The New York Liberty general manager Jonathan Kolb was recently named the 2023 WNBA Executive of the Year after assembling a superb team that is only eight victories away from capturing the first WNBA championship title in the franchise’s history.
The prestigious award was determined through voting by the 12 team executives in the league, with each prohibited from voting for themselves. Kolb received 6 first-place votes, while Dallas’ Greg Bibb and Connecticut’s Darius Taylor also got multiple first-place votes (2 each).
In just one year, the Liberty transformed from barely qualifying for the playoffs to becoming serious championship contenders. This dramatic turnaround was sparked by an unparalleled offseason where New York gained 2021 MVP Jonquel Jones through a three-team trade and signed 2018 MVP Breanna Stewart along with seven-time WNBA assists leader Courtney Vandersloot as free agents.
