1 week ago
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Multiple Contributors
Jul 21, 2025, 07:00 PM ET
Emma Meesseman is headed backmost to the WNBA, signing with the New York Liberty connected Monday. That's large quality for the league and the defending champions.
When Meesseman was drafted to the WNBA successful 2013, she didn't pull a batch of attraction arsenic a 19-year-old guardant picked successful the 2nd round. But it was soon wide that then-Washington Mystics wide manager Mike Thibault had selected a superb young talent.
Meesseman had played professionally successful her autochthonal Belgium since she was 16. She continued to blossom successful her clip successful the WNBA, culminating with her WNBA Finals MVP show successful 2019 erstwhile the Mystics besides had the play MVP successful Elena Delle Donne.
Meesseman, 32, has not played successful the WNBA since 2022, but has continued to basal retired overseas. She was MVP of the caller EuroBasket tourney won by her Belgian team.
Meesseman joins a Liberty squad that has dealt with injuries this play and saw its station crippled impacted by the enlargement draft. Alexa Philippou, Kevin Pelton and Michael Voepel look astatine what signing Meesseman means for New York and the remainder of the WNBA.
Does adding Meesseman marque the Liberty the favourite successful the 2025 WNBA rubric chase?
Philippou: They are the wide favorites now. Yes, Meesseman volition person to beryllium incorporated into the fold, and doing that mid-season isn't ever the easiest. But the Liberty present person 3 Finals MVPs connected their broadside -- Breanna Stewart (2018, 2020), Meesseman (2019) and Jonquel Jones (2024). That's a ridiculously talented, versatile frontcourt that is going to wreak havoc connected opponents, and Meeseman is simply a subordinate whose accomplishment acceptable and temperament should let her to acceptable successful seamlessly with her caller group. She besides has plentifulness of familiarity with respective Liberty players who she played with connected different squads crossed the globe, and was adjacent coached by Sandy Brondello and Olaf Lange successful Russia.
Something to note: Meeseseman's accomplishment successful Brooklyn is taxable to however agelong the visa exertion process takes, truthful it's not similar she'll beryllium capable to suit up Tuesday against the Fever.
Pelton: I deliberation so. There was already a tenable lawsuit that New York deserved that rubric contempt being conscionable .500 since a 9-0 start. Most of those losses person travel without Jones, whose lack has helped trigger the Liberty's stumbles. New York is 8-1 erstwhile Jones plays, and she near the lone nonaccomplishment aft 9 minutes with the ankle sprain that has sidelined her ever since. Jones is already expected to instrumentality to the lineup this week.
My pre-injury portion considering whether the Liberty might beryllium amended than past season hasn't aged well, but with Meesseman -- whose beingness could marque it easier for New York to displacement Stewart successful smaller lineups erstwhile Jones is connected the seat -- the question is again worthy asking.
Voepel: It astir apt does marque New York the favorite, but let's spot however things spell erstwhile Meesseman arrives and however good the Minnesota Lynx and Phoenix Mercury play successful the coming weeks. We person a beauteous bully thought of what the Lynx look similar astatine their best, but injuries person kept america from seeing that for the Mercury.
How does Meesseman's instrumentality interaction the remainder of the league?
Pelton: The biggest interaction is cementing the Liberty and Lynx arsenic Finals favorites. The Mercury, a half-game backmost of New York successful the standings, could person plausibly entered that tier had they added Meesseman to the All-Star duo of Satou Sabally and Alyssa Thomas. With Meesseman connected the different broadside successful a plausible semifinals matchup, preventing a 2024 Finals rematch volition beryllium much hard for Phoenix.
Voepel: It's hard not to spot this arsenic a game-changer astatine the apical of the league. But by the aforesaid token, the Lynx person enactment immoderate separation betwixt themselves and each different squad during the archetypal fractional of the season.
Both the Lynx and the Mercury mightiness besides thin into immoderate of the communicative that this determination puts much unit backmost connected New York to repeat. There is inactive a batch of assurance among Lynx and Mercury players.
Philippou: Meesseman wasn't conscionable going to articulation immoderate squad successful the league. She wants to triumph a championship. We person yet to spot the champion from Phoenix, which has had players successful and retired of the lineup owed to injury, and lone precocious brought successful DeWanna Bonner. And the Lynx are inactive the apical squad successful the standings for a reason.
But the Meesseman sweepstakes felt destined to extremity the scales connected the rubric race, peculiarly if she chose either the Liberty oregon Lynx arsenic the teams looking to tally it backmost aft past year's Finals appearances. On paper, her accomplishment solidifies New York's endowment and extent arsenic the champion successful the league -- and present different rubric hopefuls person an adjacent greater situation up of them arsenic they look to sound disconnected the defending champs.
Meesseman hasn't played successful the WNBA since 2022. What should we expect from her?
Philippou: Newer WNBA fans mightiness not person been astir erstwhile Meesseman helped the Mystics to a title successful 2019, erstwhile she became the archetypal reserve subordinate to triumph Finals MVP -- she averaged 19.3 points, 5.6 rebounds and 2.4 assists per crippled that postseason. She was a immense escaped cause get successful 2022 for the Chicago Sky, wherever she was 1 of their apical scorers earlier the then-defending champs were shockingly eliminated successful Game 5 of the semifinals.
And adjacent arsenic she has been absent from the WNBA the past mates seasons, Meesseman has made a beardown lawsuit arsenic 1 of the champion players successful the satellite arsenic she dominated with Turkish powerfulness Fenerbahce and the Belgian nationalist team.
Pelton: She has been arsenic bully arsenic ever internationally. Meesseman led each players successful scoring during past year's Olympics with 23.3 PPG connected 58% shooting for Belgium, which reached the semifinals earlier missing retired connected a medal. And she continues to prima alongside WNBA teammates for Fenerbahce, averaging 16.9 PPG, 6.6 RPG and 4.3 APG past play successful EuroLeague play to triumph MVP honors.
Voepel: Meesseman has the benignant of property successful which she tin acceptable successful anyplace rapidly and seamlessly. Even though she is the longtime prima of the Belgian nationalist team, she has ne'er needed to beryllium the halfway of attraction successful the WNBA. She volition play a complementary relation erstwhile that's required, but she tin inactive instrumentality implicit successful games erstwhile needed. In summation to her talent, her adaptability and the easiness with which she gets on with others were besides portion of the crushed the Liberty, Lynx and Mercury wanted her truthful much.
