An original WNBA franchise, the New York Liberty finally won a championship

NEW YORK — The embrace between Breanna Stewart and Jonquel Jones lasted 17 seconds. What it represents will linger far longer.

When the final buzzer sounded, and the New York Liberty had prevailed over the Minnesota Lynx 67-62 in overtime of Game 5 of the 2024 WNBA Finals, the two frontcourt stars found each other just past midcourt. Jones began to sob as the duo held each other, with a strengthened bond forged from winning the Liberty’s first championship after a grinding series against Minnesota.

Playing in front of a sellout crowd of 18,090 eager for the taste of victory, the Liberty and Lynx created an exhilarating WNBA Finals. Sunday’s performance at Barclays Center capped a historic WNBA season that set new television ratings records and arena attendance marks, and saw players’ stellar individual performances dominate conversations in sports media.

Spike Lee, Jadakiss, Jason Sudeikis, Aubrey Plaza and Robin Roberts were among a who’s who of New York celebrities who watched courtside. Former Liberty greats like Teresa Weatherspoon, Sue Wicks and Swin Cash sat courtside and basked in the championship.

A title had been a long time coming for the Liberty, one of the few remaining original WNBA franchises and the only one absent a championship. The team finally took home a crown after losses in its five prior trips to the finals and brought the city its first basketball title in four decades.

“You need a little bit of luck on your side, but you also need talent,” Liberty coach Sandy Brondello said. “Now we are going to go in the history books as the first ever. That makes me very proud.”

In the winter of 2023, New York’s front office committed to winning a title. Three blockbuster moves created a WNBA super-team — Stewart, Jones and guard Courtney Vandersloot joined the already budding team with homegrown star Sabrina Ionescu waiting to be unlocked.

Stewart had won two championships in her seven years with the Seattle Storm. Jones had lost in her three prior trips to the sport’s biggest stage with the Connecticut Sun. But in New York, the two former league MVPs joined the Liberty just weeks apart — Jones via a trade and Stewart via free agency.

“We talked about it so much, about coming together and what we envisioned of what we wanted to do in New York, and what we could do, to be able to pull it off and accomplish a dream,” said Jones, who earned the Finals MVP award after averaging 18 points in the series. “It’s so freaking hard to do. It just means a lot.”

Last season, the Liberty came up short in the finals, losing to the Aces in a decisive game at Barclays Center. On Sunday night, they often appeared headed for a similar fate on their home court as two-thirds of New York’s star trio struggled to generate much offense. New York played a stinker in its opening quarter as Stewart and Ionescu stumbled. The Liberty scored only 10 first-quarter points, their lowest output in the opening frame this season. By halftime, Ionescu had missed all eight of her shots. Stewart had missed seven of her first nine attempts as New York trailed by seven heading into the locker room.

Though she shot 4-of-15, she hauled in a game-high 15 rebounds. And crucially, she made a pair of free throws with 5.2 seconds left to push the game to overtime.

A third-quarter surge pushed the Liberty ahead entering the fourth quarter, but it never led by more than four — only stretching it to that distance after Ionescu made her first basket, and New York’s first 3-pointer of the game, with 3:10 remaining in the fourth. It made just one more triple — a 3 by Leonie Fiebich to start overtime — but that basket proved to be the difference. Minnesota never led in the extra session.

Last season, Stewart walked off the court after passing up a potentially game-winning shot. This year, she vowed it would end differently.

In their final regular-season game, the Liberty lost to the Atlanta Dream by double-digits, the latest in a string of sub-standard performances. She believed how they were playing wouldn’t win them a championship. Frustrated, she called a late team meeting that night. “This was just (expletives) that we’ve gotten to this point,” Stewart said she told her teammates. “We talk all about culture and wanting to do the right things and pushing each other, and it’s all fluff.”

The Liberty went on to sweep the Dream in the first round of the playoffs, before taking out the Aces in a revenge tour and battling the Lynx for a 3-2 series edge.

“This year, she’s taken more ownership of (using her voice),” Brondello said of Stewart. “And I’ve encouraged it more. When you have player accountability, that’s when your strongest culture is.”

They needed that jolt from Stewart. The five-game series was grueling for both teams. Three of the first four games were decided by three points or fewer. And the finals were the first in league history to feature two overtime games.

Ionescu, who shot 1 of 19 in Game 5, collapsed at midcourt, only to be lifted by Fiebich and reserve center Nyara Sabally, role players who also provided a much-needed lift in the third quarter. Frank Sinatra’s “New York, New York,” Jay-Z’s “Empire State of Mind,” and Queen’s “We Are the Champions” boomed over the arena loudspeaker. Fans’ light-up wristbands flickered like a joyous constellation.

All around Barclays Center were stars representing the Liberty’s past. New York Ring of Honor member Wicks sat near New York’s bench. Hall of Famer Rebecca Lobo, who was assigned to the franchise in the league’s inaugural allocation draft, was on the game’s ESPN broadcast. Weatherspoon, another Hall of Famer, sat courtside, wearing her No. 11 jersey. Vandersloot found Weatherspoon amid the celebration. “I hope you enjoy this, because this is for you,” Vandersloot told her.

Weatherspoon and Co. laid the foundation for New York’s franchise as it established itself as a preeminent power. Still, the Liberty went title-less. By the end of the 2010s, James Dolan, the franchise’s first owner, put the Liberty for sale and moved it out of Madison Square Garden and into Westchester County Center, where they played for two seasons.

When Clara Wu Tsai and her husband, Joe Tsai, bought the Liberty in January 2019, they still played north of the city. That season, players lived in Brooklyn and practiced at St. Joseph’s College in Brooklyn. On home game days, the Liberty rented day rooms at a hotel in Westchester.

How times have changed.

“The city absolutely showed out,” Vandersloot said on Sunday. “I’m so happy for the city of New York. I know how special it is to be the first, and this probably not going to be the last.”

The win is especially sweet for Stewart, who grew up in upstate New York. It’s fitting that her third title came at home, in front of adoring fans who have showered her with cheers since her Liberty debut when she scored a franchise-record 45 points.

The first WNBA game Stewart ever attended was a Liberty game. “It was kind of like, I want to be here one day,” Stewart said.

“I’ve been manifesting this moment for a while. To be able to bring a championship to New York, first-ever in franchise history, it’s an incredible feeling,” she added. “I literally can’t wait to continue to celebrate with the city because I know it’s going to be bonkers.”

Now after amassing a league-best 32 wins and the franchise’s first title, Stewart and the Liberty created awe-inspiring memories for the next generation. Almost no one left Sunday night as confetti rained down from the rafters, where a banner will be hung next spring.

The Liberty eventually retreated to their locker room to continue their celebration. Jones was the first to re-emerge, for one of her postgame interviews. Before looking into a TV camera, she removed a shower cap that was protecting her hair during the champagne celebration. Another bottle was by her left foot waiting to be opened.

“We talked about it so much, about coming together and what we envisioned of what we wanted to do in New York, and what we could do, to be able to pull it off and accomplish a dream,” Jones said. “It’s so freaking hard to do.”

This article originally appeared in The Athletic.

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