Minnesota Lynx Alanna Smith puts forth championship effort in WNBA Finals loss

Jason Burke | Oct 21, 2024

Oct 20, 2024; Brooklyn, New York, USA; Minnesota Lynx forward Alanna Smith (8) reacts after colliding with New York Liberty forward Jonquel Jones (35) during game five of the 2024 WNBA Finals at Barclays Center. Mandatory Credit: Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images / Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images

Ahead of Sunday night's Game 5 of the WNBA Finals, former Stanford women's basketball star Alanna Smith told ESPN, "I'll let future me worry about my back, right now we have a chance at the championship." Smith was dealing with a back injury that she suffered in Game 3 on Thursday, describing the pain as hurting all the time, yet "tolerable."

In watching Game 5, it was clear she gave it her absolute all to try and help the Minnesota Lynx capture their fifth WNBA title. Unfortunately, the team came up just short, losing to the New York Liberty 67-62 in overtime.

Smith, 28, won a bronze medal at the Paris Olympics with Team Australia, and a title last night would have been the icing on the cake for an incredible year. In the deciding game, Smith played in 36 minutes, a number she rarely reached in 2024, and never got to in the playoffs. In those 36 minutes Smith put up 6 points, 8 rebounds and 2 assists. The 8 rebounds were the second-most hauled in by Smith this entire postseason, with her Game 1 performance against New York being the only one that topped it. She had 9 boards in that one.

As time wound down in the first half, Smith hit the floor on her knees in obvious pain. After halftime, she was right back out there with her teammates, who had begun to help out Smith by doubling up eventual Finals MVP Jonquel Jones whenever she got the ball down low. It was clear Smith wasn't anywhere near one hundred percent at that point, and still, she kept fighting.

Late in the game, Jones and Smith got tangled up and hit the floor, with Jones ultimately being called for an offensive foul, but Smith writhed in pain after landing directly on her hip.

Yet, despite all of this, she made what looked to many to be a good defensive play on Breanna Stewart as time wound down in the fourth quarter. Instead, it was called a foul, and with the Liberty down by two, Stewart, a two-time champion at that point, was able to knock down the game-tying free throws that would ultimately send the game into overtime.

Alanna smith out there playing with no back and y’all looked that lady in her eyes and told her she wasn’t in legal guarding position pic.twitter.com/9xE0W1GWvx

— 🐶WOOF CLITZER🐶 (@ESPNFrankie) October 21, 2024

Alanna Smith deserves the world’s comfiest couch and biggest heating pad after this game. Just a heroic effort dragging around that one leg and pushing through a back injury. #wnba #WNBAFinals

— Sarah Spain (@SarahSpain) October 21, 2024

While the Lynx ended up losing the game, the effort that Smith put into this one shouldn't be forgotten. Alanna Smith, Kayla McBride, Napheesa Collier and Courtney Williams are all signed through 2025, so some of the main pieces of the roster will be around to make another run next year.