Germany's Leonie Fiebich going for WNBA title ? DW ? 10
Having taken a winding road to the world?s top women?s basketball league, the WNBA title is now within reach for Germany forward Leonie Fiebich.
With a minute and a half to go in Game 2 of the WNBA Finals between the New York Liberty and Minnesota Lynx, Leonie Fiebich takes a quick glance at the basket before sinking a three-pointer. New York's lead is restored to nine points ? and the Liberty cruise to an 80-66 win.
This came as her team looked to be on the verge of blowing it in front of a record crowd of 18,040 spectators in Brooklyn's Barclays Center ? just like in Game 1, when New York let an 18-point lead slip through their hands on the way to a 95-93 overtime loss.
Not this time, though, as Leonie Fiebich saw to it that New York leveled the series at one apiece in the best-of-five series.
Winding road to the WNBA
The German forward's steep rise essentially came out of nowhere. When Fiebich moved to New York Liberty in the offseason, she was very much an unknown quantity, and at first received little attention from her opponents. She took advantage of her freedom on the court, becoming an important part of her team.
"Nobody knew me at the beginning," the 24-year-old told German public broadcaster Deutschlandfunk. "That was really cool, I was able to play to my strengths a bit. Nobody knew that I could throw the ball quite well."
The 1.93 m. (6'4") is now a starter for the New York Liberty, who are favorites against the Lynx.
The path to the WNB A was anything but straightforward for the Germany player. By the age of 14 she was already playing with the women at her club in the southern state of Bavaria. But it was by no means a direct jump from the small town of Landsberg am Lech to the Big Apple.
"Yes, that sounds like a good storyline, doesn't it?" Fiebich said. "But it wasn't like that. I had many stops in between. The amount of work that went into it was and is very exhausting."
'They had no use for me'
Fiebich was playing for former German women's champions TSV Wasserburg in 2020 when the Los Angeles Sparks selected her 22nd overall in the WNBA draft. A year later, the Sparks traded her WNBA rights to the Chicago Sky. However, neither team even tried to contact her.
"I guess they had no use for me," Fiebich recently said. "They acted like I didn't even belong."
Instead of the WNBA, her career path took her to Les Flammes Carolo Basket in France before a move to the Warwick Senators in Perth, Australia. In 2022 she signed with Basket Zaragoza, where Fiebich was twice named the Spanish league's Most Valuable Player before getting the call from the New York Liberty, who had by then acquired her WNBA rights.
Leonie Fiebich was a standout for Germany at the Paris Games Image: Roger Buerke/Eibner-Pressefoto/picture alliance
It didn't take long for the German to hit her stride finishing the regular season as a +7 and being named to the WNBA All-Rookie Team.
"I've worked my way up, I'm a starter in the playoffs,? Fiebich told German public broadcaster ARD, noting that there are "quite a few? Europeans in the WNBA who "hardly get any playing time.?
Calm-and-collected team player
Her fellow players and coaches are delighted with the strong performance of Fiebich, who was one of Germany's best players at the Paris Olympic Games in July and August.
Liberty star Breanna Stewart describes Fiebich as a team player.
"She really does everything she can to give her team a chance to win," Stewart said.
Three-time WNBA All-Star Sabrina Ionescu added: "She's probably our best shooter.
"The fact that she's playing like this as a rookie and putting herself at the service of the team is impressive."
Nyara Sabally and Leonie Fiebich are hoping to follow in Marlies Askamp's footsteps Image: Pamela Smith/AP Photo/picture alliance
New York coach Sandy Brondello particularly appreciates Fiebich's composure and consistency.
"Nothing fazes her," Brondello said after the WNBA quarterfinals. "That's what we love about her. Whether it's the regular season or the playoffs, she always brings the same mentality.?
Even Becky Hammon, coach of the Las Vegas Acers who lost to the Liberty in the semifinals, is full of praise for the German.
"I love Fiebich, I'm a big fan," Hammon said. "She's close enough to her opponent that you can't just throw the ball over her, but at the same time far enough away that you can't just dribble past her. And she's deadly on three-pointers."
The numbers back this up; Fiebich scored on 43.3% of her three-point attempts in the regular season. This was the second-best figure for a rookie in the 27-year history of the league.
Only one German has ever won the WNBA championship ? Marlies Askamp with the Los Angeles Sparks in 2020. Fiebich and Liberty teammate Nyara Sabally could be about to join her.
This article was originally published in German.
