very cool, and it's it's been a vehicle for success for me to be able to meet a lot of people, but I hope that I have touched enough people where you you think about Michaela the person over the basketball player. That's something I've always wanted to leave in my imprint. My legacy is hopefully I can inspire and be a role model to those who are looking up to me in that way, and hopefully they reference the purpose first and first before the basketball player."
Like that start-of-the-decade Liberty, Chicago is a group headlined by young talent, the headliners Kamilla Cardoso and Angel Reese prominently showing what's to come with incredible interior antics in the upset win on Atlantic Avenue. The Sky has surrounded them with accomplished veteran role talent, such as Ariel Atkins, another ex-New Yorker in Kia Nurse (dealt before the full-on move to Brooklyn), and Vandersloot, who is set to return for a 14th season in Chi-town after tearing her ACL after just seven games this year.
Time will tell exactly how the Chicago lineup looks after what could well be an eventful offseason, but the parallels are undeniably and intriguing as it presses forward.
"It was sort of cool to be part of the thing where I was at Madison Square Garden, then over at Westchester, and then here," Allen said, further noting the progress of lingering former Liberty teammates Sabrina Ionescu and Marine Johannes. "So I saw quite a few transitions, but I think you just see the the fanbase that they've created here, that they've done behind the scenes in terms with not just the players, but the staff behind them and put in some unbelievable work just to become a notable franchise that people come to watch play."
"It's important to have those voices from the experiences that they have had throughout their careers ... and what they've been able to learn from those situations, and kind of how to be present in the moment of where we're at and what we're doing right now, that they become valuable pieces of valuable voices," Sky head coach Tyler Marsh said. "They were part of building something here in New York that helped extend to what it is now ... They were part of the foundation that that led New York to ultimately win the championship last year, [to get] where they are now."
Geoff Magliocchetti is a veteran sportswriter who contributes to a variety of sites on the "On SI" network. In addition to the Yankees/Mets, Geoff also covers the New York Knicks, New York Liberty, and New York Giants and has previously written about the New York Jets, Buffalo Bills, Staten Island Yankees, and NASCAR.