As confetti fell and Frank Sinatra’s “New York, New York” played loudly, the New York Liberty celebrated the end of a long journey.
The team that often fell short, from their time at Madison Square Garden to stops at Radio City Music Hall and Westchester County Center, finally reached the top.
It’s time to share the news: New York has a pro basketball champion again after a 67-62 overtime win against Minnesota in Game 5 of the WNBA Finals on Sunday night.
“I’ve been manifesting this moment for a while. There’s no feeling like it,” Breanna Stewart said. “Credit to Minnesota, they gave us a tough series. The fans have been amazing everywhere we’ve gone. Bringing a championship to New York, the first ever in franchise history, is an incredible feeling. I can’t wait to continue to celebrate with the city. It’s going to be bonkers.”
Jonquel Jones led New York with 17 points. The Liberty, one of the original teams in the league, had lost in the WNBA Finals five times before, including last season. This time, they wouldn’t be denied, even though it took an extra five minutes.
With stars Stewart and Sabrina Ionescu struggling on offense, other players stepped up. Leonie Fiebich began overtime with a 3-pointer, and Nyara Sabally, who finished with 13 points, made a steal and scored to put the Liberty ahead 65-60, energizing the sold-out crowd.
“Whoever scores in overtime first usually wins,” Liberty coach Sandy Brondello said.
Minnesota didn’t score in overtime until Kayla McBride made two free throws with 1:51 left. The Lynx missed all six of their shots in overtime. After Ionescu missed a shot with 21 seconds remaining, making it 18 misses on 19 attempts, the Lynx had one last chance, but Bridget Carleton missed a 3-pointer with 16 seconds left.
Stewart, who missed a free throw with 0.8 seconds left in the first game, made two free throws with 10.1 seconds remaining in overtime to secure the win.
As the final seconds counted down, players embraced and streamers fell from the rafters at Barclays Center. Stewart and Jones hugged. The two star free agents, signed two years ago, played a key role in helping the team win its first title.
New York was down by two points in regulation when Stewart was fouled with 5.2 seconds left.
After a long video review, Stewart calmly sank two free throws to tie the game at 60. Minnesota challenged the foul call, and coach Cheryl Reeve continued to question it after the game, claiming the title was stolen from her team.
McBride, who scored 21 points, had a chance for a 3-pointer, but it bounced off the rim, sending the game into overtime.
Many former Liberty stars were in the crowd, including Teresa Weatherspoon, who made a half-court shot in the 1999 WNBA Finals to force a deciding Game 3. That was the last time New York had a chance to play in a championship game until this year.
Jones, the only Liberty player to have previously played in a Game 5 while with Connecticut in 2019, received MVP honors. “I could never dream of this. You know how many times I’ve been denied. It was delayed. I am so happy to do it here,” she said.
Napheesa Collier scored 22 points to lead Minnesota before fouling out with 13 seconds remaining in overtime.
The Lynx were aiming for a record fifth WNBA title, which would have set them apart from the Seattle Storm and Houston Comets. Minnesota won four championships from 2011 to 2017, thanks to key players like Lindsay Whalen, Seimone Augustus, Rebekkah Brunson, Sylvia Fowles, and Maya Moore. This was the team’s first time back in the WNBA Finals since then.
“Congratulations to the Liberty on their first championship,” Reeve said. “It took them 28 years, congrats to them. We were that close to our fifth, it just didn’t happen.”
This is the first time since 2019 that the WNBA Finals went to a Game 5. Since the league changed to a best-of-five format in 2005, seven other series have reached a Game 5, with the home team winning five of those previous matchups, including in 2019.
The series has marked a fitting end to a record-breaking season for the league. All five games were decided in the final moments and featured two overtime games and a last-second shot, leading to record ratings.
The first three games each attracted over a million viewers on average, with the audience increasing for each match. They also had large crowds in attendance.
Liberty fan Spike Lee was courtside over an hour before the game, talking with the media while wearing his Ionescu jersey. After Ionescu finished warming up, they shared a brief exchange and hugged. Lee was part of a sold-out crowd of 18,090 that helped set both the overall attendance record for a WNBA Finals and the average attendance mark.
