By TENAJH SWEETING

Tribune Sports Reporter

tsweeting@tribunemedia.net

JONQUEL “JJ” Jones, former Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA) MVP, has decided to run it back with the New York Liberty for the upcoming season. She officially re-signed with the team on a two-year deal on Friday.

Jones expressed interest in rejoining the team during the WNBA offseason as an unrestricted free agent.

Now with the terms of the new deal all settled, the Liberty organisation and Jones will embark on another quest for the franchise’s first title.

Johnathan Kolb, general manager of the Liberty, was excited to bring back one of the team’s core pieces in the WNBA offseason.

“We are overjoyed to welcome back JJ. In just one season, she became an indelible part of the Liberty’s core identity on and off the court, and keeping her was our first priority in open free agency as we continue our championship pursuit in 2024,” Kolb said in a statement to ESPN.

Although the Liberty came up short in the 2023 WNBA Finals, the team was a mere two games away from being able to hang their first championship banner at the Barclays Center.

Jones definitely played a pivotal role for the team during the regular season and was dominant for them in the postseason.

For the 2023 season, Jones had a bumpy start with the Liberty due to a nagging foot injury while also transitioning to a new team.

However, when her name was called, she answered.

The Eastern Conference champions got an early WNBA Finals preview against the defending champions the Las Vegas Aces in the Commission- er’s Cup Championship Game.

The Grand Bahama native powered her newest team to a 82-63 victory behind a dominant 16 points, 15 rebounds double- double performance. This showing earned her the third Commissioner’s Cup MVP honours.

In the regular season, she averaged 11.3 points, 8.4 rebounds and 1.3 blocks per game.

However, she elevated her play to another level during the postseason.

The former WNBA MVP raised her output to 16.8 points, 11.6 rebounds and 2.4 blocks per game.

Additionally, she opened her postseason run with eight consecutive double-doubles to set a playoff record.

Her play in the 2023 post-season was remarkable, particularly game three of the WNBA Finals, where she carried the Liberty to a big win to keep their season alive.

She scored 27 points, her highest point total of the postseason, complemented by eight rebounds. The Grand Bahama native was also lethal from behind the arc, canning 4-of-7 shots from deep.

After closing out the 2023-24 WNBA season with a disappointing finals loss, Jones and the Liberty will be motivated to pull out another championship run that hopefully ends with a title celebration.

The team intends to bring back the 2023 MVP Breanna Stewart this offseason, keeping the core intact for 2024.

The Liberty will open their season against the Washington Mystics on May 14.