Jonquel Jones Heading Home For Liberty All-Star Break
New York Liberty star Jonquel Jones is going home, but she's taking her coach instead of her ball.
As her teammates prepared for a visit from the Indiana Fever on Tuesday, the injured Jones appeared to be at peace with her unfortunate absence from the roster for this weekend's WNBA All-Star Game.
Previously admitting she'd be "very upset" if a medically-induced rejection came to pass, Jones offered the women bound for Indianapolis their props, offering particularly excitement for ex-New Yorker, first-time All-Star, and current Golden State Valkyrie Kayla Thornton.
"Everybody that that made it this year deserves to be an All-Star," Jones said. "I think the 50 percent fan vote is crazy, in my opinion. I think when you when you think about, like, career accolades, I think you have to be really careful of like, not turning All-Star, which is ultimately a career accolade, into a popularity contest. So you have to really be careful of that. But I don't think there's anybody on the list that made the All-Star team this year that [doesn't] deserve to be there."
Having reached five exhibitions in her prior eight seasons (including last year's in Phoenix), Jones will get a rare All-Star break at the All-Star break and plans to take full advantage: after the Liberty face the Fever on Wednesday night (7:30 p.m. ET, Fox5/CBSSN), Jones will return to Freeport, her hometown in The Bahamas, to engage in the final stages of her rehab from the injury that has limited her to four games since June tipped off.
Jones won't be alone in her return to the Caribbean, which will carry a little more seafoam until the Liberty reconvenes in Brooklyn on July 22: joining the caravan is several members of the Liberty's player development staff, including the head of the department Andrew Wade.
"Just go home, workout," Jones said. "I'm taking a coach with me, some practice players and different stuff like that. So I'm still going to be working out, and just like making sure I'm building towards playing after the All-Star break. So, while I'll be home, I'm definitely still going to be in the gym."
This is far from the first time that Jones has brought pieces of Brooklyn back home with her: over the offseason, Freeport hosted several days of events in Jones' honor after she earned the MVP title during the Liberty's championship run, headlined by a parade that saw her brandish her individual trophy. Island fever has infected Jones' teammates, some of whom have lobbied to play an exhibition game on the Nantucket of the Carribean. Breanna Stewart even suggested that the All-Star festivities be moved to the Islands of Song if the WNBA was seeking to go beyond its 13 cities for hosting duties.
Jones admitted she "went back and forth" between staying in New York and heading south for the summer, but ultimately felt that the latter option would be more conduitive to her next big goal: to make her return for the Liberty's first post-Indianapolis showing on July 22, when they welcome in the Fever again.
"I just felt like it would be good to get a change of scenery, change the location, obviously, get a little bit of beach time, a little bit of family time, all that stuff," Jones said. "Just to kind of get my mind right coming back into the season."
The gambit has the full endorsement of Liberty head coach Sandy Brondello, who expressed mock jealousy over the fact she's bound for Indianapolis instead of Freeport, set to serve as the head coach of the Caitlin Clark-captained group featuring Thornton and current New York star Sabrina Ionescu.
"I think it says a lot about this organization," Brondello said. "We always want to do what's best for the players on and off the court. It was a no brainer. JJ is an important part of what we're doing. She needs a break. Going home is always nice for them let's take people with them. They get to hang out the Bahamas, and so I think they're not too disappointed about that. But yeah, we're committed to getting her back on court and supporting her wherever way we can."
Jones continues to keep busy in absentia, standing as an animated presence on the Liberty bench as the team engages in a lengthy homestand at the midway mark of the season, Jones was in good spirits as she increased her activity at practice in Barclays Center's lower levels on Tuesday, pleased to see the couple that she was pulling for on the reality series "Love Island" prevailed and that the team's book club wrapped up its latest endeavor, the 2019 thriller "The Silent Patient" (though she's hoping the the group steers away from an exclusive romance novel for its next entry).
Jones, of course, wouldn't take sides in the All-Star clash, which will have Stewart face off against Brondello, Ionescu, and Thornton on a team led by former Finals foe Napheesa Collier. Whether she opts to watch the game or engage in a full-on All-Star detox remains to be seen, as she's letting island improvisation do the
"It all depends on what I'm doing, honestly," Jones said when asked if she'd watch Saturday's main event. "I'm very much a, like, play it ear type of person. I may be on a boat somewhere, as long as I'm out of the gym. So, if I'm home and sitting around the TV, of course, I'll turn it on. But if I'm out doing something, I don't know."
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.