New York’s biggest sports stories of 2023, from Aaron Rodgers joining the Jets to Kyrie Irving forcing his way out
Sports in New York were as eventful as ever in 2023, even if there wasn’t much winning to show for it.
Marquee additions and similarly big-name departures transformed the rosters of the Yankees, Mets, Jets, Nets and Liberty, while devastating injuries robbed superstars of what could have been special seasons.
There were standout performances and reasons for optimism, but missed expectations prevailed as a theme for many of the local teams.
At least it was never boring.
Here are the biggest New York sports stories of 2023.
AARON RODGERS SAGA
No athlete, coach or front-office figure commanded more attention than the outspoken Rodgers, whom the Jets acquired in April with the hope the four-time NFL MVP quarterback would end their 54-year Super Bowl drought.
From the prolonged trade discussions with the Packers to the circus-like preseason fueled by HBO’s “Hard Knocks,” the Rodgers saga felt like a soap opera long before he took a regular-season snap in a Jets uniform.
As it turned out, Rodgers made it only four plays into Week 1 before suffering a torn Achilles, pressing benched backup Zach Wilson into duty for what proved to be another disappointing Jets season.
Rodgers never disappeared as a talking point, though, as the 40-year-old’s attempt to return from what’s normally a season-ending injury continued to dominate local and national discussions.
BASEBALL BLUES
The Yankees and Mets entered 2023 with championship aspirations, setting the stage for the potential second-ever Subway Series in the World Series.
But by September, both teams were effectively eliminated from postseason contention.
Despite a historic $360 million payroll, the Mets’ veteran rotation often looked its age; several hitters regressed; and an already vulnerable bullpen never rebounded from Edwin Diaz’s season-ending patellar tear. A firesale ensued, with the Mets trading away co-aces Justin Verlander and Max Scherzer, among others, before finishing 75-87.
The Yankees, meanwhile, sputtered on offense with a righty-heavy lineup and a revolving door of left fielders. Injuries to Aaron Judge — including a torn ligament in his big toe — limited the reigning American League MVP to 106 games, while Anthony Rizzo struggled with an undiagnosed concussion for more than two months before being shut down.
The Yankees finished 82-80, marking their worst record in three decades.
YANKEE HIGHLIGHTS
The year wasn’t all bad for the Yankees, though.
Gerrit Cole won the first Cy Young Award of his decorated career after leading the AL with a 2.63 ERA, 209 innings pitched and a 0.98 WHIP. He finished third in the AL with 222 strikeouts and 15 wins.
Then, after the season, the Yankees made their biggest offseason acquisition since signing Cole four years ago by trading for Juan Soto, whose career .421 on-base percentage ranks 19th in MLB history.
Soto, whom the Yankees acquired from the Padres, is an impending free agent with superstar pedigree, already boasting four top 10 finishes in National League MVP voting; three All-Star selections; three Silver Slugger Awards; a batting title; and a World Series championship.
Soto turned 25 in October.
RELOADED LIBERTY
One New York team that turned an exhilarating offseason into a standout season were the Liberty, who added perennial All-Stars Breanna Stewart, Jonquel Jones and Courtney Vandersloot in early 2023.
That trio, along with roster holdovers Sabrina Ionescu and Betnijah Laney, led the Liberty to a 32-8 record and a run to the WNBA Finals, where they fell in four games to the similarly star-powered Las Vegas Aces.
The .800 winning percentage was the best in franchise history.
NEW-LOOK NETS
It may feel like a lifetime ago, but Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant began 2023 as members of the Nets.
The Nets appeased Irving’s trade request in February and sent him to the Mavericks. Days later, they shipped Durant to the Suns.
The trades ending a tumultuous three-and-a-half-year era of Brooklyn basketball, during which Irving sat out much of the 2021-22 season after declining to meet New York City’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate.
The return for Durant included building blocks in Mikal Bridges and Cam Johnson, while the Irving trade brought back key players in Spencer Dinwiddie and Dorian Finney-Smith. Durant and Irving, who only won one playoff series together with Brooklyn, have continued to deliver star-level production on their new teams.
KNICKS END PLAYOFFS SCHNEID
The Knicks’ failure to trade for high-scoring star Donovan Mitchell during the 2022 offseason hung over the subsequent season, but the Knicks exceeded expectations anyway, winning 47 games to clinch the Eastern Conference No. 5 seed.
Waiting for them in the first round of the 2023 playoffs were the fourth-seeded Cleveland Cavaliers, who made the trade to acquire Mitchell from the Utah Jazz.
The Knicks managed to pull off a minor upset, beating Cleveland in five games for their first playoff series win since 2013. At the heart of that victory was Jalen Brunson, the Knicks’ biggest addition of the 2022 offseason, who scored at least 20 points in all five games.
GIANT DRAMA
The Giants’ offseason wasn’t as dramatic as that of the Jets, but it was still plenty scrutinized.
They signed quarterback Daniel Jones to a four-year, $160 million extension but failed to reach a long-term deal with star running back Saquon Barkley. Barkley ultimately agreed to a one-year deal with added incentives to replace the $10 million franchise tag the Giants had placed on him.
The Giants then got off to a brutal 2-8 start, during which Jones suffered a multi-week neck injury and a season-ending ACL tear. He threw two touchdowns and six interceptions in six games.
The out-of-nowhere emergence of undrafted rookie quarterback Tommy DeVito added a little late-season fun, though.
CLUTCH COCO
Coco Gauff made history at this summer’s U.S. Open, becoming the first American teenager to win the women’s singles tournament since Serena Williams did so in 1999.
The 19-year-old also became the first American of any age to win the tournament since Sloane Stephens in 2017.
The win marked Gauff’s first major singles title. Gauff’s path to the U.S. crown included defeating Jelena Ostapenko — who had upset top-seeded defending champ Iga Swiatek — in the quarterfinals and beating second-seeded Aryna Sabalenka in the final.
DOMINANT DJOKOVIC
The 2023 U.S. Open was also historic for Novak Djokovic, who clinched his 24th Grand Slam title by winning the tournament in Flushing.
The title moved him past Serena Williams, who won 23 Grand Slam tournaments, for the most in the Open era and extended his lead among men’s players over Rafael Nadal, who has won 22.
Nadal won the French Open and Australian Open in 2022 but was injured for most of 2023. Roger Federer, who won 20 Grand Slam titles, retired in 2022.
RED STORM RETOOL
Fresh off their fourth consecutive season without an NCAA Tournament bid, St. John’s hired New York native Rick Pitino to return a once-proud college basketball program to prominence.
Pitino, a title-winning coach with Kentucky and Louisville, vowed a quick turnaround for the Red Storm and overhauled the roster, bringing back only two players from last season.
The 71-year-old, who also coached the Knicks in the ‘80s, remains a polarizing figure. His 2013 championship with Louisville was vacated due to a sex scandal involving recruits. The university then fired him in 2017 amid a federal investigation into fraud and corruption in college basketball.
