Sabrina Ionescu‘s team folds in overtime in Game 5 Minnesota and becomes champion for the first time
Sabrina Ionescuthe franchise’s longest-serving player, slumps over the Liberty logo, her hands covering her face in euphoria. Frank Sinatra’s “New York, New York” rang out as confetti rained down from the rafters: the Liberty beat 67-62 Minnesota Lynx Of Cecilia Zandalasini and win the 2024-25 WNBA title with Jonquel Jones named MVP of the Finals.
It was a fitting conclusion to a 2024 WNBA season that catapulted the WNBA into a new era of growth and cultural relevance, that commissioner Cathy Engelbert he defined “the most transformative year in WNBA history”.
Season characterized by outstanding individual performances – A’ja Wilson won his third MVP with one of the most dominant seasons in league history; Caitlin Clark e Angel Reese have dazzled with sensational rookie campaigns – and league-wide growth. The WNBA had the most-watched regular season in 24 years, the highest attendance in 22 years and the most-watched playoffs in 25 years.
Finally NY
In the end, the two best teams in the league faced each other in the first Game 5 of the WNBA Finals, complete with an overtime victory, it was the only conclusion of this transcendental season, especially when one of the three original franchises of the league, probably the most iconic, he had the last word at the final whistle on Sunday.
A season full of firsts ended with the Liberty capturing an elusive first, finally shedding the distinction of being the only original WNBA franchise left without a title and capable of capturing a championship on the own field.
The New York title – won with the greats of the franchise Teresa Weatherspoon e Sue Wicks on the sidelines — it was a 28-season exorcism, ending a string of frustrations that began with the Liberty’s first ill-fated title run in 1997 and continued in the decades that followed. The series was punctuated by Weatherspoon’s legendary half-court shot to win Game 2 in 1999, only to lose the title the next day; five total misses in the finals; five more losses in the Eastern Conference finals; even a 2-20 record through 2020. Last season, the Liberty were coming off a five-game losing streak. Then, in just one offseason, New York flipped the script, becoming the first team in league history to use free agency to assemble a super team — and an automatic contender — by bringing in two former MVPs Jones e Stewart and one of the league’s greatest point guards in Courtney Vandersloot. Many would have considered second place in last year’s Finals a success for a newly assembled team.
The KO at the last Finals against Las Vega left its mark and this year NY took revenge by putting itself on the city’s map permanently. In a summer full of records, Barclays Center had the league’s second-best crowd attendance (12,730), just two years after finishing eighth (5,327) and five after infaming games in White Plains at Westchester County Center. The regular season was just a taste of what lay ahead in the postseason, as these finals were the busiest in league history.
