On a night where there was far more attention being given to teams in more popular men’s sports, as it turned out the most uplifting story of the night for New York area sports fans was being written in Brooklyn by their women’s pro basketball team. At least they were able to exorcise their historic demons, and they did so in truly exciting fashion.
Per NBC NEWS’ Rohan Nadkarni:
The New York Liberty won their first championship in franchise history Sunday, defeating the Minnesota Lynx 67-62 in an overtime thriller to win the series in five games.
The Liberty entered the 2024 WNBA Finals as the lone original WNBA franchise without a championship, losing in their previous five finals appearances.
Game 5 required a comeback, as the Lynx raced out to a nine-point lead after the first quarter that only shrunk to seven by halftime. But New York erased the deficit with a big third quarter, outscoring the Lynx 20-10.
After a back-and-forth fourth quarter, Breanna Stewart hit two free throws with 5.0 seconds left to tie the game before Minnesota couldn’t score on its last possession of regulation.
The Liberty won the final period seven to two. They also benefitted from some close calls late, including the blocking foul that sent Stewart to the line to tie the game in the fourth, which was upheld on review.
And as THE ASSOCIATED PRESS’ Doug Feinberg reminded, it was the perfect coda to a truly thrilling series:
This series has been a fitting conclusion to a record-breaking season for the league. All five games came down to the last few possessions and have included two overtime games and a last-second shot, which have led to record ratings.
And for the Liberty, it was an especially sweet win for a fan base that has suffered for a quarter-century, survived an era where James Dolan exiled them to an ancient amory in Westchester County but now, under management from the Brooklyn Nets organization, have been revitalized, again per Feinberg:
Many of the former Liberty greats were in the audience, including Teresa Weatherspoon, who hit a half-court heave in the 1999 WNBA Finals to force a decisive Game 3 that year. That was the last time that New York had a chance to play in a championship deciding game until this year.
Liberty fan Spike Lee was courtside over an hour before tipoff chatting with the media while wearing his Ionescu jersey. Once (Sabrina) Ionescu finished warming up pregame, the pair had a brief exchange and hugged. Lee was part of a sellout crowd of 18,090 that helped this series set both the overall attendance record for a WNBA Finals as well as the average attendance mark.
The win gave the city of New York its first basketball title since 1973 when the Knicks won the NBA championship.
And yes, Nets fans, that’s true. Do recall that while the New York Nets of Julius Erving and coach Kevin Loughery won two of the last three ABA titles they did so while playing in the Nassau Coliseum. Brooklyn’s not Manhattan, but it is within the city limits.
Just like Queens. And the team from that borough now has a drought that is 38 years and counting, a fate that was undoubtedly seen by more people than even those who saw this epic last night.
Maybe Spike Lee should be recruited by The Grimace?
Courage…