Leonie Fiebich catches fire: German top talent enchants the WNBA

Leonie Fiebich catches fire
German top talent enchants the WNBA

25.09.2024, 18:00

The New York Liberty are in the semifinals of the WNBA. A new face has played a major role in this: Leonie Fiebich was recently selected for the rookies’ all-star team in the strongest league in the world. And she has already taught her coach a German word.

How do you say in your home country when someone is “on fire”? This question threw Leonie Fiebich off track. Her coach Sandy Brondello promptly suggested “Heiß” in perfect German, but the national basketball player, who is undoubtedly “on fire” in the WNBA at the moment, could only utter an injured “Nooo”.

“We just say it in English. We use a lot of English words in basketball. ‘On fire’ would work,” said the 24-year-old, who dreamed of winning the title with New York Liberty in the debut of her season – and thus denied the US journalists the opportunity to use her German lesson to describe her current strong performances in the strongest league in the world in her native language.

Career best in first knockout game

To say that Fiebich is “on fire” in the WNBA these weeks would be an understatement. When the Landsberg native has turned it on recently, the court has been on fire. She delivered a career-high 21 points in the 83:69 win against the Atlanta Dream in her first ever play-off game, and with the 91:82 victory in game two of the quarter-final series, Fiebich and Co. made it to the semi-finals on Wednesday night.

Although the German “only” scored nine points this time alongside her compatriot Nyara Sabally, she was again able to reliably hit her threes. “Nothing can unsettle her,” said Brondello: “That’s what we love about her. Whether it’s the regular season or the playoffs: she always brings the same mentality.” And thus plays a major role in the runner-up fighting for a ticket to the big title showdown in the rematch of the previous season’s final against the Las Vegas Aces starting on Sunday.

No ordinary rookie

The truth is, of course, that Fiebich is no ordinary “rookie.” Not only is she one of the key figures in the German national team, during her time at Casademont Zaragoza she won the Spanish Cup and was voted the league’s best player twice. It has long been clear that she can make the jump to the WNBA. Her engagement by New York before the season is no surprise.

But the way Fiebich is racing through her rookie season – she was recently voted into the All Rookie Team – is absolutely impressive. Sometimes she excels as a shooter, sometimes she shines with her strong defense. Often from the bench, now even sometimes as a starter. Leonie Fiebich has, and that might be an appropriate translation, caught fire.