The New York Liberty offense is firing on all cylinders to begin the 2025 season.
The reigning champs lead the WNBA with 94.0 PPG through four games, reaching the 90-point mark in their opening four contests for the first time in franchise history.
It should come as no surprise. Led by an intimidating big three of Breanna Stewart, Jonquel Jones, and Sabrina Ionescu, the Liberty are the premiere powerhouse in the WNBA right now.
New York remained undefeated on Tuesday and enjoyed their largest win of the season thus far, steamrolling the Golden State Valkyries 95-67 to improve to 4-0. But while Stewart's game-high 24 points paced the squad, it was arguably backup guard Marine Johannes who stole the show.
Johannes went off for 18 points in the 28-point win, reaching double figures for the first time this season. She did the bulk of it from behind the arc, tying a career-high with 6 three-pointers on 11 attempts.
Aptly nicknamed "Wizard", Johannes dazzled with her signature one-legged three and a pair of rainbow three-pointers that evaded the outstretched arms of Valkyries defenders.
"She was just finding her rhythm. Especially at home, she has that confidence so we're happy to see her shoot it with confidence," Stewart told reporters postgame. "Some of those, I felt like the defender was right in her face. I knew that right-handed floater was coming."
Marine Johannès LOL, 3-point floater off the right leg: pic.twitter.com/PNjE2kAXUX
— Lucas Kaplan (@LucasKaplan_) May 27, 2025
"She's ridiculous," head coach Sandy Brondello chimed in, chuckling about a few of the shoots Johannes made.
Despite debuting with the Liberty back in 2019, this is only Johannes' fourth season with New York, sitting out the bubble season in 2020 and opting to represent France in the Olympics during the 2021 and 2024 seasons.
The Liberty are certainly happy to have her back, as Johannes' scoring ability gives them one of the deepest benches in the league.
"Our bench and our depth is gonna be what separates us from anyone else," Stewart added. "The ability to go this deep, and know that there's gonna be consistency in everything that we do is really important."
Johannes was responsible for nearly half of the Liberty's 37 bench points, marking the second time in four games that New York's bench has scored 35 or more points.
Y’all wanna see a magic trick?! 🪄
— New York Liberty (@nyliberty) May 27, 2025
Enjoy these 4 straight 3’s from THE MAGICIAN 🔥@MarineJ5 🎯 | #LIGHTITUPNYL🗽 pic.twitter.com/GFdTzKhZ5E
With Kennedy Burke already averaging double figures off the bench, a consistently-sharp Johannes gives New York two legitimate scoring threats outside of their starting rotation.
Plus, Johannes' ability to nail impossible-looking threes at a steady rate isn't a luxury most teams have, especially not from their second player off the bench.
It's far from a guarantee. Prior to Tuesday's flurry, Johannes had scored a combined 8 points on 2-of-7 shooting beyond the arc in her first three games back with the Liberty. The 30-year-old was sharp in the preseason, but doing it over the course of a full 44-game season is a different story.
Still, it's worth remembering that Johannes averaged 10.0 PPG in 24 games back in 2022, and was a fourth-place finisher for Sixth Woman of the Year in her most recent season with the Liberty. Johannes has a track record of being productive off the bench -- that would be dangerous within the frame of an already loaded Liberty squad.
New York will no doubt miss the contributions of offseason departures Courtney Vandersloot and Kayla Thornton, not to mention Betnijah Laney-Hamilton's season-ending injury, all of whom played a major role in bringing the first title in franchise history to Brooklyn. But if Johannes can make it rain from deep this season, the Liberty should be in good shape to lead the league offensively and make a run at back-to-back championships.
