Ellie the Elephant isn’t just the New York Liberty’s mascot — she’s a movement.
From her high-energy dance moves to her head-turning fashion, Ellie represents everything the Liberty stands for: confidence, style and the spirit of New York City. (Watch the full interview above.)
“Ellie exemplifies who we are as a team. Obviously, she’s our mascot, but I think she’s more than that. I think she embodies New York,” Sabrina Ionescu, point guard for the Liberty, told HuffPost.
And the team agrees: Ellie is raising the bar for what a mascot can be.
“Ellie is not just the best mascot in the league — [she’s] the best mascot in all sports history,” said Kennedy Burke, a guard for the Liberty.
Ellie’s impact extends far beyond game day. In 2024, she was featured in over 200 stories, with spotlights in Vogue and Billboard, and even graced the cover of Time Out New York. She also made history as the first professional sports mascot to have her own float in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade.
Ellie’s style game is just as powerful as her moves on the court. She became Essie’s first-ever brand “spokesperson” and has become a style icon, blending streetwear, beauty and culture in a way that reflects the WNBA’s boundary-pushing identity.
“It’s pretty special to see how she’s been able to take the fashion world by storm, the beauty world by storm, how she’s just integrated in street wear, culture, fashion, style,” Ionescu said. “She’s kind of just like how we are.”
Ellie’s energy isn’t just for show — it feeds the team and the fans.
“I feel like she gets the crowd hype, and then that, like, translates to us when we’re on the floor,” said Rebekah Gardner, a Liberty guard.
In a league of trailblazers, Ellie is right at home. As Gardner put it: “What Ellie has done as a mascot is, like, trendsetting, and as a league, we’re trendsetters too.”
