After holding the title of ACC Defensive Player of the Year for the second straight year and making All-ACC First Team, senior Lorela Cubaj was drafted 18th overall in the WNBA Draft on Monday, April 11. She originally was selected by the Seattle Storm, but her trade rights were sent to the New York Liberty in exchange for a future second round pick. She joins 2020’s No. 1 overall pick from Oregon, Sabrina Ionescu, at the Barclays Center where the Liberty play home games.
The Liberty finished third in the Eastern Conference during the 2021 season, going 12–20 in a conference that the Connecticut Sun ran away with.