The New York Liberty’s Victory Is a Love Letter to Its City
The New York Liberty are WNBA Champions! (Getty Images)
The New York Liberty’s victory in the 2024 WNBA Finals wasn’t just a win—it was a love letter to every long-suffering basketball fan in New York. After decades of almosts and maybes, the Liberty’s first-ever championship culminated in grit, heart, and a splash of drama that only the Big Apple could deliver.
This win, a 67-62 overtime thriller against the Minnesota Lynx, perfectly encapsulated what makes basketball—and New York sports in general—so addictive and chaotic.
Let’s take a moment to appreciate its symbolism. The Liberty, one of the WNBA’s original franchises, had waited 28 long seasons to claim a title. Twenty-eight years of heartbreak, playing second fiddle to other teams in a city obsessed with hoops, but never quite being the one to bring home the goods. Now? They’ve broken that streak in style.
It’s hard to overstate how poetic this win feels. The Liberty, once tucked away in the New Jersey suburbs, playing in front of sparse crowds, is now basking in the bright lights of Brooklyn’s Barclays Center, where the vibe feels more like a Beyoncé concert than a basketball game. Celebs like Common, Jennifer Hudson, and Liberty superfan Jason Sudeikis lined the courtside seats, making the event feel like the place to be in NYC. And let’s not forget Fat Joe, who took halftime entertainment to another level. Move over, Brooklyn Nets—this arena belongs to the Liberty now.
At the heart of this moment were Breanna Stewart and Jonquel Jones, the dynamic duo who quite literally turned the tide for this team. Stewart, who shot like she had gremlins in her sneakers (going 3-17 from the field), still managed to impact the game in every other possible way—rebounding like a beast, defending with laser focus, and coming through when it mattered most. She’s a champion, through and through, even on nights when her jumper seems allergic to the basket.
And then there’s Jones—our Finals MVP, the queen of the night. Her performance was nothing short of heroic. After coming up short in two previous Finals appearances, this one had to feel like sweet, sweet redemption. And when the final buzzer sounded, you could almost hear the collective exhale of Liberty fans who had waited so long for this. In a fittingly cinematic moment, Jones broke down in tears, hugging Stewart as if the weight of all those near-misses had finally lifted from her shoulders. It’s the kind of emotion that makes sports unforgettable.
Sabrina Ionescu’s shooting, however, is a whole other storyline. She shot 1-19. Yep, you read that right. But let’s be honest, no one will care because her lone three-pointer was a 28-foot dagger that sent the Barclays crowd into absolute euphoria. Plus, she played tough defense and dished out assists like candy on Halloween.
It wouldn’t be a New York championship without a bit of drama. Lynx coach Cheryl Reeve made sure of that, calling out the refs for a questionable foul call on Stewart late in regulation. She wasn’t wrong—Stewart’s shot seemed pretty clean, and the free throw discrepancy (21-25 for the Liberty compared to just 7-8 for the Lynx) is eyebrow-raising at best. Every great story needs a villain; this was it for Reeve. Her post-game press conference? A masterclass in “I’m mad but not too mad to stay classy,” punctuated by the ultimate New York response from Liberty coach Sandy Brondello: laughter and champagne.
This championship feels like a watershed moment for the Liberty and women’s sports in general. In a season that shattered attendance and viewership records, this final game was a fitting capstone—a showcase of talent, grit, and the undeniable fact that the WNBA has arrived. With a ticker-tape parade in the works and a more hyped fanbase, it’s clear: the Liberty is just starting. Watch out, NBA—there’s a new basketball royalty in town.