The power to induce audible gasps, exclamations, and shrieks of delight: is there a cooler trait a basketball player can possess? Being good helps, sure, but making basketball fun is among the most enviable and infectious of talents.
A run-of-the-mill regular season win will likely be a part of league-wide conversation for 24 hours; a dazzling highlight from the same game lives on in basketball lore.
Don’t get me wrong: Marine Johannès is an above-average, impact player on a WNBA playoff team, but it’s her ability to leave jaws on the floor that separates her from the vast majority of hoopers worldwide.
Before traveling to the United States early in the 2022 regular season, the New York Liberty were a middling club, their games missing a spark, aside from the odd Sabrina Ionescu logo three.
After Johannès joined the team and appeared in her first action on June 10, New York became must-watch TV.
It would be selling Johannès short to focus solely on the highlights (we’ll get there!). Despite the rightful attention directed toward Johannès’ passing skills, it was her ability to knock down three-pointers that stood out most in 2022. She nailed 43.7 percent of her attempts from deep, and these were not easy shots.
Many were off-balance, in transition, or contested, far more difficult than simple catch-and-shoot looks. Per Basketball Reference, Johannès finished second in True Shooting Percentage (.637) among players who played in at least one-third of their team’s games, trailing only Minnesota’s Sylvia Fowles (.638).
Johannès’ shooting efficiency and her ability to freeze defenders with mind-bending passes led New York to a 12-12 regular season record with her in the lineup, a stark improvement from the 4-8 mark it posted before she arrived.
“But enough with the numbers,” shouts anyone reading this, presumably. “We want the highlights!”
Copy that.
Johannès uses the zestiest of flavors to season her passes and shots. Her game overflows with punch and pizzazz.
Consider her second WNBA assist of 2022, less than three minutes into entering that June 10 contest. Looking at Michaela Onyenwere here as she passed her the ball would reek of banality; Johannès had to sprinkle some spice on it. And still, the ball landed directly in Onyenwere’s shooting pocket.
Or how about her first ever WNBA playoff assist, which came in a stunning upset at Chicago (more on that game later)? Johannès utilizes this type of pass often against hard hedges, like Azurá Stevens employs here.
With two defenders trying to neutralize Johannès’ deadly vision and chops, Candace Parker is left on a lonely island between Stefanie Dolson and a rolling Natasha Howard. Johannès whips an absolute laser to Howard before Parker can recover.
Somehow, neither of the dimes highlighted above crack Johannès’ top ten highlights of 2022, at least in this writer’s eyes. Let’s delve into the 27-year-old’s most astonishing plays of the season, and break down what exactly makes her so lethal on the offensive end.
Marine No. 10
Johannès and Dolson displayed wonderful chemistry throughout the 2022 season (I’d posit Dolson and Han Xu were the biggest beneficiaries of Johannès’ unselfishness).
Here, the duo runs a pick-and-roll targeting two of the best defenders in the league: Gabby Williams and Ezi Magbegor. Generally, Magbegor is able to hold her own switching onto guards on the perimeter. Not this time.
Because Dolson and Johannès enter this action using a handoff, Johannès already has a head of steam. Thus, Magbegor begins the play on her heels.
One underrated aspect of Johannès’ toolkit is her sturdy handle. As she goes right and prepares to enter the lane, watch Williams recover onto Johannès.
The exact moment Johannès hits “send” on her dizzying behind-the-back crossover, both Williams and Magbegor stand directly in front of her.
By the time Johannès lifts off her left leg to launch a silky jumper, Williams has done a 180, her back now facing the Liberty guard, and Magbegor has stumbled backwards, leaving enough space between herself and Johannès to lay down a blanket and hold a picnic.
