Liberty Stars Land ESPY Nominations
The New York Liberty are painting the red carpet seafoam at the 2025 ESPY Awards.
The annual sports and entertainment awards show is rife with Liberty representation, headlined by a nomination for "Best Team." In that department, that team, the Liberty's first batch of postseason champions, is joined by fellow trophy-hoisters such as the North Carolina Tar Heels (women's college lacrosse), Oklahoma City Thunder (NBA), Philadelphia Eagles (NFL), and the University of Connecticut (women's college basketball).
In addition to the team-wide title, Liberty stars Sabrina Ionescu and Breanna Stewart are up for individual honors.
What arguably stands as the most famous shot in Liberty history, namely Ionescu's game-winning three-pointer at the end of Game 3 of last fall's WNBA Finals, is up for "Best Play." No WNBA play has ever won the award, though Arike Ogubowale's game-winner for Notre Dame in the NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament's finale took home the honor in 2018.
The shot, the sealer of an 80-77 New York victory over the Minnesota Lynx, is going up against Eagles running back Saquon Barkley's reverse hurdle from last football season, Tyrese Haliburton's game-winner for the Indiana Pacers in Game 1 of this month's NBA Finals against the Thunder, and Trinity Rodman's game-winning goal for the United States women's national soccer team in last summer's Olympic quarterfinal against Japan.
Stewart, on the other hand, is once again up for the title of "Best WNBA Player," joined by Caitlin Clark, Napheesa Collier, and two-time defending champion A'ja Wilson. Stewart previously earned the award as a member of the Seattle Storm in 2019 and 2021 and will look to become the seventh three-time triumphant.
Hosted by comedian Shane Gillis, the 2025 ESPY Awards will be staged on July 16 at The Dolby Theater in Los Angeles. The Liberty won't be in attendance, as they'll be hosting Clark and the Indiana Fever at Barclays Center that night.
