WNBA Finals Preview: Liberty look to break curse against sleeping giant Lynx

New York hasn’t tasted basketball success in some time. 

Despite looking like one of the premier franchises in the WNBA over the last couple seasons, history tells another story for the Liberty. Five finals appearances, zero wins. 

It’s not as though they haven’t had their fair share of stars, as players Becky Hammon, Tina Charles and Teresa Weatherspoon have all owned the seafoam and black, it just never managed to come together. 

They had four Finals appearances in the first six years of the WNBA. That many shots at a title would usually constitute a dynasty. But, instead, they ran into the Houston Comets, the league's first true dynasty, as Cynthia Cooper shut them down three times as part of a four-peat to kickstart the WNBA’s history. 

On the other hand, the Minnesota Lynx haven’t had those problems winning whatsoever. Despite beginning their tenure in the league as a circled win for other teams, missing the playoffs in 10 of their first 12 seasons, they took off in 2011 behind the Hall of Fame trio of Maya Moore, Lindsey Whalen and Seimone Augustus. 

From 2011 to 2017, the Lynx won four titles and made six finals, missing out on the big dance only once, in 2014, when they lost in the conference finals. Furthermore, they’ve missed the playoffs only once in the last 14 seasons, as superstar Sylvia Fowles played her last season and Napheesa Collier missed most of the year while on maternity leave. 

These WNBA Finals are a battle between franchises on opposite ends, between dynasties set in stone and endless what-ifs. Can the New York Liberty, who have looked like the favourite all year, finally put it all together? Or will the Minnesota Lynx continue their run as the most successful franchise in WNBA history behind a new, intriguing core?

Here’s everything you need to know ahead of the WNBA Finals. 

(1) New York Liberty vs. (2) Minnesota Lynx

Season series: Lynx won 2-1

May 25: Lynx 84, Liberty 67
July 2: Liberty 76, Lynx 67
Sept. 15: Lynx 88, Liberty 79

Series schedule

Game 1 @ New York: Thursday at 8 p.m. ET / 5 p.m. PT
Game 2 @ New York: Sunday at 3 p.m. ET / noon PT
Game 3 @ Minnesota: Wednesday, Oct. 16 at 8 p.m. ET / 5 p.m. PT
*Game 4 @ Minnesota: Friday, Oct. 18 at 8 p.m. ET / 5 p.m. PT
*Game 5 @ New York: Sunday, Oct. 20 at 8 p.m. ET / 5 p.m. PT

*If necessary

Pulse on Liberty

When the New York Liberty pulled off one of the greatest off-seasons of all-time ahead of the 2023 season, signing All-Stars Breanna Stewart, Jonquel Jones and Courtney Vandersloot to line up with Sabrina Ionescu, the expectations were clear: Championship or bust. 

But on the other side of the country, the Las Vegas Aces — coming off the team’s first-ever championship — matched them in the arms race, adding Alysha Clark and two-time MVP Candace Parker to their ranks. 

With a superstar quartet of A’ja Wilson, Chelsea Gary, Jackie Young and Kelsey Plum already in place, the Aces were too much for the Liberty to handle, taking them down 3-1 in the WNBA Finals in an explosive battle between super teams. 

New York has already slain those demons this year. The powerhouse squad, which returned its core this season, made quick work of the Aces in the semifinals, dispatching them 3-1 behind dominance from Ionescu, Stewart and the top-ranked team defence in the playoffs. 

Past just that series win, though, they’ve looked like the best team all year, finishing the regular season with the top-ranked offence (109.5 offensive rating) and the third-ranked defence (97.9 defensive rating). 

Among teams to have made the conference finals, the Liberty have shot the most three-pointers (9.2 per game) while shooting the best percentage from deep (37.2). They’re scoring the second-most points (84.3) while giving up the least (78.2). 

The pairing of Ionescu and Stewart has been the best tandem in the playoffs so far, scoring a combined 40.7 per game. Their games have complemented each other impeccably, with Ionescu raining buckets from deep, shooting three-pointers at a 46.5 per cent clip in the post-season, while Stewart plays at an all-world level on both ends, scoring 47.6 of her looks within the arc and picking up 2.3 steals+blocks per game. 

Toss in the efforts of former MVP Jonquel Jones, all-time dimer Courtney Vandersloot, three-and-D wing Betnijah Laney and tools rookie Leonie Fiebich, and the Liberty have seemingly set themselves up to break their curse at last. 

Pulse on Lynx

Seven years is a long time for the Lynx to go without a parade. Their off-season moves to reinvent the team would’ve told you that that’s a drought they intend to break. 

They’ve made good on that promise so far, with the additions of Natisha Hiedeman, Courtney Williams and Alanna Smith paying dividends, helping the Lynx to the second-ranked defence in the WNBA in the regular season (96.5 DRTG). 

That’s what you should do when you have a player as good as Napheesa Collier on your roster. 

When Collier got back from maternity leave for the 2023 season, she picked up right where she left off, averaging 21.5 points, 8.5 rebounds, 2.5 assists, 1.6 steals and 1.2 blocks per game. To Minnesota, that was a sign it was time to go all-in. 

Collier rewarded them with an even better 2024 that saw her average 20.4 points, 9.7 rebounds, 3.4 assists, 1.9 steals and 1.4 blocks en route to her first defensive player of the year award and a second-place finish in MVP voting. 

She and the Lynx have been even better in the post-season, starting things off by running through the Phoenix Mercury 2-0 and then grinding out a hard-fought 3-2 series win over the Connecticut Sun in the conference finals.

Their offence has been humming, leading the conference finalists in points (87.1), assists (22.5), field-goal percentage (48.4) and is second in three-point percentage (37.0). And while their defence hasn’t played up to the standards they had at in the regular season, they still lead the field in blocks per game (4.8). 

While the peripheral pieces around Collier have been upgraded and players such as Canadian Bridget Carleton have had their best seasons in the league, this team still runs on what ‘Phee’ can bring to the table. She’s been stellar in the playoffs, averaging 27 points while proving to all that she deserved the DPOY, but against a team as deep as the Liberty, this will have to be more than a one-woman show. She’ll also have the unenviable task of guarding Stewart, so any relief on the offence would be much appreciated. 

X-Factors

Jonquel Jones (Liberty): Call it low-hanging fruit to put Jonquel Jones — a former MVP, five-time All-Star, four-time all-defence and four-time all-WNBA — as an X-factor, but her play is too key for the Liberty in this series to simply glaze over. Where the Liberty can really dominate the Lynx is on the glass, as Minnesota has struggled so far in the post-season, grabbing the fewest rebounds (29.8) in the field. If Jones and Stewart can clean the boards, preventing second-chance opportunities while grabbing a ton of their own, the Liberty should have a good shot to win their first title. Another factor is Jones’ ability to space the floor from the five, forcing opposing big Alanna Smith to play out of her comfort zone on the perimeter in five-wide sets. 

Kayla McBride (Lynx): These playoffs have shown that there’s no stopping Sabrina Ionescu, you can only slow her down. Kayla McBride will likely be the one drawing that assignment in this matchup. She did well in the regular season, holding Ionescu to 14.3 points per game — her second-lowest mark against any team in the league — while preventing her from heating up from deep, holding her to 17.9 per cent from three-point range in their three matchups. It’s not just defence McBride brings to the table however, as the experienced shooting guard can rain it in from deep just as well, hitting 40.7 per cent of her three-point looks this season while scoring 15.0 points per game.