Liberty Prepare for Life Without Leonie Fiebich
BROOKLYN—Before she left the New York Liberty to play for continental glory, Leonie Fiebich was treated to breakfast and a message but her seafoam teammate and fellow countrywoman.
"I told her that, obviously, I would love to be there with her, and it kind of stinks," Nyara Sabally said this week. "But I was just like, get that medal, come back healthy, and let's keep going."
Those last two parts are all the Liberty can do at this point with Fiebich heading overseas to rep Germany in the EuroBasket Women competition. Germany is one of four hosts (alongside Czechia, Greece, and Italy) and the tournament gets underway next week, with the championship set for June 29 in Piraeus, Greece.
"We have something pretty special going on in Germany, we are creating a lot of attention," Fiebich, who partook in Germany's maiden Olympic voyage with Sabally last summer, said. "We're playing at home (in EuroBasket) for the first time ever. The gym is sold out, a lot of kids will be there. Just being part of that is something super special for all of us and I hope we get to enjoy that."
A unified Germany team has medaled just at the bi-annual EuroBasket competition, earning a bronze in the 1997 edition in Hungary. The Germans placed fifth in last year's Olympic tournament, placing in the runner-up spot in its preliminary group behind the American group starring Liberty teammates Sabrina Ionescu and Breanna Stewart. At EuroBasket, Germany faces Sweden on Thursday in its pool play opener in Hamburg while Great Britain and Spain also sits in their group.
The Liberty got a little lucky when it came to losing women for the potential early summer classic: Sabally was a "last minute" withdrawal from the German squad after she endured another knee injury early in this Liberty season while Marine Johannes likewise pulled out from reprising her role with defending bronze medalist France.
But that sole departure looms large: Fiebich impressed as a WNBA rookie en route to the franchise's first postseason championship and had cemented herself as a mainstay in the Liberty starting five. Her two-way talents have become well-regarded.
She and her fellow starters all rank in the top eight in net rating leaders (min. 7 games played) but Fiebich herself leads all women (min. 7 games played) in defensive rating entering the weekend. On the other end, Fiebich is shooting 48 percent from three-point range, albeit on just under three tries per game.
"We lose a big part, obviously," Sabally said. "Leo's obviously in a starting role, playing like 35 minutes a game, always defending the best player on other team, and her length and her disruptiveness is definitely going to be missed. But we have so much depth. Obviously, there's going to be players stepping into that role with her defensive ability, with her length. So I think it's also going to be a really good opportunity for other people to gel."
There's no post-Fiebich honeymoon for the Liberty: the team faces the Indiana Fever on Saturday (3 p.m. ET, ABC) on a day where face of the league Caitlin Clark returns from a five-game departure for a quad injury. The Liberty then faces Atlanta and Phoenix, the two teams immediately chasing defending WNBA finalists New York and Minnesota on the current leaderboard, at Barclays Center next week.
The perfect Liberty (9-0) have built a franchise-best start with some early adjustments: Sabally missed six games with the aforementioned ailment while Jonquel Jones has recently dealt with ankle woes. Jones is listed as questionable for Saturday's visit to Gainbridge Fieldhouse after missing Tuesday's win over Chicago.
Once again buying the idea that a supposed superteam is only as deep as its second unit, the Liberty have had several backup women rise to the occasion: Kennedy Burke is off to a historic start (posting the best three-point percentage in WNBA history through nine games with a minimum of three tries per game) while Rebekah Gardner and Isabelle Harrison have been welcome arrivals. Sabally shined in a spot start for Jones while Fiebich's departure could also be a sterling opportunity for Johannes to find a rhythm.
Liberty reps are more than happy to accept the challenge, especially with the schedule getting a bit bumpier.
"Everyone knows what she does defensively, so we're definitely taking a big hit without her here," Fiebich's fellow starter Ionescu noted. "But I think we understand there's players on this team that are going to be able to kind of plug the holes and fill in while she's gone. It's kind of that next man up mentality of understanding there's no excuses just because she's gone.
"We're not going to sit here and kind of pout and be upset that she had to go do that. I think it's just understanding we got to grind out ... We have to be able to do what we can to try and make up for what she brings to the team, and we'll welcome her with open arms when she returns."
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.