A Game Day in the Life with the New York Liberty’s Marine Johannès

6 min readGame day in Brooklyn gives New York Liberty guard Marine Johannès something comforting that a road trip can’t: chores. In a hotel, she says, it can be hard to know what to do with herself (and her thoughts) in the free hours before tipoff. But in her Brooklyn apartment, the French basketball pro considers a load of laundry somewhat therapeutic.“I love cleaning, because it helps my mind,” she tells Women’s Health after shootaround at Barclays Center last Wednesday. “My favorite hobby is actually cleaning my apartment.”Clearly something is working for her. The 31-year-old is known as “The Wizard”—or “La Magicienne” to her fans in France—thanks to her signature one-legged three-pointers and jaw-dropping no-look passes that truly feel like magic in motion. She’s been a reliable asset for the Liberty this season, starting in a career-high 18 games and improving nearly every stat line compared to last year. She also led her home country of France to the FIBA Women’s Basketball World Cup finals for the first time in September, winning a silver medal.Now back in the States, Johannès’ focus now lies on the Liberty’s sixth-straight WNBA playoffs appearance, starting with a best-of-three first-round series versus the Minnesota Lynx. (They won game one Sunday in Minnesota, 91-75.) Game two is tonight at home in Brooklyn, so hopefully Johannès has some laundry piled up—the “important games” tend to make her mind race faster, she says.“During the FIBA window, during the semi-finals and the finals, I was overthinking a lot because the games are really crazy,” she says. “I try to change my mind, think about something else, do something else most of the time.”So what does life in Brooklyn look like for The Wiz? No day is really the same, she says, but a few things remain consistent. Ahead, she shares photos of a regular-season game day at Barclays Center.MorningWake-up time depends on when the Liberty have practice, which is not always on Johannès’ preferred schedule. “I’m not really a morning person,” she says with a laugh. “Yeah, I like to sleep in. Sometimes it's hard to move in the morning.”That’s become even harder since the entire team was gifted Helix mattresses after the FIBA break, customized for the way they each like to sleep. “It was so good just to be back and have a new bed,” she says. “I was really happy. And, you know, the beds here, they are bigger than most of the beds in Europe. So it's something nice.”Marine JohannèsThe Liberty’s breakfast spread before practice, with options that extend past the confines of this photo.Once she’s rolled out of that comfy new bed, she starts with skincare—face wash, serum, moisturizer, and SPF—and might curl her hair, depending on how she’s feeling. She skips coffee (we’ll get there in a bit), and heads off to Barclays Center for breakfast and practice.The team’s breakfast has your traditional eggs, yogurt, and fruit, as well as hummus and tzatziki with pita and vegetables (which Johannès grabs often). On occasion, they’ll get pancakes or waffles.Post-Practice“We have a smoothie after every practice,” Johannès says. “It depends what you like. So I will take peanut butter, chocolate, and some whey protein.” Other Liberty teammates go in more of a fruit direction. Regardless of flavor, they have Momentous products on-site to use to their liking.Marine JohannèsA made-to-order post-practice smoothie.Coming to the WNBA from overseas, having so many options provided to her was a welcome adjustment. “The big difference with here and Europe, it's the food,” she says. “Because we have a chef here, we always have food, [and] it’s something really good for us. You don't have to think about what you are going to eat.” She’s not really into cooking, so she’ll eat most of her meals at Barclays Center during the season (or snag some food in a takeout container for later).When she’s not eating at the arena, she’s ordering Thai, sushi, or Italian from one of her go-to local establishments around the corner from the arena. “I basically order the same all the time, if I have to order,” she says. “If I find a good spot, I want to go back.”Marine JohannèsPacking up a quesadilla with chicken, rice, and veggies for lunch. “It’s most of the time really good, so we are always really happy about that,” Johannès says. “It changed a lot for me.”Mid-day BreakAfter lunch, Johannès heads home for pre-game distraction time. “I call my family a lot. I call my partner,” she says. (Said partner is Golden State Valkyries forward Gabby Williams, who’s working on her own playoff run at the moment.) She’ll also stream a movie or TV show—right now she’s on episode four of the latest season of Love Is Blind UK—or partake in her favorite hobby, cleaning.After that, it’s back to bed, sometimes for two or three hours. “I really don't know how many minutes or hours I'm going to sleep,” she says of her mid-day siesta. “I put an alarm for the last minute if I don't wake up. But it can be 15 [minutes], an hour, an hour-30.” And then it’s time for coffee to get a jolt before the game.Johannès had ankle surgery three years ago, and since then, she’s been super-intentional about her mobility routines. She works with a physiotherapist and personal trainer, both based in France. “I'm always texting them. They're always asking me how I feel and if they need to change something in my routine,” she says. “After my surgery, I think I switched, a little bit, my mentality about taking care more of my body—the way I sleep, too, and the way I eat.”Injury recovery also changed the way she approached her training, learning how to get stronger in her lifts without losing her quickness on the court. It may also have contributed to her signature three-point shot, though she says that’s not something she does intentionally. “When I shoot one leg, I'm not really thinking,” she says. “It really depends on my rhythm with my legs before the shoot.”Marine JohannèsJohannès preps for games by getting a flush with head athletic trainer Nori Subero.Once she gets back to the arena after her break, Johannès sees the Liberty’s head athletic trainer, Nori Subero, for mobilization and a flush—a quick physical therapy session to ease any stiffness and help her legs feel ready for tipoff. Then the team will do some muscle activation together in the lifting room, followed by a personal workout on the court. “It's a lot,” Johannès says. “You are actually really busy before the game.”As for pregame rituals, she’s regimented, but not too intense about it. “I always do the same, but I'm not really thinking about if I miss something,” she says. “I’m not superstitious. If I miss something, it's fine. I'm not overthinking. But I like to do what I know I'm comfortable with.”Marine JohannèsInto the Barclays Center cold plunge—something the Liberty regularly take advantage of using, even when they don’t have to be there. “We have a lot just here for us,” Johannès says. “We are actually always using everything.”Post-GameGame days go longer than many might think. Afterwards, Johannès will hit the gym for a quick lift, followed by treatments. The Liberty have a cold plunge, hot tub, sauna, and steam room available to them, which they even come in to use on their off days. While Johannès does not enjoy the initial entry into a cold tub, “when you are in, you feel better. You feel less heavy. So it's actually good,” she says. “I think most of the team is doing it almost every day.”If she has friends or family coming to the game, they might hit Barclays Center’s exclusive dining space, the Crown Club, for dinner. Otherwise, she’s grabbing something from the team chef. “I'll just go home, because I'm lazy to do anything else,” she says. “You can easily go home around 11, 11:30 p.m.”Marine JohannèsPlaying pool at home with teammates (left to right) Pauline Astier and Marine Fauthoux.Day OffThis season, Johannès has two slices of home on the Liberty with her in teammates Pauline Astier and Marine Fauthoux. “Having two French players is something really good. I can talk shit with them,” she says, laughing. (Their German teammate Leonie Fiebich understands a little bit of French, Johannès says, and Bahamian center Jonquel Jones “will always try to repeat what we say. It’s fun.”)On a recent day off, Johannès and Astier took a walk along the water in Brooklyn and stopped for crepes. “We are French, and we love having a snack at 4,” Johannès says. Back in France, her family has sweet crepes for dinner every Sunday, a tradition that's stuck for years. She’s upped the ante in Brooklyn; some weeks, she and Astier will go for Nutella crepes multiple times.Marine JohannèsJohannès enjoys a Nutella crepe in the afternoon with a carrot, pineapple, and ginger juice.They also like to play pool in their apartment building, where all the players who don’t live in New York full time reside. “We are always doing something, when we have time, with Marine and Pauline,” Johannès says. “It's so easy being around them, so we do something different every day.”Even thousands of miles from home, Johannès has found her version of Sunday dinner—and, if she's lucky, a load of laundry waiting for her after.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.