Citing personal reasons, Shook has opted out of the New York Liberty’s 2022 season, which tips off on Saturday.
BROOKLYN-The New York Liberty announced that third-year forward Kylee Shook will sit out the 2022 season due to personal reasons. With Shook’s departure and subsequent suspension of her contract, the Liberty will enter the year with 11 players on their roster, not counting Bec Allen, who is finishing international duties in Spain.
Shook was listed on the Liberty’s training camp roster but did not partake in the team’s media day activities last week. She was one of three players leftover from the Liberty’s seven-woman haul from draft night in 2020 (along with Sabrina Ionescu and Jocelyn Willoughby), where she was chosen with the 13th overall pick. The Louisville alumna was also set to reunite with Asia Durr (AD), her collegiate teammate and the second overall pick from the 2019 draft who is set to return from a two-year absence induced by COVID-19. Shook averaged 5.7 points and 4.0 rebounds over 30 games (19 starts) in her sophomore season.
Liberty general manager Jonathan Kolb expressed support for Shook in a team statement.
“I have the utmost respect for Kylee. I know that she did not come to this decision easily and while she loves her teammates, the New York Liberty organization, as well as our fans, basketball needs to be secondary for her right now,” Kolb said. “We all have our own journey and this decision is part of Kylee’s and we support her 100 percent.”
The Liberty hoped that another year of development would allow Shook to reverse the team’s interior fortunes, as the team ranked second-to-lst in rebounds per game (33.3) and last in second chance points (8.1) and points allowed in the paint (38.4). Head coach Sandy Brondello hoped veteran newcomer Stefanie Dolson would be able to become an effective mentor for Shook, claiming that the third-year forward resembled an early version of the interior threat fresh off a WNBA championship and 3-on-3 Olympic gold medal effort. The Liberty will also be missing their most recent first-round pick and interior threat Nyara Sabally, who will miss her maiden professional voyage thanks to medical issues lingering from her time at Oregon.
New York’s inside game will nonetheless feature some new yet familiar faces working alongside Dolson. The Liberty hope to have 2019’s Defensive Player of the Year and three-time WNBA champion Natasha Howard healthy for a full season after her metropolitan debut was plagued by injuries. Another 2019 draftee, the 6-foot-10-inch Han Xu, is likewise on pace for a New York comeback after two years away from American hardwood.
The Liberty’s 2022 season will open on Saturday night at Barclays Center when they battle the Connecticut Sun (6 p.m. ET, ESPN).
Geoff Magliocchetti is on Twitter @GeoffJMags
Main Image: AP Photo / Eileen T. Meslar
