Women's Health September 23, 2026 0 Comments

Unlocking the Secret Power of the New York Liberty’s Mascots: How They Bridge WNBA Legends with Today’s Game-Changers

Ever wonder what happens when a beloved mascot usurps a new stage yet refuses to vanish completely, like that surprisingly spry golden retriever who danced her way into the hearts of New York Liberty fans for over two decades? Maddie’s not your average mascot—she wasn’t just hopping from letter to letter on the MSG court; she was the heartbeat of summer in the Big Apple, leading cheers to the catchy beat of “Gotta Get Up.” But just when you thought the era was over—poof! The Liberty switched boroughs, adopted a fresh face (Ellie the Elephant), and seemed to close Maddie’s chapter. Spoiler alert: Maddie’s story didn’t end there. The intertwining legacies of Maddie and Ellie beautifully showcase a franchise that honors its roots while charging boldly into the future. There’s magic in that balance, in the nods to nostalgia mixed with new-age energy—could a mascot’s journey be a metaphor for reinvention itself? Dive into the tale of these two iconic figures and what their coexistence means for one of the WNBA’s original powerhouses. LEARN MORE

5 min read

For 23 years, in the dog days of New York City summer, an anthropomorphic golden retriever named Maddie patrolled the sidelines at Madison Square Garden. As the emphatic hype-dog of one of the WNBA’s original franchises, the New York Liberty, she hopped letter to letter across the team name painted on the court, leading fans in the “Gotta Get Up” anthem.

Then, in 2021, the Liberty changed ownership, changed boroughs, and changed mascots. Ellie the Elephant arrived in Brooklyn, and Maddie elegantly faded back into franchise history.

But real fans know she never actually left.

When Ellie was born, Liberty CEO Keia Clarke and Chief Brand Officer Shana Stephenson agreed that Maddie hadn’t done her last hop. A torch-passing video the team made for Ellie’s debut, in which Maddie walks down to the subway at 34th Street and comes up the escalator at Barclays Center to greet her successor with a warm hug, was intentionally choreographed for fans to interpret Maddie’s future with their own imagination.

At the same time, a mascot named for the team’s previous home didn’t make sense in Brooklyn. “Maddie was so beloved by our fan base,” Stephenson tells Women’s Health. “It just didn’t make logical sense for us to bring Maddie, named after our former building, to Brooklyn and Barclays Center. So we knew that we had to introduce a new mascot, but we also knew that there was no reason that Maddie couldn’t coexist alongside Ellie on occasion.”

Clarke and Stephenson had always planned to bring the loyal pup back for milestone moments—like a championship, which the Liberty finally secured in 2024. And sure enough, there was Maddie, dancing down the ticker-tape parade route from New York City’s Canyon of Heroes to City Hall. “It was the first parade in franchise history, and fans had waited a long time for that,” Stephenson says. “And Maddie was such an integral part of our brand, and a reason why our fans were fans of the team, that it only felt right that we have her be a part of the celebration.”

Then came 2026, the WNBA’s 30th anniversary season, which is also the Liberty’s. In order to get it right, Stephenson and her team began brainstorming ideas last October. They teased Maddie’s return in the schedule release video in January. Then they officially brought Maddie back for eight theme nights, the last of which is tonight, to pay tribute to the history of one of the league’s OG franchises and revive traditions that defined the MSG-era experience.

Yes, Maddie is still letter-jumping, which only works, Stephenson says, because the team also dusted off its original throwback court for those games—the modern Barclays Center court design doesn’t spell “LIBERTY” in the same way. “That is also what makes it feel so nostalgic, so special, so one of a kind, so very much only associated with Maddie,” Stephenson says. “That’s the court that she knew.”

Brandon Todd/New York Liberty

Every moment was designed with longtime fans top of mind—and none of it, Stephenson says, was intended to pit one mascot against the other. Ellie, after all, has become something of a viral sensation in the last few years, whether she’s performing her own “Ellie Stomp” dance in the fourth quarter or sitting front row at New York Fashion Week.

“Maddie is an older mascot, so she represents the past and the ‘then’ of the Liberty. And we’re fine with that. Maddie is fine with owning what the personality was then and doesn’t feel pressure,” Stephenson says. “Maddie does not have to try to be Ellie or keep up with Ellie and compete with Ellie and do Ellie’s dances, because there’s only one Ellie.”

It helps that both characters are consummate professionals, both in and out of their costumes. The current performer embodying Maddie, Stephenson says, is the same person who has worn the Maddie costume since the later years at the Garden. “It wasn’t like we needed to reinvent who Maddie was, because Maddie has existed with this person for several years,” she says. “So it just was natural for them to put the costume back on and reclaim the role.”

Marcus Stevens / ESPN Images

Together at Last

Women’s Health got the chance to speak with Maddie and Ellie in a rare joint interview last month. The two mascots sat back-to-back on barstools in the tunnel at Barclays Center to trade exaggerated answers to a round of superlatives: Maddie in her Statue of Liberty crown and number 97 Liberty jersey, a nod to the franchise’s founding in 1997; Ellie in her outfit du jour, featuring a teal and black wig, camouflage pants with gold chain detail, and a designer duffel bag in her lap.

“Most likely to win a game of 1-on-1?” Maddie seems to weigh the decision, while Ellie confidently declares herself a hooper, shooting an imaginary bucket.

“Who has the best T-shirt toss?” Maddie pumps a fist in the air, and Ellie nods in agreement.

“Who spends more time on social media?” Ellie pats her chest and points a long acrylic nail (you don’t get more than half a million followers across Instagram and TikTok without effort, after all). Maddie throws her paws wide in a rainbow—way, way more time.

Maddie and Ellie interact like old friends, hugging for an outfit photo in the arrivals tunnel and clutching their hearts when asked how it feels to be reunited this season. It’s a perfect representation of what the Liberty hope to achieve in this anniversary year: Moving the game forward while celebrating the icons of the past.

“There is this new growth and this new interest in the league, and we want people to feel like they do have the right to honor the past, to learn about the past,” Stephenson says. “It’s important for us to educate them in that way.” The team hosts a Legends Weekend every year to give former players, the foundation of the WNBA, their well-earned flowers.

Seeing the throwback court, uniforms, and logo inside Barclays Center is nostalgic, and at the same time, “the spirit of present-day Brooklyn is also undeniable,” Stephenson says. “They do coexist in a way that just feels seamless.”

Whether Maddie will make an appearance next season is still undecided. “We haven’t really thought about anything beyond this season, honestly,” Stephenson says. The Liberty are playoffs-bound for the sixth consecutive season, and a championship would likely mean another parade cameo.

Beyond that, it depends on what stories the Liberty want to tell next. “Our fans embrace it all,” Stephenson says. “It really just speaks to the love that our fans have for the game and the brand that we’ve built and how they’ve really embraced us since we relocated to Brooklyn.”

Amanda Lucci is the director of special projects at Women’s Health, where she works on multi-platform brand initiatives and social media strategy. She also leads the sports and athletes vertical, traveling to cover the Paris Olympics, Women’s World Cup, WNBA Finals, and NCAA Final Four for WH. She has nearly 15 years of experience writing, editing, and managing social media for national and international publications and is also a NASM-certified personal trainer. A proud native of Pittsburgh, PA, she is a graduate of Ohio University’s E.W. Scripps School of Journalism. Follow her on Instagram @alucci.