New York Liberty WNBA championship parade: Highlights, best moments from celebration

The New York Liberty are WNBA champions for the first time, and the celebration was 28 years in the making.

New York City held a ticker tape parade and City Hall celebration as part of a full day of festivities Thursday after the Liberty beat the Minnesota Lynx in Game 5 of the WNBA Finals on Sunday, a contest that wound up being the most-viewed WNBA Finals game in 25 years, according to ESPN.

It's a long time coming for one of the WNBA's original franchises, which endured a stretch of four consecutive losing seasons before morphing into the league's best team beginning last year. But those struggles prompted the changes that brought Sabrina Ionescu, Breanna Stewart, Jonquel Jones and more to a roster that got its deserved coronation in the Big Apple.

More memories were made Thursday, as the Liberty got the parade and rally treatment from New York City for the first time. USA TODAY chronicled all the best moments and highlights here, as well as what's planned beyond the championship parade:

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'Ellie,' New York Liberty mascot, closes first championship ceremony

"Ellie," the New York Liberty's mascot, finally emerged for one of her signature dance routines, dancing with Liberty forward Kennedy Burke on stage after giving her purse to New York City Mayor Eric Adams. Then a new round of confetti fell on the City Hall steps. "Empire State of Mind" by Jay-Z and Alicia Keys and Frank Sinatra's "New York, New York" came blasting from the speakers once more. Thursday's parade and celebration were over, but the party isn't done.

The Liberty will hold another celebration at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn beginning at 7 p.m. ET.

Breanna Stewart wants another WNBA title

Liberty star Breanna Stewart's decision to sign with her hometown WNBA team elevated the franchise to championship level. So the New York native had a message for fans near the end of today's celebration, with a distinct Big Apple flair to how she delivered it.

New York Liberty players receive keys to the city

The players have all spoken and now they're all receiving keys to the city from New York City Mayor Eric Adams to commemorate winning the 2024 WNBA Finals.

Sabrina Ionescu: 'I think I'm a New Yorker now'

The New York Liberty getting the No. 1 pick in the 2020 WNBA draft and selecting Sabrina Ionescu out of Oregon started the franchise's turnaround to this year's championship. This title run and subsequent celebration left her thankful for how New York City fans embraced her.

"Seeing how many people were smiling and celebrating," Ionescu said of today's parade, "puts in perspective what it means to win a championship."

She then declared, despite her California roots, "I think I'm a New Yorker now."

New York Liberty owner, coach, GM thinking repeat

New York Liberty owner Clara Wu Tsai, coach Sandy Brondello and general manager Jonathan Kolb all reflected on stage about the path this franchise took to winning a title since Tsai and her husband took control of the organization in 2019.

Tsai said it was about "investing in these players and create conditions where they can excel." She also acknowledged the longtime fans and some of the team's great players of the past in attendance, such as Teresa Weatherspoon and Kim Hampton.

"I know some of you have been waiting 28 years for this," Tsai said before addressing the team. "Judging from the love, you're going to have to run it back."

That theme has been prevalent in all the speeches thus far.

"We'd love to be back here," Kolb said from the steps of City Hall. "Let's run it back."

New York governor, mayor tip off Liberty championship ceremony

The New York Liberty have made their way from the floats to the City Hall ceremony celebrating their WNBA championship. New York Gov. Kathy Holcomb and New York City Mayor Eric Adams spoke to begin the celebration. Holcomb even called for a "two-fer," calling on the New York Yankees to win the World Series and have a championship parade of their own. The City Council has also declared Oct. 20 every year to be New York Liberty Day in New York City.

WNBA Finals MVP Jonquel Jones is enjoying the party

WNBA Finals MVP Jonquel Jones probably had the most festive of the New York Liberty floats on Thursday. She was filmed with the Bahamian national flag draped over her shoulders dancing to Dancehall music blasting from speakers as her float made its way through New York City. The Liberty are en route to City Hall for an upcoming formal celebration that's scheduled to begin shortly.

Breanna Stewart pops champagne with WNBA championship trophy

Sabrina Ionescu custom jacket, trophy celebration

Sabrina Ionescu has a special victory jacket on for today's New York Liberty championship parade with various patches to commemorate the occasion. One features the slogan, "Liberty has a nice ring to it."

New York Liberty championship parade has started

The New York Liberty championship parade is officially underway, with players on floats and buses celebrating with fans lining Broadway and the Canyon of Heroes in Manhattan.

When is the New York Liberty championship parade?

The Liberty will get a parade celebrating the 2024 WNBA championship on Thursday, Oct. 24.

The victory parade is free to attend, and will start at 10 a.m. ET on Battery Place. Very quickly, it will turn onto Broadway and head up the Canyon of Heroes, a roughly 0.8 mile stretch ending at City Hall.

What will the New York Liberty championship parade feature?

The ticker-tape parade for the Liberty will include a slow-moving procession up Broadway, heading from Manhattan's southern edge to City Hall. Upon arrival, the Liberty will participate in a ceremony on the steps of City Hall (an event whose start time hinges on the speed of the parade and its conclusion). While the City Hall ceremony is open to the public, the team has announced that all tickets for the event have been claimed.

Following all of that, at 7 p.m. on Thursday the Liberty will host a championship celebration at Barclays Center. While that event is free and open to the public, tickets are required, and per the team's website, those tickets are already sold out.

How to watch New York Liberty parade

The Liberty's ticker-tape parade celebrating the team's 2024 WNBA championship win will stream on ABC 7 NY and on Fox 5 NY.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: New York Liberty WNBA championship parade, celebration highlights