Liberty's Jonquel Jones Issues Warning to League
New York Liberty star Jonquel Jones was the latest guest on The Good Follow Show with host Ros Gold-Onwude, who also serves as part of the Liberty’s broadcast team. The five-time WNBA All-Star, 2024 champion, Finals MVP, and 2021 league MVP opened up about basketball, fashion, family, and her future - but it was her candid reflection on the Liberty’s season that stood out.
“All eyes are on me” — and rightfully so @jus242 ✨
— Good Follow (@GoodFollowShow) August 29, 2025
From her towering Met Gala look to mingling with Anne Hathaway (!!), Jonquel Jones showed that WNBA players (especially @nyliberty 😉) not only belong in these spaces, but they shine in them. 💫
More with @rosgo21 &… pic.twitter.com/aIQpXuYVV0
Gold-Onwude and Jones began by diving into the Liberty’s season so far - how the team is navigating a competitive stretch, their current spot in the standings, and the challenges of adapting to frequent lineup changes.
The Liberty, who entered 2025 with repeat championship expectations, have battled through injuries and constant lineup changes. Incredibly, the “big three” of Jones, Breanna Stewart, and Sabrina Ionescu have only finished 11 games together this year - and the Liberty won all 11 of those games.
“Coming into the season if anybody had told me that it was going to be the way it has been for us in terms of injuries, I would have said that they were lying,” Jones admitted. “Like, I just wouldn’t have believed it, because it’s just been a lot. But ultimately, I think we’ve done a good job of staying together as a team… really just figuring it out and understanding that sometimes it’s just gonna be a little bit tough with the situation that we’re in.”
Despite their inconsistent health, New York currently sits in the fifth seed. For Jones, that standing doesn’t reflect their true level.
“I mean, obviously we understand that we’re not a five seed in this league,” she said. “But at this point, it’s just about winning basketball games… stacking the wins, doing the things that we can control so that we can win basketball games. But it’s been tough, man… there’s so much parity in the league. On any given night anybody can beat anybody. We’ve seen that firsthand, and now we understand it’s going to take a high level of consistency, effort, all of the little things - and making sure we have enough bodies to keep up that level of play.”
“Obviously, we understand that we're not a 5 seed in this league…"
— Good Follow (@GoodFollowShow) August 28, 2025
The @nyliberty haven’t even unleashed their full potential yet… and Jonquel Jones says no team should want to see them in the playoffs... 👀🔥@nyliberty tip off tonight at 7PM with a chance to climb the… pic.twitter.com/MBA8PcKv59
Jones also pointed to the enormous upside of a fully healthy Liberty roster, particularly when paired with forward Emma Meesseman, who joined mid-season. Jones, Stewart, and Meesseman already share on-court chemistry from their overseas days in Russia.
“Obviously the potential is to be able to win, and as world-class athletes… we’re used to playing with each other. We understand tendencies, we understand the strengths of each other, and now we just have to put it together in a new system, under a new coach, and bring Emma into the fold.”
But the biggest statement Jones made was clear as day:
“Honestly, if I’m any team in the playoffs, I don’t want to see us in the first round. I don’t want to really see us in the playoffs, because I feel like we just haven’t really realized our potential yet, and haven’t had the opportunity to put our full roster out on the court.”
The defending champions may be sitting fifth today, but at full strength, they’re still one of the most dangerous teams in basketball - and they know it. The episode offered Liberty fans and WNBA fans a deeper look into one of the league's most dominant centers to ever play the game.
Jones’ message to the league was unmistakable: the Liberty may have battled injuries and inconsistency all year, but their ceiling hasn’t changed. With the postseason tipping off on September 14, Jonquel Jones and the defending champions will finally have the stage - and, if healthy, the full roster - to show exactly what championship basketball in New York looks like.
Brooklyn-based sports journalist and digital creator. Telling stories through hoops while covering the New York Liberty.