The Liberty brought in the Georgia Tech standout through a trade with Seattle before ending the evening with the arrival of 19-year-old from Mali.
The New York Liberty kept busy at the 2022 WNBA Draft after the arrival of Nyara Sabally in the fifth overall slot. New York used its regularly scheduled third round pick to take Mali-born forward/center Sika Kone with the 29th overall selection, which followed a trade back into the second round that landed Georgia Tech forward Lorela Cubaj at No. 18.
“We had a great draft tonight,” Liberty head coach Sandy Brondello said in a team statement. “Our three selections were all players who we had actually discussed targeting within the first round.”
While only Sabally heard her name in the first dozen selections, Cubaj and Kone each brought their own share of positives that landed them on WNBA radars. Cubaj (pronounced Coo-bye), for example, recently wrapped up a five-year career in Atlanta with double-double averages (10.1 points, 11.1 rebounds) and her second straight ACC Defensive Player of the Year Award (succeeding new teammate Kylee Shook). Under her watch, the Yellow Jackets earned consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances for the first time in a decade (2007-12) and she also departed Atlanta as the program’s all-time leader in rebounds.
Cubaj was originally drafted by the Seattle Storm, but her rights were transferred to the Liberty, who sent their second-round pick in next year’s draft to the Pacific Northwest. New York’s original second round pick, No. 17 overall (eventually used on North Carolina State’s Elissa Cunane), was originally sent to Seattle last offseason, in the trade that acquired Natasha Howard.
The Liberty have made the most of their recent second-round selections, which include current reps Shook and DiDi Richards, the latter appearing on the Association’s official All-Rookie team last season alongside first-rounder and overall Rookie of the Year Michaela Onyenwere. New York management has indicated that they foresee a similar path for Cubaj.
“Lorela was a player who we were evaluating at No. 5, so trading for an additional pick became a priority of ours as the draft progressed,” Liberty general manager Jonathan Kolb said. “She embodies the attributes and intangibles we are looking to add to our young core, and she’ll have the opportunity to develop alongside several WNBA Champions in our frontcourt.”
In their final activity of the evening, the Liberty welcomed in one of the most-talked about international prospects for the draft in Kone (pronounced Koh-nay). Born in the capital of Bamako, the 19-year-old Kone made a name for herself through both appearances on the Malian national team and Spanish club SPAR Gran Canaria.
On the international circuit, Kone paced all rebounders at the 2019 FIBA U19 Women’s Basketball World Cup in Thailand with 13.9 per game while guiding Mali to a seventh-place finish (capping things off with a 26-point, 18-rebound double-double in the seventh-place game win over Japan). In the most recent edition, held in Hungary last summer, Kone was the tournament’s leading rebounder (14.8 per game) and scorer (19.7) en route to a semifinal appearance. For her efforts, Kone was named to the All-Tournament Team headlined by current American collegiate star Caitlin Clark.
Kone then averaged 12.6 points and 11.3 rebounds in her most recent Spanish endeavors.
“Kone is a great young talent who is only going to get better with time and experience,” Brondello said. “Her athleticism and presence in the paint is a strength and we look forward to her continuing to improve her game over time.”
Fresh off their first playoff appearance since 2017, the Liberty will open training camp activities on Sunday. Tip-off is scheduled for May 7 at Barclays Center against the Connecticut Sun.
Main Image: Lorela Cabaj | Rich von Biberstein / Associated Press
Geoff Magliocchetti is on Twitter @GeoffJMags
