Liberty Officially Signs Emma Meesseman
Help is on the way for the New York Liberty.
Amidst injuries, the Liberty is set to welcome in cherished free agent Emma Meesseman, who was officially signed by the team on Friday. Meesseman's commiting to New York was first reported by Alexa Philippou of ESPN.
Meeseman is set to appear on a WNBA floor for the first time since 2022, the last of eight WNBA seasons spent between Washington and Chicago. She could make her seafoam debut as soon as Friday night when the Liberty face the Connecticut Sun in part one of a weekend doubleheader in Uncasville (7:30 p.m. ET, Ion).
Since that tenure, which saw her reach two All-Star Games and earn Finals MVP honors during Washington's run to the 2019 championship (earned alongside current New Yorker Natasha Cloud), Meesseman has become quite the accomplished international talent, notably guiding her native Belgium to back-to-back triumphs in the EuroBasket Women tournament. Meesseman earned MVP honors in both showings, the first championships for the Belgian Cats.
Meesseman comes to New York as the Liberty work their way through an onslaught of injuries: as they work through a four-game road trip, seafoam savants Kennedy Burke, Nyara Sabally, and Breanna Stewart are all out due to injuries, throwing a bit of a wrench into the New York title defense. Entering the weekend, the runner-up Liberty (17-9) is five games behind Minnesota for the top seed on the WNBA bracket by only 2.5 ahead of the sixth-place Indiana Fever.
"Emma Meesseman’s return to the WNBA is a tremendous moment for our league, and the fact that she chose New York for her next chapter speaks volumes,” Liberty general manager Jonathan Kolb said in a statement. “She is one of the most skilled, intelligent, and unselfish players in the world and her presence elevates everyone around her. Emma brings invaluable experience, championship pedigree, and a unique versatility that fits seamlessly into our group as we continue our relentless pursuit of a title in 2025.
Meesseman was the target of a bidding war among the WNBA's top contenders, as she chose New York over Minnesota and Phoenix. Cheryl Reeve, head coach of the Minnesota Lynx, bluntly declared that Meesseman "made the wrong choice" before her squad faced the Liberty in the first of four WNBA Finals rematches on Wednesday.
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.