The only way to properly cap off this most league-altering of WNBA seasons was the most dramatic WNBA Finals ever — including overtime in the deciding Game 5.
But as much as things around the league changed this season, what happened in these Finals tied back to what happened at the end of last season. That’s when the New York Liberty came up just short in the 2023 WNBA Finals — making the franchise 0-5 in the Finals all-time — and after that, the Liberty came into this season on a mission not to let that happen again.
They didn’t.
But it took earning the No. 1 seed so a deciding game could be in front of their raucous home crowd, overtime in that deciding game, role players stepping up with the best game of their career, a questionable call and a former MVP putting the team on her back.
The New York Liberty are the 2024 WNBA champions.
New York beat a force of nature in Napheesa Collier and a gritty Minnesota team 67-62 in overtime to win Game 5 and hoist the championship trophy.
For the final couple of games, Minnesota focused their defense on Breanna Stewart and Sabrina Ionescu — they shot a combined 5-of-34 in Game 5 — and dared anyone else to beat them.
Jonquel Jones did. The former MVP reminded everyone how great she is and was the player the Lynx had no answer for, bullying her way inside to 17 points, plus grabbing six rebounds. She had a team-high 24 points with 10 boards in New York’s Game 1 win and, with the series on the line, put the team on her back in Game 5, which is why Jones was named Finals MVP.
With all respect to Jones, Collier was the best player on the floor in Game 5, scoring 22 points with seven rebounds and making key defensive plays all night. Collier ended up leading playoffs in points, rebounds, steals and blocks.
She nearly led the Lynx to a Game 5 win in what was an ending befitting of this series and this season.
It was a Collier layup, beating Stewart to the rim, that tied the game with 1:35 remaining in the fourth. Then Collier hit another driving layup, this a reverse, to give Minnesota the lead.
On the other end, Stewart was fouled and went to the free throw line with a chance to tie but shockingly missed both free throws. However, that second miss was tapped back out, which gave the Liberty another chance, but Ionescu missed another 3 (she was 1-of-10 from deep on the night). The Liberty retained possession after an intentional Lynx jump ball violation (to set their defense), but Ionescu missed another 3. That gave the Lynx the chance to make it a two-possession game in the final seconds, but Collier missed a driving layup, and the Liberty had the balls down two with 6.3 seconds remaining.
Stewart wanted the rock and when she got the inbound pass she drove the lane drew a whistle, giving her two free throws — but that call on Alanna Smith was dubious and Minnesota challenged. After a review, the officials ruled Smith was “not in a legal guarding position” and the call stood, but it’s safe to say outside of New York few agreed with that assessment.
I’m sorry but that wasn’t a foul! Let the damn players dictate the outcome of a close battled tested game. ♂️
— LeBron James (@KingJames) October 21, 2024
“I know all the headlines will be ‘Reeve cries foul.’ Bring it on. Because the s*** was stolen from us,” Lynx coach Cheryl Reeve said postgame, complaining about the consistency of the calls. “You have a star player like Phee, I don’t get it. I don’t get how she can be held, and go to the basket and get hit, and then a marginal [foul] — at best, at best! — sends their best player to the free throw line. That’s tough to swallow.”
Stewart hit both free throws to tie the game. Minnesota still had 5.2 seconds and Kayla McBride got a clean look from 3 but missed, and we were headed to overtime.
In the extra frame, the Liberty made plays (and fewer mistakes), headlined by Nyara Sabally’s steal and score.
Sabally was the other deciding factor for New York in Game 5, she came off the bench and scored 13 points plus had seven rebounds. Beyond the stats, she changed the game because the Lynx, who wanted to switch every pick-and-roll all series long, couldn’t switch when it was Ionescu/Sabally, and that threw off their defense and gave New York a chance to get back in the game. Sabally changed the game.
The Liberty took full advantage, and now — for the first time in franchise history — can call themselves WNBA champions.