Liberty's Marine Johannes requires WNBA fans to watch basketball differently

If the first basketball player you ever set your eyes on was Marine Johannes, the sport wouldn't quite feel the same when you grew to know more about the game.

It would feel curious that no one else is taking the shots that this talented New York Liberty point guard takes, and makes. If Johannes was the first basketball player you ever saw, there'd be a part of you that would wonder if she's the very best this sport has to offer.

There can be two realities here:

• There is so much more to basketball than the things Johannes does well.
• Johannes does certain things well that no one else in the WNBA would even consider.

The clips that go somewhat viral on basketball social media can sometimes make it seem like Johannes occasionally breaks out wild shots and crazy moments, but in reality, this is just how she plays.

Take this absurd, one-legged 3-pointer she hit on Tuesday night to tie the Liberty up with the Mercury late in the fourth quarter:

Marine Johannès is RIDICULOUS 😭 pic.twitter.com/2sfE0OgOzO

That is a shot that not a single other player in the WNBA would consider attempting. And Johannes felt in that moment it was her best option, and she validated herself, too.

It might shock those in the new-to-basketball experience that Johannes doesn't even start normally. She's in the lineup more for the Liberty as Sabrina Ionescu recovers from injury.

You're not going to find many complaints, though. Johannes is playing well, and maybe most enjoyably, she's playing like here.

You simply have to watch the game differently when you watch Johannes. There are angles and moves available to her that no one else really seems to see or consider.

She may not be the perfect, or the best, basketball player. But there's certainly no one else like Marine Johannes.