Liberty year in review: First WNBA title, ticker-tape parade capped magical season

There were small symbols of joy floating everywhere.

The confetti rained all over the Liberty on the court inside Barclays Center on this October night and then again four days later at the parade through the Canyon of Heroes and at the ceremony outside City Hall.

No New York City-based pro basketball team had claimed the championship trophy in more than a half-century. It hadn’t happened since the days of Walt Frazier, Earl Monroe, Willis Reed, Bill Bradley, Dave DeBusschere and the rest of the best in 1973 when Red Holzman’s Knicks ruled the NBA.

But after five unsuccessful trips to the title round, the Liberty ruled the WNBA in their 28th season of existence, the last of the original eight WNBA franchises to take possession of the crown.

These days of Jonquel Jones, Breanna Stewart, Sabrina Ionescu, Betnijah Laney-Hamilton, Leonie Fiebich and the rest of the best in 2024 will always be remembered by the fans who were along for the thrill ride of a lifetime.

This team will cling to these forever memories, too, from training camp to Game 5 of the WNBA Finals against the Minnesota Lynx to the celebrations that followed.

“Now we have the ultimate prize,” Finals MVP Jones said as she looked out at the crowd filling City Hall Plaza. “We have something that can never be taken away from us.”

This was the second season together for the core group under coach Sandy Brondello, and the championship inspiration grew even stronger out of the rubble from the ending of the first season, a Game 4 Finals loss at Barclays against the Las Vegas Aces.

The 2024 Liberty matched that 2023 team as the winningest in franchise history, going on a 32-8 run through the regular season. This time, it was good for home-court advantage throughout the playoffs.

The Liberty began with a two-game sweep of Atlanta.

Then came the harder parts.

They had to get by MVP A’ja Wilson and the two-time defending champion Aces in the semis.

The Liberty swept the first two on their home floor.

“Let there be no doubt: They’re the best team in the league,” Las Vegas coach Becky Hammon declared after Game 2.

After the Aces remained alive by taking Game 3 in Las Vegas, the Liberty finished them off there with a 76-62 win.

It was on to the Finals, No. 1 seed vs. No. 2 seed, the Liberty vs. the Lynx.

Then the Liberty made history in Game 1 at Barclays — worst late collapse ever in a WNBA playoff game.

They came from 15 points ahead with five minutes left in the fourth quarter to lose in overtime, 95-93. Stewart missed a foul shot for the win with 0.8 showing on the clock in regulation, then missed on a drive for the tie at the end of OT.

“I think we’ve shaken it off,” Stewart said the day before Game 2. “Like, it’s one game.”

Like, exactly.

The Liberty evened the series, then went up 2-1 in Minnesota, emerging with a 80-77 victory on Ionescu’s unforgettable 28-foot three-point rainbow with a second remaining. But their 82-80 road loss in Game 4 set up a winner-take-all clash back in Brooklyn.

Ionescu  shot 1-for-19 after injuring her right/shooting hand in the previous game, but the confetti still fell. The Liberty survived despite having to work overtime, earning a 67-62 victory.

Lynx coach Cheryl Reeve said afterward that the game “was stolen from us.” She didn’t like a call that sent Stewart to the line with 5.2 seconds left in regulation as the Liberty star hit both free throws to force OT.

“Minnesota, credit to them; they’re a tough team,” Brondello said during the postgame ceremony. “But New York, we did it!”

Finally.