Liberty Lands Commitment from Emma Meesseman
The New York Liberty is hardly (Belgian) waffling when it comes to making its case for a championship defense.
Per Alexa Phillippou of ESPN, the Liberty have landed a commitment from international star Emma Meesseman, who set to return to the WNBA after a two-year absence. Phillippou notes that the date of Meeseman's official signing will be determined how long it takes her to go through the visa application process.
Meesseman, 32, has spent recent seasons making a name for herself on the international level: her latest masterpiece was a sterling showing the recent EuroBasket Women competition last month, one that saw her guide her native Belgium to its second consecutive title. Meesseman won MVP honors on both occasions, becoming the first player to win it twice.
Meesseman has also guided the Belgian women's national basketball team, known as the Cats, to their first showings in the Olympic tournament. They placed fourth last summer in Paris after falling to an Australian group led by current Liberty head coach Sandy Brondello in the bronze medal match.
Meesseman has more than made up for it with multiple individual and team honors, including MVP titles in EuroLeague, Belgium, and Turkey, as well as the Belgian Sportswoman of the Year title in 2020, joining an illustrious list that also includes tennis stars Kim Clijsters and Justin Henin-Hardenne.
On the WNBA level, Meesseman has eight seasons to her name, all but one with the Washington Mystics. Meeseman led the league in three-point percentage in 2016 and took home the WNBA Finals MVP award in 2019 for her work in the Mystics' long-sought first championship run, a title earn alongside current Liberty Natasha Cloud. Meesseman is one of three international women to win the title, a list also includes Lauren Jackson and another current Liberty star in Jonquel Jones.
The report of Meesseman's signing comes hours after New York added Stephanie Talbot to its championship cause.
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.