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 New York overtime win — in crowning a champion.
“One more (point) than the other team,” star Liberty guard Sabrina Ionescu said of what stat would be most important on Sunday.
Jonquel Jones led New York with 17 points, while Breanna Stewart added 13 points and 15 rebounds in a grinding affair. 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 missed all eight of her field goal attempts while Stewart 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 the Liberty 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 had never played together before. And yet it thrived, not only on offense, but defensively, as New York limited Minnesota to 10 points in the third 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 Liberty up by four points with 3:10 to play. It was her first field goal of the game, and New York’s first made 3 of the contest. But Minnesota wouldn’t go away, eventually taking a two-point lead 1:04 to go in the fourth when Lynx star 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 that 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 Minnesota would never recover, scoring just two points in the extra session. And Stewart fittingly iced the game at the free throw line.
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 fanbase of one of the league’s three remaining original franchises who haven’t moved original 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 New York’s stars but its adoring mascot, Ellie the Elephant, who captivated national attention of her own.
It was in the 2022-23 offseason that the Liberty regained their place as title contenders. That winter, general manager Jonathan Kolb had targeted three All-Star players he hoped to add to New York’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, the Liberty were viewed as title contenders for the second consecutive year. The core of their 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 the Liberty tied a franchise-record with 32 wins.
New York swept the Atlanta Dream in two games, and avenged their 2023 finals defeat to the Las Vegas 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 the finals 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-pointer 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 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.”
This story will be updated.
(Photo: Sarah Stier / Getty Images)
