Over the final 12 days of 2018, each day we will look back at the year that was for a WNBA team, reminiscing over some of the best moments from the past year and looking ahead to the upcoming year as well. Up next is the New York Liberty, who began a new era under first-year head coach Katie Smith.

Season Recap

Record: 7-27, 15-win dropoff from 2017
Finish: 5^th in Eastern Conference, 11^th overall
Postseason: Missed playoffs for first time since 2014
Awards: Katie Smith named to Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame
Leaders: Points (Tina Charles, 19.7); Rebounds (Charles, 7.0); Assists (Brittany Boyd, 5.3); Steals (Boyd, 1.2); Blocks (Kiah Stokes, 0.6); 3-Pointers (Sugar Rodgers, 1.4)

Key Offseason Questions

Was the 2018 season an outlier or a trend?

After finishing atop the Eastern Conference for three straight years (2015-17), the Liberty concluded the 2018 season with a franchise-worst 7-27 record for a fifth place finish in the East and 11^th overall in Katie Smith’s first season as head coach.

New York entered the 2018 season as a team that had great regular season success (an average record of 22-12 over the previous three seasons) but was unable to replicate that success in the postseason, resulting in multiple early playoff exits.

Finishing with only seven wins and closing the season on a 13-game losing streak didn’t seem possible for this team, especially with franchise cornerstone Tina Charles healthy. But it happened. And now its up to Charles and the rest of her teammates to prove that 2018 was an aberration and get themselves back into the upper echelon of not only in their conference, but the league as a whole.

What direction do they go in the draft?

New York holds the second pick in the upcoming WNBA Draft as they will look for a player that can come in and contribute right away. Smith was open to discussing the needs the Liberty will look to fill come April.

“We are looking at the guard position,” she said following the Draft Lottery. “Whether it is at the point guard spot, the two-guard or a scoring option in the backcourt. We were able to get Kia Nurse who can play one-three. Selecting a guard and then having a consistent go-to at the five who can produce and be productive is something that we can really use.”

Best On-Court Moment

Tina Charles reaches 5,000 career points

All-Star center Tina Charles had another strong campaign in 2018 as she averaged 19.7 points (7^th in WNBA) and 7.0 rebounds (12^th in WNBA) in her ninth WNBA season and fifth with the Liberty.

On June 22, facing her former coach Bill Laimbeer and the Las Vegas Aces, Charles scored 14 points to become the 19^th player in WNBA history to score 5,000 career points.

Charles reached the milestone in her 275^th game, making her the fifth fastest to 5,000 points, trailing only Diana Taurasi (243) Angel McCoughtry (257), Lauren Jackson (259) and Cappie Pondexter (260). Charles also became just the eighth player in WNBA history to reach 5,000 points and 2,500 rebounds.

Kia Nurse Makes A Statement

It didn’t take long for Kia Nurse to make an impression during her rookie season in the WNBA. The 10^th overall pick in the 2018 Draft scored a career-high 34 points in just her fourth game as a pro.

In an 87-81 overtime win over Indiana, Nurse put on an outstanding all-around performance. Not only did she score 34 points on 8-16 shooting from the field, 3-8 from beyond the arc and 15-16 from the line, she also had nine rebounds, four assists, two steals and a block as she demonstrated the type of impact she can have on both sides of the court.

Nurse appeared in all 34 games for the Liberty in 2018 and finished fifth among rookies in scoring (9.1 points per game) and 3-pointers made (37 total), seventh in assists (1.6 per game) and ninth steals (0.7 per game).

While she was never able to match that 34-point performance from the second week of the season, she did finish with 13 games scoring in double figures, including three more games with at least 20 points.

Shavonte Zellous’ game-winner

And lets not forget when Shavonte Zellous called “Game” (she may not have called “Glass” though) as she drained a 3-pointer off the glass as time expired to give the Liberty a 79-76 win over the Sun in Connecticut on July 11.

Hey @nyliberty fans, remember this @SZellous1 moment?! #ShowUp?@ConnecticutSun and Liberty scored game-winners on each other in 2⃣0⃣1⃣8⃣ ?

Who's ready for the rematch on July 24th ⁉️ pic.twitter.com/Grk3AZfcYX

— WNBA (@WNBA) December 21, 2018

Best Off-Court Moment

Katie Smith inducted into Hall of Fame

In addition to tipping off her first season as a WNBA head coach, 2018 also saw Katie Smith get the ultimate basketball honor – induction into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.

She was announced as an enshrinee – along with fellow WNBA legend Tina Thompson – in March and was inducted during the September ceremony. During her playing days, Smith was a two-time WNBA champion, a two-time ABL champion and three-time Olympic gold medalist. She earned WNBA Finals MVP honors in 2008 with the Detroit Shock and was selected as a WNBA All-Star seven times and was named to the WNBA’s Top 20 at 20, a collection of the top 20 players from the first 20 years of the WNBA.

Getting the second pick in the 2019 WNBA Draft

While the Liberty closed out the 2018 season with 13 straight losses, they did pick up a major victory at the beginning of the offseason as they beat the odds and moved up in the WNBA Draft lottery.

New York entered the night with the fourth-best odds of earning the top pick. And although they didn’t climb all the way up to No. 1, they did leapfrog two teams to earn the second pick in the upcoming draft, giving New York a great opportunity to add an impact player from this year’s prospects.

“This is an exciting day for us,” said Smith after the Draft Lottery concluded. “You go in and we’re expecting fourth pick and ready to draft and go after it. You want to do your homework and add to the crew we already have. Then Chicago gets the fourth pick and then you get greedy! Now, why not continue to shake this up? I was definitely getting anxious getting ready to explode with moving up already that far.”

GIF of the Year

The Liberty bench was a constant source of GIF reactions throughout the season with a variety of scoring celebrations, dance moves and high fives, but for the GIF of the year, we had to go with this 3-point celebration by Marissa Coleman with an assist from Tina Charles with the low five as they headed back on defense.

Photos of the Year

Check out some of the top images from the Liberty throughout the 2018 season.

New Year’s Resolution

The Liberty have to put a forgetful 2018 season in the rearview and forge ahead to prove that last season was an exception to the standard of New York Liberty basketball. The goal must be to get back into the postseason. And while that would take them more than doubling their win total from this past season, the core of this team has won 20-plus games in the past. And armed with a top-two pick in the draft, the Liberty should be able to find a player that can contribute from day one and make an immediate impact.