The challenge for Leonie Fiebich doubled as an advantage.
Besides hearing about the tempo and physicality, Fiebich didn’t know much about what her WNBA transition from Spanish club Casademont Zaragoza would entail.
The league didn’t know much about the 6-foot-4 wing, either.
Fiebich could be “a little bit sneaky,” she said earlier this season.
That might help create more shots.
It also bought time for development.
There weren’t expectations — or even tangible roles, as her 8.4 minutes average from the first games suggested at first.
Liberty head coach Sandy Brondello envisioned Fiebich’s potential stretching beyond just 3-pointers and defense, but that wouldn’t happen instantly.
Fiebich felt she had more games than practices the first month.
Development on the protected laboratory of a practice court would need to happen in limited doses before an expanded role — when Courtney Vandersloot was away from the Liberty due to personal reasons — allowed her numbers to rise toward the 4.4 points, 2.3 rebounds and 1.2 assists per game she carries into Saturday’s contest against the Sparks at Barclays Center.
When the Liberty defeated LA on Thursday, Fiebich made her first start and finished with three points, nine rebounds, five assists and two steals.
She became the third rookie in 2024 to collect at least five rebounds and five assists in a game, joining Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese.
She has earned regular minutes in the fourth quarter recently as part of the Liberty’s closing unit, and with Vandersloot (return to play conditioning) and Betnijah Laney-Hamilton (right knee) questionable for Saturday, Fiebich could remain critical.
“I think you can see that I’m feeling more and more comfortable out there on the court, just knowing my teammates and knowing their tendencies — where they want the ball on offense, on defense just kinda defending on a string,” Fiebich said Thursday. “I think you can really see that it’s getting better and better.”
Last season, the Liberty acquired Fiebich’s rights from the Sky in a four-team trade.
She was originally drafted in 2020, traded to Chicago the following year and kept playing in Europe — starring with Zaragoza — until inking a WNBA training-camp deal for the first time in February.
The Liberty possessed plenty of wings, though, and that meant Fiebich’s playing time would be limited.
So she adjusted on the fly.
Fiebich learned to prepare on defense as if anyone could score, as opposed to structured sets that only ended with the best shot.
There were different rules.
There were the Liberty’s tendencies that needed to mesh with her instincts.
Fiebich even determined that it’s “a little bit less physical” than in Europe because referees don’t allow the same contact, she said.
“I’ve learned that in my first games with a lot of fouls,” Fiebich said, “so now I adjusted.”
The construction of Fiebich’s skillset, with 3-pointers and defense at its core, reminded Brondello of Mercury wing Rebecca Allen, and Thursday, Fiebich ignited a third-quarter run by poking the ball from the Sparks’ Kia Nurse.
She grabbed possession, pushed it up the court, pump-faked and glanced over her shoulder.
Sabrina Ionescu trailed the fast-break sequence.
As shooters, they both think alike, Fiebich said.
That’s why she figured Ionescu would be there — somewhere.
So once she located the Liberty guard, Fiebich flipped a behind-the-back pass to Ionescu for a 3 in what became a 9-0 run.
When the Sparks trimmed a 17-point deficit to five in the fourth, Fiebich checked back in and closed alongside Breanna Stewart, Jonquel Jones, reserve Ivana Dojkic and Ionescu until Jones fouled out.
She hit a 3 from the corner to stretch the Liberty lead to nine with 2:05 left. She assisted on Ionescu’s 3-pointer 30 seconds later, too, while also collecting a pair of rebounds.
Fiebich played the entire fourth quarter against the Mystics on June 9 — a game in which she went 4 of 8 on 3s for a career-best 12 points — and the Aces later that week.
She logged another 7:19 in the final frame against the Mercury, too.
“We rave about her all the time,” Brondello said, “and it doesn’t always show on the stat sheet. … Does all the little things well.”
Those minutes might disappear after Vandersloot and Laney-Hamilton return.
But at this point, and especially after the past two weeks, Fiebich’s contributions won’t fly under the radar anymore.
She has a tangible WNBA role.
