The New York Liberty are laying down some defensive roots.
New York obtained Rebekah Gardner in a Thursday trade with the Chicago Sky, sending a pair of second-round picks to the Midwest in exchange. The deal was first reported by Khristina Williams of Girls Talk Sports TV.
Gardner, 33, is working off several injuries but is expected to take the floor for the Liberty’s 2025 season.
“We are incredibly excited to welcome Rebekah to New York and support her recovery process,” Liberty general manager Jonathan Kolb said in a team statement. “She has shown tremendous perseverance throughout her career, and in tandem with our talented performance staff, we are confident she will be positioned to have the best opportunity at a full recovery as we target the 2025 season for her return.”
Gardner originally made a name for herself overseas after going undrafted out of UCLA in the WNBA selections back in 2012. She eventually capitalized on a training camp invite from the Sky a decade later and became one of the WNBA’s most inspiring stories during the 2022 season as a 31-year-old rookie.
Averaging 8.4 points and 1.4 steals, Gardner was named to the WNBA’s All-Rookie team and her defense was partly credited for Chicago’s victory in the opening round of the 2022 playoffs over the Liberty. Though New York won the first game of the best-of-three set, Gardner helped handle some of the team’s more dangerous shooters to manageable outputs as the Sky handled the latter two contests in formidable fashion.Gardner’s sophomore season got off to a strong start, as she had 10 points and four steals off the bench in an opening night win over Minnesota but she was later forced to undergo foot surgery that kept her out for the rest of the year. Earlier this winter, Gardner tore her right Achilles while repping Spanish club Spar Girona, effectively ending her 2024 WNBA season before it began.
