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NEW YORK — At long last, the New York Liberty are WNBA champions.
Sunday’s Game 5 between the Liberty and Minnesota Lynx was far from New York’s most aesthetically pleasing game of the season, but style points aren’t awarded in winner-take-all affairs. Instead, the only number that matters is the final margin — a 67-62 Liberty overtime win — in crowning a champion.
“One more (point) than the other team,” star New York guard Sabrina Ionescu said of what stat would be most important Sunday.
Jonquel Jones led the Liberty with 17 points en route to being crowned the finals MVP. Breanna Stewart added 13 points and 15 rebounds in a grinding affair and reserve center Nyara Sabally provided the most unexpected but necessary boost of all, playing a playoff career-high 17 minutes, scoring 13 points and hauling in seven rebounds.
With it all coming together just enough, New York took home its first-ever title, having lost its five prior appearances in the WNBA Finals.
CHILLS… 🗽
NEW YORK LIBERTY SECURES THE TITLE IN BROOKLYN! #WNBAFinals presented by @YouTubeTV pic.twitter.com/aOJ4ilOSvc
— WNBA (@WNBA) October 21, 2024
The Liberty’s first 20 minutes were one of their worst halves of the season. Their 10 first-quarter points were their lowest output in any opening frame this season. And at halftime, Ionescu had missed all eight of her field goal attempts while Stewart had missed seven of her first nine shots.
Yet despite New York missing all nine of its 3-point attempts, it trailed by only seven heading into the locker room.
The Liberty’s second-half jolt came from a rather unexpected source, however. Sabally, having played only 35 minutes all series, led New York with nine third-quarter points, igniting both her teammates and the sellout crowd of 18,090, which jammed into Barclays Center.
Coach Sandy Brondello turned to an ultra-big lineup in the third, including Sabally, Jones and Stewart, playing that trio alongside Ionescu and wing Leonie Fiebich. It was a group that never played together, yet thrived. Not only on offense, but defensively, as the Liberty limited the Lynx to 10 points and led by three entering the fourth quarter.
The two teams traded blows in the fourth quarter, and a 3-pointer by Ionescu put the New York up by four points with 3:10 to play.
It was her first field goal of the game, and the Liberty’s first made 3 of the contest. But Minnesota wouldn’t go away, eventually taking a two-point lead with 1:04 to go when star forward Napheesa Collier scored two of her 22 points. But Stewart avenged the pair of free throws she split in the waning seconds of Game 1 to send Game 5 into overtime.
It marked the first time in WNBA history the finals featured two extra sessions.
Even then the offense didn’t flow, but Fiebich knocked down a 3-pointer on New York’s first possession and the Lynx would never recover, scoring just two points in the extra session. And Stewart fittingly iced the game at the free-throw line.
FOUGHT HARD AND EARNED IT. THE NEW YORK LIBERTY HAVE THEIR HARDWARE 🏆 pic.twitter.com/WGZgqsp68A
— WNBA (@WNBA) October 21, 2024
Sunday’s championship is the culmination of a plan years in the making. It began when Joe and Clara Wu Tsai purchased the franchise in 2019 and moved it from Westchester County Center to Brooklyn’s Barclays Center. Over time, they rejuvenated the fan base of one of the league’s three remaining original franchises who haven’t moved markets.
Lines began forming outside the arena more than three hours before tipoff, and white towels were waved throughout, there not only to cheer for the Liberty’s stars but also to adore their mascot, Ellie the Elephant, who captivated national attention of her own. It was in the 2022-23 offseason New York regained its place as a title contender.
That winter, general manager Jonathan Kolb had targeted three All-Star players he hoped to add to the Liberty’s roster: Stewart, Jones and Courtney Vandersloot. All three names were on an office whiteboard, and all three would eventually join — Jones via trade in January 2023 and Stewart and Vandersloot in free-agency weeks later.
The trio, plus the homegrown Ionescu, became instant drivers of success.
“We know when it’s our time to step up and to make an impact,” Stewart said. “We wouldn’t be here without our teammates, and having that trust and belief just gives us confidence.”
Entering this season, New York was viewed as a title contender for the second consecutive year. The core of the Liberty’s roster was largely unchanged, though the addition of Fiebich, the rookie wing, proved instrumental in the postseason especially. What changed, then, was not so much schematic, but instead a result of continued chemistry.
Trust and chemistry continued to strengthen as New York tied a franchise-record with 32 wins.
The Liberty swept the Atlanta Dream in two games, and avenged their 2023 finals defeat to the Las Vegas Aces in four. Then came the Lynx and a thrilling series that took five topsy-turvy games ensued. Minnesota was the lone franchise to beat New York multiple times in the regular season so a competitive series came as no surprise.
But the best-of-five was especially tight as three of the first four games of were decided by three points or fewer. Shots sure to replay for years to come were hit in the waning moments throughout, with Ionescu’s game-winning 3 in Game 3 to push the Liberty ahead in the series being cemented in the history books because of New York’s title.
The Liberty’s championship is not only its first, but also the first major professional basketball championship in New York City since the mid-1970s.
“To be able to bring the first championship to New York, first one in Liberty history, incredible feeling obviously,” Stewart said. “New York is a basketball city and they’ve embraced me with open arms and they continue to have my back.”
Three-big lineup changed Liberty’s fortune
Brondello said she told Sabally at half to prepare for a jumbo lineup. It was a thought she had all day, considering how much fatigue there would be in an elimination game.
The jumpers weren’t falling, and Minnesota was feasting in the paint, two significant changes from how the previous four games — and the regular season, for that matter — transpired. With Stewart and Jones still in the game, Sabally came in to supercharge the frontcourt.
Earlier in the series, Brondello said, “What Nyara brings is she’s always on her front foot getting downhill.” That aggressiveness manifested itself yet again, as Sabally rolled hard to the rim repeatedly, finishing through contact and making her free throws.
Her nine points in the period were one less than Minnesota’s total as a team, and New York flipped a seven-point deficit into a three-point lead. — Sabreena Merchant, WNBA writer
Jones continued to be unsolvable superstar
The Lynx keyed in on stopping Stewart and Ionescu, and that meant other players would have to succeed in the gaps. The problem for Minnesota is that one of those others was a former MVP in Jones, who won her matchup so convincingly that she became the finals MVP.
Just as she did all series, Jones put pressure on the basket with her post-ups and deep seals. She drew numerous fouls inside and kept plays alive for the Liberty. Even on a day when she didn’t succeed as a 3-point shooter, she still led New York in scoring and plus-minus.
The Liberty won her 41 minutes by 10 points in a game they won by five. — Merchant
Minnesota went down swinging
The Lynx led by 12 points in the first half. They survived injuries to Alanna Smith and Natisha Hiedeman and battled through an uproarious New York crowd at Barclays Center. Minnesota may not have gotten the victory, but the fight was there all season, and for all 45 minutes Sunday.
An undermanned team that wasn’t projected to be anywhere near the finals was one basket away from ending the year as victors. Collier, McBride and the rest of the Lynx can hang their heads high in defeat. — Merchant
Required reading
(Photo: David Sherman / NBAE via Getty Images)
