Breanna Stewart Attributes Liberty's 2025 Struggles to Loss of 'Flow State' Under Brondello The New York Liberty’s championship defense in 2024, marked by seamless teamwork and dominance, turned into a first-round playoff collapse in 2025, ending Sandy Brondello’s tenure with the team. The Liberty faced an unexpected defeat at the hands of the Phoenix Mercury, a team CBS Sports had not previously labeled a title contender. Veteran forward Breanna Stewart, a key figure in the team’s 2024 success, reflected on the challenges that derailed the 2025 season, pointing to the loss of the team’s “flow state” as a critical factor. Stewart described the “flow state” as a phase where the team’s actions were perfectly synchronized, a hallmark of their 2024 championship run. “When you’re in that flow state, you have to have chemistry and keep it,” she said. “We had a lot of changes between our championship season and 2025. Trying to recreate that flow state quickly didn’t work.” The Liberty’s 2024 campaign was defined by their Big Three—Stewart, Sabrina Ionescu, and Jonquel Jones—alongside Courtney Vandersloot, who orchestrated the team’s success. Their dominance was evident in sweeping the Atlanta Dream in the playoffs and defeating the Las Vegas Aces in the second round. However, the 2025 season brought significant disruptions. Vandersloot, a vital playmaker, returned to the Chicago Sky, while Jones suffered a right knee injury that sidelined her for multiple games. The team attempted to address Vandersloot’s absence by signing Natasha Cloud, but the chemistry that defined 2024 never materialized. Injuries and inconsistency plagued the roster, with the team’s rebounding numbers dropping from over 36 per game in 2024 to around 33 in 2025.#breanna_stewart #sandy_brondello #phoenix_mercury #chris_demarco #new_york_liberty
