Author: Meagan Liang
Coming off of a historical regular season for the WNBA breaking records in viewership, attendance, merchandise, player statistics, and more, the WNBA finals needed to be a fiercely competitive series. Season-long favourites, the 2023 runner-ups and number 1 ranked New York Liberty hoped to avenge their loss from the year prior. 4-time WNBA champions and the number 2 ranked Minnesota Lynx would meet them in the finals.
Game 1 - Minnesota Lynx OT Win (95-93):
Source: Getty Images
There was no better way to kick off the 2024 WNBA finals than with this overtime thriller. Game 1 set the chaotic, unpredictable, and competitive tone that would continue throughout the entire series. With the home crowd's support, the Liberty started strong leading by 16 near the end of the first quarter, holding Minnesota to 19 points. Their dominance continued into the second quarter as the Liberty led by 17 early on. The Lynx managed to stay in it, going on a 10-0 run after that and cutting the Liberty lead to 8 going into halftime. Although the Lynx were catching momentum and cut it to a 2-point lead in the third, the Liberty caught fire in the fourth, going on a 13-2 run early and seemingly closing in on a comfortable win. The Liberty were led by a double-double performance of 24 points and 10 rebounds from Jonquel Jones. Impressively, they never trailed the Lynx throughout the first 39 minutes.
When the Liberty were leading 81-66 with 5 minutes left in the game, a Lynx loss felt decided. Demonstrating that it’s not over until it’s over, with just four minutes and a 14-2 run, the Lynx managed to trim the Liberty's once 17-point lead down to just 3. With a score of 83-80 and 7 seconds left on the clock, Courtney Williams drained an ice-cold and-1 three-pointer giving the Lynx a 1-point lead and silencing the Liberty crowd. The game was not over just yet however as on the other end of the floor Breanna Stewart had the opportunity to give the Liberty the lead by hitting 2 free throws. She got the first one to tie it but shockingly missed the second shot which would have put the Liberty ahead with 0.1 seconds left in the game. This miss sent the game into a nail-biting overtime. Led by Napheesa Collier and Courney Williams on both the offensive and defensive ends, combined with Breanna Stewart missing a game-tying layup at the end of overtime, the Lynx were able to complete the comeback. The final score was a narrow 95-93 victory. The MVP of the game was Courtney Williams, who not only hit the shot that gave the Lynx the lead in the fourth but also led the team with 23 points and 5 assists while shooting 50% from the floor.
Game 2 - New York Liberty Win (80-66)
In game 2, the New York Liberty responded with a statement win. The Liberty dominated the entire 40 minutes and unlike game 1, never let Minnesota back in. Sabrina Ionescu and Breanna Stewart started the game hot, with 12 points in the first quarter for Ionescu and 7 points with 5 assists for Stewart. The Liberty held a 17-point lead in the second which the Lynx were able to cut to 10 at halftime. Learning from their game 1 performance, the Liberty held strong and were able to maintain their lead as both teams struggled offensively in the third. Standout performances from Breanna Stewart and Betnija Laney-Hamilton were key, scoring a combined 41 out of the 80 Liberty points. Although the Lynx kept it close in all four quarters, 20 turnovers resulting in 26 Liberty points was too much to overcome. The Liberty finished the game on a 12-0 run and comfortably sealed the win.
Game 3 - New York Liberty Win (80-77)
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Ice in Sabrina Ionescu’s veins. It was another nail-biter game with Minnesota now having the advantage of home court. For the first time in this series, Minnesota held the lead for the first half of the game, meaning it was New York’s turn to play from behind. The Liberty’s 8 turnovers in the first quarter allowed Minnesota to build a ten-point lead going into the second quarter. Solid performances from Napheesa Collier and Kayla McBride led the way for the Lynx, with the Liberty struggling to respond in the first half. Losing by 11 early on in the third quarter, the Liberty turned things around going on a 22-12 run largely thanks to Breanna Stewart with sparks from bench players Nyara Sabally and Courtney Vandersloot. The Lynx’s lead was eventually cut to 1-point going into the fourth quarter.
In the fourth and gaining momentum, Jonquel Jones hit a contested three and then an open layup assisted by Ionescu, giving New York its first lead of the game at 74-73 since it was 5-4 early on. The Liberty’s 8-0 run led up to the golden moment. With 8 seconds remaining and the score tied at 77 who else but Sabrina Ionescu would drain a step-back logo 3, certainly the biggest shot of her career and a defining shot for WNBA history. Despite struggling offensively only scoring 10 points up to that point, Ionescu’s confidence to take and make that all-time historic basket was extremely important. Not only did it win them that game, it gave them the series lead, now only being one win away from taking home the title. Although Sabrina Ionescu’s game-winning shot may be the main story coming out of this game, Breanna Stewart had a massive performance offensively and defensively. At the end of the third and continuing at the beginning of the fourth, she scored 13 straight Liberty points, single-handedly keeping the Liberty in the game. She led her team with 30 points, 11 rebounds, and 4 blocks, lifting the Liberty in a game they would have lost if she had not been so consistently excellent.
Game 4 - Minnesota Lynx Win (82-80)
With the Liberty up 2-1 in the series, it was an elimination game for the Minnesota Lynx. Breanna Stewart struggled in the first quarter going 0-6 from the field and ended up with just 11 points in the whole game. The first quarter ended tied, breaking the trend of a team taking a big lead early. This was the most even game of the series, with the Lynx only winning by 1 going into halftime and holding a lead of 1 point at the end of the third. Offensive struggles from Stewart and Ionescu were mitigated by solid performances from Jonquel Jones and Leonie Fiebich, however, the ineffectiveness of the Liberty bench was an overall negative. The Lynx had big contributions with all 5 starters being in the double digits for points. A shoutout is deserved for Alanna Smith (who was clearly injured for the Lynx with a back injury) and Bridget Carlson for some clutch buckets, the latter having the two game-winning free throws and making a clutch three in the fourth quarter. With 2 seconds on the clock, the Liberty had a chance to seal the championship. Magic would not repeat itself for Sabrina Ionescu, who only had 10 points in the game, and the missed late-game 3-pointer sent the series to game 5. It felt only fitting with how even the series had been that the championship would be decided in game 5.
Game 5 - New York Liberty OT Win (67-62)
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This was it. With 2 wins a piece, we arrived at game 5 with winner taking all. Would the Liberty finally earn their first franchise championship or would they fall short similarly to the year prior? Overall, this was not an extremely captivating game compared to the rest of the series as both teams struggled offensively. As was a pattern in this series, both Stewart and Ionescu had slow starts, shooting 0-3 and 0-4 respectively in the first. On the other side, Minnesota had a strong defensive first half holding the Liberty to only 27 points. The Lynx led 34-27 going into halftime, a very low-scoring first half. The Liberty performed better in the third thanks to 9 points from bench spark Nyara Sabally, outscoring Minnesota 20-10 and ultimately taking the lead after being down 12 earlier. Jonquel Jones was key offensively as the Lynx struggled to stop her dominance in the paint. For the Lynx, Kayla McBride had a fantastic performance, hitting clutch shots and making key passes to keep the Lynx within one basket of the Liberty, ending the game with 21 points, 5 assists, and 5 rebounds. The partnership between her and Napheesa Collier is sure to be a formidable force for many seasons to come.
Both teams went bucket for bucket in the fourth. Down 2 with 38 seconds to go, Stewart got fouled and headed to the line. You may recall earlier in the series when she missed a free throw that could have won the Liberty game 1, and history repeated itself as Stewart missed both free throws. However, just a few seconds later, a missed travel call and a controversial foul on Alanna Smith caused outrage among the Lynx bench and fans. The Lynx challenged the play saying that Smith got a clean block on Stewart. They were also frustrated that the referees were not calling fouls on the Liberty when large amounts of contact on Napheesa Collier were made on the other end. The Liberty had a 25-8 free throw advantage over the Lynx, understandably frustrating the coach and players. With an opportunity to redeem herself, Stewart calmly hit both free throws tying the game. With 5.2 seconds left on the clock, Kayla McBride missed an open three meaning the game was going into overtime.
The Liberty had a massive start to overtime with a Fiebich three followed by a Sallaby steal and layup, and then a huge Sallaby block on Napheesa Collier. Sallaby was a massive bright spot for the Liberty off the bench, contributing 13 points and 7 rebounds in just 17 minutes. The Lynx were unable to overcome the deficit they found themselves in at the beginning of overtime and the New York Liberty became the 2024 WNBA champions, winning the first ring of their franchise. Jonquel Jones, often overshadowed by the “bigger” names of Stewart and Ionescu around her was incredible in this series. She had a massive finals performance and was named the WNBA Finals MVP averaging 17.8 points and 7.6 rebounds throughout the 5 games while being super efficient from the floor shooting 43% from the 3-point line, 100% from the free-throw line, and 56% overall.
Concluding Thoughts: It is safe to say the WNBA finals did not disappoint. Although many fan-favourite players and their teams had been eliminated already, maintaining high viewership during the finals was proof of the WNBA’s increasing popularity and audience demographic. This series resulted in the most viewed WNBA Finals in 25 years, up 115 percent compared to the 2023 finals. This is a testament to the growth of the league and a glimpse into how much it can continue to grow in the future. With superstars such as Caitlin Clark and A’ja Wilson, and incoming college talent like Paige Bueckers and Juju Watkins, it would not be a surprise if these records continue to be broken year after year going forward.