Vandersloot made her Chicago homecoming this season after signing with the Sky as a free agent. Her return was a welcome move on both sides. The Sky needed Vandersloot as much as she craved comfort. Vandersloot was coming off a challenging season with the Liberty that came to a bittersweet end.

Breanna Stewart scored 25 points and Natasha Cloud added 22 to help the New York Liberty beat the Las Vegas Aces in their 2025 WNBA season opener Saturday.

When Clara Wu Tsai, an owner of the New York Liberty, and Keia Clarke, the chief executive, were deciding on the look of the team’s first championship rings — the ones unveiled to great fanfare on Saturday in a televised ceremony just before the Liberty’s first game of the season — they wanted three things.

According to Ben Pickman of The Athletic, the Liberty are valued at $450 million after raising capital from a group of investors, which "is believed to be a record across professional women’s sports and is more than double that of the last publicly known capital raise made by a WNBA franchise."

The New York Liberty have raised capital at rate that sets a record valuation for a professional women's sports team.

The Liberty announced the big news on social media shortly after the win, and Ionescu just had to flex the feat via her own Instagram stories. Ionescu did not need any words for her post because, in truth, the record in itself says it all.

Chicago; Thursday, 7 p.m. CDT BOTTOM LINE: New York Liberty takes on the Chicago Sky after Breanna Stewart scored 25 points in the Liberty’s 92-78 victory against the Las Vegas Aces. Chicago finished 13-27 overall and 5-15 in Eastern Conference games last season.

Billboard got to sit courtside at the New York Liberty's WNBA opening game and championship ceremony, and we take you inside what you missed on the big night, including an interview with Jonquel Jones.