The New York Liberty Cap Off a Historic WNBA Season with a Timeless Finals Series
The 2024 WNBA season was one for the ages. The incoming rookie class spearheaded by Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese brought millions of eyes to the league, and the players did not disappoint. This year provided the league's first 1,000-point season from A'ja Wilson, different and dynamic styles of play from team to team and all-time great rookie performances that will live on in the history books. With attendance and viewership at all-time highs throughout the regular season, the playoffs expanded on the league’s success, culminating in a historic set of games that ultimately saw the New York Liberty hoist their first championship trophy.
Liberty’s Ascension
The New York Liberty were one of the WNBA’s original eight teams during the league’s founding in 1997. In the 28 years that have followed, a championship has been their most elusive goal. Before the 2024 season, the Liberty made appearances in the finals five times and fell short each time. During those years, the franchise suffered, dealing with low attendance and playing in gyms roughly the size of recreational centers. The tides started to change in 2019 when billionaire Clara Wu Tsai bought the team. She moved the Liberty to the recently built Barclays Center in the heart of Brooklyn and appeared to place a heavy emphasis on winning and increasing fan engagement. In the years following her purchase of the team, the Liberty were able to sign WNBA superstars, including former champion Breanna Stewart, Jonquel Jones, veteran point guard Courtney Vandersloot, as well as drafting one of the best collegiate athletes in women’s basketball history, Sabrina Ionescu. With these pieces in place going into the 2023 season, the Liberty were viewed as a “superteam” and were poised to make the finals and win their first championship. This optimism, spearheaded by the team’s gaudy talent, was short-lived, as they lost in a lopsided finals series to the Las Vegas Aces. Since that loss, the team had a single-track mind to get back to the finals and close the deal.
In the 2024 season, the Liberty picked up new pieces, namely Leonie Fiebich, a rookie out of Germany. With a full year of continuity between their stars, the Liberty dominated the regular season. They held the best record in the league for most of the year and were highly rated in many of the advanced analytics that explain how teams have made their success. This comes despite setbacks throughout the season with injuries to Nyara Sabally, Betnijah Laney-Hamilton, and the loss of Courtney Vandersloot for multiple games. Undeterred, the play of Stewart, Ionescu, Jones, and their role players carried them through the regular season and into the playoffs.
In the first two rounds of the playoffs, the Liberty steamrolled their opponents. In the first round, they played the Atlanta Dream and swept them in two games. In the second round, the Liberty faced their bitter rival, the Las Vegas Aces, with Wilson coming off of a historic season. Despite Wilson’s efforts, the Liberty avenged their finals loss from the year prior and defeated the Aces in four games to get them into the championship round.
The WNBA Finals
The Finals were an entirely different story. The Liberty faced the second-seed Minnesota Lynx, led by the reigning Defensive Player of the Year, Napheesa Collier. This series was an instant classic, breaking numerous records for fan attendance and cable viewership. Game 1 of the series saw the Lynx overcome an 18-point deficit, ending regulation with an eye-popping four-point play from Courtney Williams of the Lynx. Stewart attempted to end the game multiple times but missed crucial free throws down the stretch, as well as missing a game-winning layup. In overtime, Collier ended the game with a fadeaway jump shot over Jones to put the Lynx on top for good. The ending to game 1 seemed to set the standard for the rest of the series, with heartstopping plays and close games.
Game 2 was the highest attended New York Liberty game in the franchise’s history up to that point. While in attendance, the depth at which the league and the fan engagement had grown was overwhelming. The lines to get into the arena went on for blocks, with scores of men, women, and children draped in Liberty merchandise. In the arena, each basket, foul call, or impressive dribble move was met with loud crowd eruptions. The 18,000 fans were fully engaged and fiercely cheered on their team. After a very physical game from both sides, the restless crowd reached its fever pitch when Fiebich made a fastbreak three that seemingly put the game out of reach in favor of the Liberty. The sea of green in the stands sprang up from their seats in unison as the series was tied at one game apiece. Game 2 was the most lopsided of the series, with the Liberty pulling away in an 80-66 victory over the Lynx.
The rest of the series followed the formula that was set in game 1. After an underwhelming start to the series, Stewart came alive in game 3, willing the Liberty back into the game after falling behind by double digits. Stewart ended the game with 30 points and 11 rebounds, a stat line only achieved twice in the finals. Similarly to game 1, this game ended in a Ionescu side-step three from near halfcourt to win. Social media was set ablaze as athletes around the sport heaped praise for her shot.
Game 4 was close throughout. Kayla McBride led the way for the Lynx with 19 points, while Collier and Alanna Smith provided stellar defense and rebounding. With the score tied, Bridget Carleton of the Lynx knocked down two free throws to ice the game, tying the series at 2-2 going back to New York for the final game of the season.
Game 5 was the most viewed WNBA finals game in the league’s history. The Lynx started fast, with multiple points from Collier forcing mismatches in the paint. The Liberty looked noticeably rattled, whether it was from the Lynx defense or from the weight of the moment. Both Stewart and Ionescu looked uncomfortable and missed easy shots to start the game. After an early lead, it seemed as though the Lynx came prepared whereas the Liberty did not. This changed when the Liberty played through the former MVP center Jones.
Jones had a mismatch throughout the series, as the hobbled Smith could not match her size in the paint. Jones showed that as great as the Lynx defense was, their smaller players could not contend with her. She scored easily on the inside, forced double teams and made impressive passes when the opportunity presented itself. Still, this wasn’t enough to catch the Lynx, going into halftime down seven points.
Sabally, who flew under the radar for most of the year dealing with injuries and fighting to stay in the rotation, came in for the Liberty and completely changed the game. Sabally provided tenacity and much-needed energy for a clearly tired Liberty team. She rebounded, scored tough points inside, came up with timely steals and played hellacious defense that kept New York in the game throughout the second half. The Liberty defense improved noticeably, and they outscored the Lynx in the third quarter 20-10.
Despite the efforts of Jones and Sabally, the Liberty found themselves down 2 with a few seconds left. Sandy Brondello calls a timeout and tells Stewart to try and draw a foul to force the game into overtime. This play ended in an extremely controversial foul call on Smith, as Stewart did what she was tasked to do, sinking two free throws and sending the game into overtime.
In the five minutes of overtime, the Liberty dominated, playing stifling defense and making timely shots. It was quickly apparent that life was sapped out of the Lynx and the Liberty took advantage. When the five minutes concluded, the Liberty stood at the center of Barclays Center hoisting the WNBA finals trophy for the first time in 28 years.
Legendary Season
Although the Liberty came out on top in the end, the entire playoff landscape was filled with elite play and historical moments. The Indiana Fever broke playoff viewership records in their two games in the first round. The Phoenix Mercury may have said farewell to one of the greatest players in the sport, Diana Taurasi, and Collier had one of the best postseason runs in history, being the first player to lead the entire playoffs in total points, rebounds, steals and blocks as well as scoring the most points in a single playoff run. Coming off of one of the most important regular seasons in the WNBA, the playoffs needed to live up to the hype, and the players answered the call as well as they possibly could have. With one of the most interesting seasons reaching its climax, the ultimate winners are the WNBA and the players as a whole, as millions of fans eagerly await the league’s return in May.