Before the German women’s basketball team prepared for the Olympic Games, Lisa Thomaidis traveled to New York City.

She had been watching Leonie Fiebich – a key figure in her country’s first Summer Olympics squad – from home, tuned in and noticed that Fiebich’s move to the WNBA showed glimpses of what the 24-year-old rookie could become.

But already during their trip to Brooklyn, at the games against the Sparks on June 20 and 22, Thomaidis sensed that Fiebich was beginning to play an “outstanding role.”

These were the first two games in which Betnijah Laney-Hamilton was out of the lineup due to a knee injury that eventually required minor surgery.

These were Fiebich’s first appearances as a starter for the Liberty and the early results in these games were promising.

The long minutes of play. The commitment at both ends of the pitch. The goals. These were more than just bright spots.

This served as the foundation for a 15-game series in which Fiebich became an indispensable part of the Liberty team and one of the best rookies in the WNBA, even if they weren’t named Caitlin Clark or Angel Reese.

The Liberty had an 11-0 record in games with Fiebich in the starting lineup before facing the Sun at Barclays Center on Saturday.

With an average plus-minus of plus 15.4, she leads all WNBA starters according to the team.

And in her most recent victory, Fiebich fought through despite a rib injury and achieved a new career high of 16 points.

“She’s a realist, right, and she knows where she stands,” Thomaidis told the Post. “She knows her role. She knows who’s in front of her. She knows what she has to do, and then when she, I think a lot of it is just when preparation meets opportunity. She’s prepared, and the opportunity came through some injuries, and then she was ready to just slide in there and do what she does.”

The key to Fiebich’s move to the Liberty was not a high draft pick, a spectacular trade or a big splash in free agency.

It all started in 2020 when the Sparks drafted Fiebich in the second round.

She didn’t know much about the WNBA. She just knew she had been drafted, that Los Angeles owned her rights and that “nothing was really happening,” she said.

“The communication wasn’t great,” Fiebich told The Post about her time with the Sparks and then the Sky after a 2021 trade. “It may sound harsh, but I didn’t really care at that point where my rights were going to be. And then when they came to New York, they really started communicating with me and my agent. … So that’s when I thought, ‘OK, cool, now I actually have some kind of franchise that I can connect with.’

“To be honest, I didn’t pay much attention to it before.”

When the Liberty acquired them in a four-team deal last year, they were thrilled.

“It’s not every day you get a 6-foot-4, athletic perimeter player,” said head coach Sandy Brondello.

Thomaidis had the same reaction when she first saw Fiebich’s film after taking over the German team last year. A combination of size, strength, stature and build “just really sets her apart.”

In a team that already included Wings star Satou Sabally, Fiebich also managed to stand out.

Last year, she scored the equalizer with 0.4 seconds left in a EuroBasket game that Germany eventually won in overtime, giving her country a chance to finally qualify for the Olympics.

It was a “monumental throw” in German women’s basketball history, said Thomaidis.

And when Germany arrived in Paris last month, Fiebich scored 16 points to help Germany beat Belgium in its opening game. Fiebich’s progress with the Liberty translated to the Olympic stage.

Fiebich said she hadn’t decided too far in advance that she would make the jump to the WNBA in 2024. But now, after her promotion, it has created a potential dilemma.

Brondello expects Laney-Hamilton – their defensive anchor – to return to the lineup on Monday.

Fiebich will likely sit on the bench again, but said she has no desire to be in the starting lineup.

At least she has played a decisive role on the WNBA stage and, in Thomaidis’ eyes, will remain a “cornerstone” of the German squad at the international level.

“I think her value, like I said, is only going to increase,” Thomaidis said. “It’s only going to increase. And I think a lot of teams are recognizing her value.”