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Teresa Weatherspoon
Jesse D. Garrabrant/WNBAE/Getty Images
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2007: Center Janel McCarville finished the season ranked first in the league in field goal percentage, shooting an outstanding 54.6-percent and became the only Liberty player to ever achieve this honor. What made it an even greater accomplishment was the fact that her breakout season came after she spent her first two years in the WNBA battling injuries. This past year, McCarville also saw limited playing time before the All-Star break, but came up strong during the second half of the season to lead the charge into the Playoffs. The 2007 season also brought point guard Loree Moore to the top of the ranks in three of the WNBA’s statistical categories, an individual career-best. Moore averaged 4.79 assists per game (4th), 2.21 steals per game (2nd) and 34.2 minutes per game (5th). Cathrine Kraayeveld recorded a career-best long range shooting percentage of 41.1-percent and found herself ranked 8th overall on the year.
2006: The year marked the only occasion in Liberty history where two players were ranked first in different statistical categories. Backcourt mates Erin Thorn and Becky Hammon led the league in three-point field goal percentage (.431) and free-throw percentage (.960) respectively. Hammon’s shooting from the charity stripe remains to be the second highest free-throw percentage ever recorded by a WNBA player over the course of an entire season.
2005: Hammon again led the Liberty across five statistical categories. Aside from leading the league in free-throw percentage (90.1%), the Colorado State graduate averaged 13.9 points (10th), 4.3 assists (8th), 1.76 steals (6th), and 34.7 minutes per game (4th).
2004: Statistically speaking, the season belonged to Elena Baranova. The Russian native completed the year ranked in the Top 10 in four different categories. She averaged 7.2 rebounds per game (5th), shot .463 from the field (10th), hit .461 of her three point shots (2nd), and averaged 1.71 blocks per contest (4th). Throughout her tenure with the Liberty (2003-2005), Baranova annually ranked in the Top 10 in blocks per game.
2003: The year marked an important milestone in franchise history, as the season in which Hammon finished ranked first in the WNBA in free-throw percentage (.951) and three-point field goal percentage (.469). She became the second Liberty player (with legend Teresa Weatherspoon), to finish the year atop the leader board in two statistical categories. Weatherspoon was the first to achieve this rare feat during the inaugural 1997 season, when she led the league in assists per game (6.1) and steals per game (3.04).
2002: Tari Philips distinguished herself as one of the WNBA’s top players, bringing down seven rebounds per game (8th).
2001: Philips averaged eight boards per contest (5th). Each season with the Liberty, she was ranked among the elite in terms of steals per game and field goal percentage.
From 1997 through 2000, fans saw greats such as Weatherspoon, Vickie Johnson and Kym Hampton cement their legacies as all-time WNBA greats. During these seasons, Johnson regularly appeared on the Top 10 list for free-throw percentage and three-point field goal percentage, while Weatherspoon annually landed near the top in assists per game, steals per game and minutes per game. Over the course of the next three seasons (1998-2000), she ranked second in the league in assists, averaging more than six per game. Overall, throughout her tenure in New York, Weatherspoon appeared on the WNBA’s Top 10 leaders list on fifteen separate occasions, which remains to be a Liberty record.
| Year | Player | Category | Rank In League |
|---|---|---|---|
2007 |
Janel McCarville |
Field Goal Pct. |
1 (.546) |
2007 |
Catherine Kraayeveld |
3-Pt FG Pct. |
8 (.411) |
2007 |
Loree Moore |
Assists Per Game |
4 (4.79) |
2007 |
Loree Moore |
Steals Per Game |
2 (2.21) |
2007 |
Loree Moore |
Minutes Per Game |
5 (34.2) |
2006 |
Shameka Christon |
Scoring Average |
19 (12.4) |
2006 |
Loree Moore |
Assists Per Game |
12 (3.6) |
2006 |
Erin Thorn |
3-Pt FG Pct. |
1 (.431) |
2006 |
Becky Hammon |
Free Throw Pct. |
1 (.960) |
2006 |
Loree Moore |
Steals Per Game |
8 (1.79) |
2006 |
Shameka Christon |
Blocks Per Game |
7 (1.24) |
2005 |
Becky Hammon |
Scoring Average |
10 (13.9) |
2005 |
Ann Wauters |
Scoring Average |
13 (13.7) |
2005 |
Elena Baranova |
Rebounds Per Game |
7 (6.9) |
2005 |
Ann Wauters |
Rebounds Per Game |
10 (6.6) |
2005 |
Becky Hammon |
Assists Per Game |
8 (4.3) |
2005 |
Vickie Johnson |
Assists Per Game |
18 (2.7) |
2005 |
Ann Wauters |
Field Goal Pct. |
2 (.541) |
2005 |
Becky Hammon |
Free Throw Pct. |
1 (.901) |
2005 |
Shameka Christon |
Free Throw Pct. |
7 (.855) |
2005 |
Becky Hammon |
Steals Per Game |
6 (1.76) |
2005 |
Elena Baranova |
Blocks Per Game |
7 (1.39) |
2005 |
Becky Hammon |
Minutes Per Game |
4 (34.7) |
2004 |
Becky Hammon |
Scoring Average |
14 (13.5) |
2004 |
Crystal Robinson |
Scoring Average |
19 (12.1) |
2004 |
Elena Baranova |
Rebounds Per Game |
5 (7.2) |
2004 |
Becky Hammon |
Assists Per Game |
7 (4.4) |
2004 |
Vickie Johnson |
Assists Per Game |
11 (3.6) |
2004 |
Elena Baranova |
Field Goal Pct. |
10 (.463) |
2004 |
Elena Baranova |
3-Pt FG Pct. |
2 (.461) |
2004 |
Vickie Johnson |
Free Throw Pct. |
2 (.886) |
2004 |
Becky Hammon |
Steals Per Game |
7 (1.71) |
2004 |
Elena Baranova |
Blocks Per Game |
4 (1.71) |
2003 |
Vickie Johnson |
Scoring Average |
15 (13.4) |
2003 |
Tari Phillips |
Rebounds Per Game |
5 (8.5) |
2003 |
Teresa Weatherspoon |
Assists Per Game |
6 (4.4) |
2003 |
Becky Hammon |
3-Pt FG Pct. |
1 (.469) |
2003 |
Becky Hammon |
Free Throw Pct. |
1 (.951) |
2003 |
Vickie Johnson |
Free Throw Pct. |
10 (.859) |
2003 |
Tari Phillips |
Steals Per Game |
5 (1.70) |
2003 |
Elena Baranova |
Blocks Per Game |
8 (1.30) |
2002 |
Tari Phillips |
Scoring Average |
17 (14.1) |
2002 |
Tari Phillips |
Rebounds Per Game |
8 (7.0) |
2002 |
Teresa Weatherspoon |
Assists Per Game |
3 (5.7) |
2002 |
Tari Phillips |
Field Goal Pct. |
7 (.491) |
2002 |
Vickie Johnson |
3-Pt FG Pct. |
4 (.421) |
2002 |
Tari Phillips |
Steals Per Game |
7 (1.81) |
2002 |
Tamika Whitmore |
Blocks Per Game |
7 (1.34) |
2001 |
Tari Phillips |
Scoring Average |
7 (15.3) |
2001 |
Tari Phillips |
Rebounds Per Game |
5 (8.0) |
2001 |
Teresa Weatherspoon |
Assists Per Game |
2 (6.3) |
2001 |
Tari Phillips |
Field Goal Pct. |
5 (.507) |
2001 |
Crystal Robinson |
3-Pt FG Pct. |
7 (.417) |
2000 |
Tari Phillips (Por-NY) |
Scoring Average |
16 (13.8) |
2000 |
Tari Phillips (Por-NY) |
Rebounds Per Game |
4 (8.0) |
2000 |
Teresa Weatherspoon |
Assists Per Game |
2 (6.4) |
2000 |
Vickie Johnson |
3-Pt FG Pct. |
10 (.380) |
2000 |
Becky Hammon |
Free Throw Pct. |
4 (.884) |
2000 |
Vickie Johnson |
Free Throw Pct. |
5 (.882) |
2000 |
Teresa Weatherspoon |
Steals Per Game |
6 (2.03) |
2000 |
Sue Wicks |
Blocks Per Game |
8 (1.22) |
1999 |
Vickie Johnson |
Scoring Average |
16 (13.3) |
1999 |
Sue Wicks |
Rebounds Per Game |
7 (7.0) |
1999 |
Kym Hampton |
Rebounds Per Game |
18 (5.6) |
1999 |
Teresa Weatherspoon |
Assists Per Game |
2 (6.4) |
1999 |
Vickie Johnson |
Assists Per Game |
12 (3.3) |
1999 |
Crystal Robinson |
3-Pt FG Pct. |
4 (.437) |
1999 |
Teresa Weatherspoon |
3-Pt FG Pct. |
10 (.378) |
1999 |
Crystal Robinson |
Free Throw Pct. |
8 (.845) |
1999 |
Vickie Johnson |
Free Throw Pct. |
9 (.837) |
1999 |
Teresa Weatherspoon |
Steals Per Game |
2 (2.44) |
1999 |
Sue Wicks |
Blocks Per Game |
7 (1.34) |
1999 |
Teresa Weatherspoon |
Minutes Per Game |
9 (33.9) |
1999 |
Vickie Johnson |
Minutes Per Game |
10 (33.8) |
1998 |
Sophia Witherspoon |
Scoring Average |
12 (13.8) |
1998 |
Vickie Johnson |
Scoring Average |
19 (12.5) |
1998 |
Rebecca Lobo |
Rebounds Per Game |
8 (6.9) |
1998 |
Kym Hampton |
Rebounds Per Game |
13 (6.0) |
1998 |
Teresa Weatherspoon |
Assists Per Game |
2 (6.4) |
1998 |
Vickie Johnson |
Assists Per Game |
20 (2.5) |
1998 |
Rebecca Lobo |
Field Goal Pct. |
6 (.484) |
1998 |
Vickie Johnson |
3-Pt FG Pct. |
7 (.375) |
1998 |
Teresa Weatherspoon |
Steals Per Game |
1 (3.33) |
1998 |
Rebecca Lobo |
Blocks Per Game |
6 (1.10) |
1998 |
Teresa Weatherspoon |
Minutes Per Game |
7 (33.4) |
1997 |
Sophia Witherspoon |
Socring Average |
7 (14.5) |
1997 |
Rebecca Lobo |
Scoring Average |
14 (12.4) |
1997 |
Rebecca Lobo |
Rebounds Per Game |
5 (7.3) |
1997 |
Kym Hampton |
Rebounds Per Game |
11 (5.8) |
1997 |
Teresa Weatherspoon |
Assists Per Game |
1 (6.1) |
1997 |
Vickie Johnson |
Assists Per Game |
16 (2.5) |
1997 |
Kym Hampton |
Field Goal Pct. |
5 (.471) |
1997 |
Sophia Witherspoon |
3-Pt FG Pct. |
7 (.349) |
1997 |
Teresa Weatherspoon |
Steals Per Game |
1 (3.04) |
1997 |
Rebecca Lobo |
Blocks Per Game |
4 (1.82) |
1997 |
Kym Hampton |
Blocks Per Game |
10 (.68) |
1997 |
Rebecca Lobo |
Minutes Per Game |
8 (33.5) |
1997 |
Teresa Weatherspoon |
Minutes Per Game |
10 (33.0) |