The WNBA’s dream season earned a dream WNBA Finals— a compelling five-game thriller, the championship going down to a decisive Sunday night contest played in front of a delirious capacity crowd in New York City. And the dream storyline came to fruition: the New York Liberty, one of the league’s inaugural franchises, clinched its first title in the 28-season history of the team via an intense, all-out, somewhat controversial 67-62 overtime victory over the Minnesota Lynx.
A franchise that, not that long ago, was toiling in the suburbs of New York City in front a few thousand people, at best, but has ridden the surge of WNBA popularity to achieve superteam status and collect some of the most talented players on the planet, is now the 2024 WNBA champion.
The Brooklyn home of the Liberty was rocking on Sunday night, in a way the NBA’s Brooklyn Nets, the other team that plays at the Barclays Center, would dream of. Celebrities like Common, Jennifer Hudson, Alex Morgan, Megan Rapinoe, Sue Bird and Liberty superfan Jason Sudeikis lined the court in their premium seats. Fat Joe performed at halftime. The Liberty represents the new, electric WNBA. A WNBA that seems here to stay.
This New York title ended both a 51-year pro basketball title drought for a city that romanticizes hoops—it’s the home of countless playground legends and dreamers—and a 13-year championship-less streak for the city in the four major sports. That’s the longest drought in a century. Such a buzzy result to cap off a WNBA season that set a slew of attendance and viewership records bodes well for the league, which now carries positive momentum into the offseason.
With the Liberty up 67-62 late in overtime, and the Lynx desperate for a miracle, New York’s Leonie Fiebich—who hit a crucial three-pointer early in overtime, just the Liberty’s second of the game—stole a Minnesota inbounds heave to clinch it. Breanna Stewart dribbled out the clock, and after the buzzer sounded, she embraced teammate Jonquel Jones, the WNBA Finals MVP. It was an appropriate pairing: the two former league MVPs both joined the Liberty, Jones via trade and Stewart via free agent signing, in 2023 to put the Liberty over the top.
“When I hugged Stewie, I was literally just sobbing in her hair,” said Jones, who had lost in her two previous Finals appearances as a member of the Sun. “I was just crying the whole time.”
Jones finished with 17 points and six rebounds in a game in which Stewart and New York sharpshooter Sabrina Ionescu struggled with their shooting strokes: they shot a combined 5-34 from the field. Stewart, who played all 45 minutes of the game, still grabbed 15 rebounds, chipped in with 4 assists, and blocked 3 shots, not to mention her stellar plays that don’t show up in the that sheet: in overtime, for example, she helped out on defense to expertly contest a Lynx layup that didn’t drop. Those are championship plays.
“I came in with a game plan of like, it doesn’t matter,” said Stewart. “I want to play defense, I want to rebound, I want to do the little things, and I’ll continue to be aggressive and shoot my shots. But if they’re not falling, they’re not falling, and I’m not going to let that affect the way I do things.”
Ionescu’s line was more unsightly. She shot 1-19 from the field, including 1-10 from downtown. Like every Liberty player Sunday night, she played tough defense and also contributed seven rebounds and eight assists, no small potatoes. Still, if the Liberty would have lost, Ionescu’s shooting woes would have drawn inevitable comparisons to those of John Starks, the former New York Knicks guard who infamously shot 2-18 in another decisive championship duel, Game 7 of the 1994 NBA Finals against the Houston Rockets.
Starks never lived that night down. Ionescu need not worry, in part because the 3-pointer she did hit was a big one: her 28-footer gave the Liberty a 56-52 cushion with a little over 3 minutes left in regulation, and sent the Barclays Center into a towel-waving state of euphoria.
“When you’re just locked in, you’re not really thinking about how many you missed,” Ionescu said. “We all made big shots when it mattered.”
The Liberty, however, would relinquish the lead, thanks in part to three late baskets by Minnesota’s Napheesa Collier, who shined all season long, Game 5 being no different. In 44 minutes, Collier finished with 22 points, 7 rebounds, and 2 blocked shots, while showing off her enviable footwork, quickness, and dribbling skills. The Lynx were 6.1 seconds away from a fifth championship, as Minnesota led 60-58, with the Liberty inbounding. New York fed the ball to Stewart, who drove to the basket and put up a shot against Minnesota’s Alanna Smith. Any contact looked minimal and did not seem to affect Stewart’s off-balance attempt. But the refs called a foul. The Lynx challenged, and the call was not overturned after a replay review. Stewart, who had missed two key free throws moments earlier, sank them both to tie the game and ultimately send it into overtime.
“I was like, no, I can’t do this again,” said Stewart. She had talked to Liberty assistant coach Olaf Lange about embracing a reptilian mentality. “Where it’s like, you know your moment when to strike,” said Stewart. “At that moment, I was just thinking about being a python.”
“Good job,” said Liberty coach Sandy Brondello, who was seated next to Stewart at the post-game press conference. They both had champagne.
A few minutes earlier, Lynx coach Cheryl Reeve sang a different tune. She criticized the Stewart call. “If we would have turned that clip in, they would have told us that it was marginal contact, no foul, guaranteed, guaranteed,” Reeve said. (She’s probably right). She called out the officiating in general. “I saw a very aggressive and physical New York team,” said Reeve. “Sometimes you get away with stuff when you’re physical and aggressive. And they certainly did. It’s a shame that officiating had such a hand in a series like this.” Collier did not go to the foul line once. Stewart and Jones combined to shoot 15 free throws (they made 12). As a team, the Liberty went 21-25 from the free throw line. The Lynx shot 7-8. The discrepancy is striking.
“I know all the headlines will read, Reeve cries foul,” said Reeve in her press conference. “Bring it on. Bring it on. Because this s–t was stolen from us.”
Brondello laughed when told of Reeve’s stance, before taking the high road. She had similar complaints about the officialting after New York’s Game 4 loss on Friday in Minnesota. “I have so much respect for Cheryl, and I have so much respect for this Minnesota Lynx team,” said Brondello. “Because man, that was ugly. But we found a way to win.”
Once the game did get into overtime at 60-60, the Liberty left little doubt they would prevail. Fiebich nailed a three in the first overtime possession—the Liberty would finish 2-23 (yikes) from three-point range. Fiebich’s three gave New York a lift, and when Nyara Sabally, who played limited minutes throughout the playoffs but erupted for 13 points in 17 minutes in Game 5, stole the ball and converted a layup, New York never looked back.
During the on-court trophy ceremony, fans serenaded Sabally for her clutch effort: “Sab-a-lly, Sab-a-lly.” When Brondello and her teammates praised Sabally post-game, she teared up (while also holding champagne).
Before the New York Yankees kick off the World Series, against the Los Angeles Dodgers, on Friday, the Liberty will be the toast of The Big Apple. The city is promising a ticker-tape parade. “I literally can’t wait to continue to celebrate with the city, because I know it’s going to be bonkers.” What’s more, the Liberty are primed to keep pumping out titles. And in this ascendant moment for women’s basketball—and women’s sports—in America, more and more eyeballs are primed to watch it all unfold.
