CHICAGO — Jonquel Jones initially showed restraint.
Inside a room filled with 10 other WNBA All-Stars and dozens of reporters, cameras and iPhones Friday morning, Jones indulged in a reporter wondering how highly the Liberty center views herself.
Jones “most definitely” believes she’s one of the best basketball players in the world.
That’s without question.
“Where would I put myself?” Jones pondered. “I don’t think I can answer it.”
Jones had an answer, though.
It was a matter of whether she wanted to vocalize it.
She repeated the question again: “Where would I put myself?”
Then, came her reply.
“I’d probably say top five,” Jones said.
There it was.
Athletes don’t make it to the level Jones has without an overwhelming abundance of confidence mixed with a dash of delusion.
But if the Liberty (15-12) are going to rewrite their season’s narrative after the All-Star break, they don’t just need Jones to believe she’s one of the five best players in the world.
They need her to play like it night in and night out.
New York knows what it’s getting out of the steady Breanna Stewart, who’s building a case for MVP votes come October.
Sabrina Ionescu has the ability to get hot at any minute, and she strains a defense whether the ball is in her hands or not.
Jones, though, could be a catalyst for the Liberty’s success in the latter part of their season.
When Jones is locked in at her best, everything changes.
Offensively, she forces you to make impossible decisions.
Leave her alone on the perimeter and she’ll knock down a 3-pointer.
Switch a small defender onto her and she’ll bury them in the paint.
Send help and face the wrath of New York’s collection of shooters.
Defensively, she can help clean up mistakes before it’s too late.
She has the power to control the glass and can eliminate second-chance opportunities.
Jones influences winning.
“JJ is huge for us as a team,” Stewart said. “We just really are focused on making sure that every day we get better and when she’s her best, we continue to kind of be our best … When she’s impactful on both ends, it’s really hard for the other team to stop.”
Jones has 11 double-doubles this season, including six in the past seven games.
She’s averaging the most points (14.8 per game) and rebounds (9.2) since her MVP season in 2021.
The Liberty don’t need Jones to be just good.
They need her to be the overwhelming force she’s capable of being.
And she said she’s willing to do whatever it takes to win.
“I want to — not try to be the hero, but I want to make sure that I’m being the best teammate that I can be,” Jones said. “That I’m playing as hard as possible for everybody else.”
Jones attempted to diagnose the Liberty’s issues Friday.
She said when the team faces tough situations, “sometimes we go inward … it looks like we’re separating on the court.
“What we’re trying to do now is do a better job of talking about the things that we’re feeling on the court, talking about the things that we’re seeing and not trying to figure it out ourselves,” Jones said. “I think if we get out of being inward and be a little more outward, we’ll be a better team.”
Jones was indispensable during New York’s 2024 run.
She dominated the paint, collected offensive boards like Pokemon cards and punished defenses when they were preoccupied with other problems.
Jones was the variable in an equation that was too tough for opponents to solve.
Jones’ willingness to rank herself among the game’s elite was telling and meaningful. Not because it could make for a controversial quote or fuel online debate, but because the Liberty need that conviction to show up in every game for the rest of the season.
Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: nypost.com
