Liberty Win Game 5, First WNBA Championship

The New York Liberty are 2024's WNBA champions after last thriller at Barclays Center.

Oct 20, 2024; Brooklyn, New York, USA; New York Liberty forward Jonquel Jones (35) holds up the MVP trophy after defeating the Minnesota Lynx in overtime to win the 2024 WNBA Finals at Barclays Center. Mandatory Credit: Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images / Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images

BROOKLYN -- The New York Liberty had waited 27 years to lift the WNBA's most precious hardware. Five more minutes was nothing.

The 2024 WNBA season ended with a bang on Sunday night, as the Liberty clinched their first postseason championship with a 67-62 victory over the Minnesota Lynx in a winner-take-all fifth game on Sunday night at Barclays Center. Jonquel Jones earned the MVP award for her efforts, which included a team-best 17 points in the fateful finale.

While star talents Sabrina Ionescu (1-of-19 from the field) and Breanna Stewart (4-of-15) struggled to score, the Liberty also enjoyed the shocking breakout of Nyara Sabally: as part of a New York effort that opted to go with a bigger lineup in the wake of backcourt struggles (including a 2-of-23 effort from three-point range), Sabally had 13 points and seven rebounds despite being held out of several games entirely during the early stages of the playoff run. The big lineup also featured the MVP antics of Jone and 20 minutes from defensive stalwart Kayla Thornton.

New York officially removed itself from the ranks of the titleless in gritty, grinding fashion: the Liberty's outside attack was well-contained, the tone set early when they were limited to a mere 10 points in the first period, which became 27 by halftime. It was the fewest points the Liberty scored in any first half this season.

A solid defensive effort on New York's end, prominently displayed throughout the series, kept the deficit manageable: though the Lynx went up by as much as 12 over the first 20, New York sliced it to seven by halftime and neither team led by more than five for the rest of the way, creating another instant classic in a thrilling Finals: save for New York's 14-point win in Game 2 (brought about by a 12-0 run over the final 3:40), all games were decided by either one possession or in overtime.

The Liberty set up overtime in familiar fashion: down 60-58 with just about five seconds remaining, creating an eerily similar conclusion to the end of Game 1's regulation segments: Breanna Stewart drove and drew a foul charged to Napheesa Collier, giving her two potentially equalizing free throws. Back in Game 1, Stewart had a chance to salvage an opener where the Liberty lost an 18-point lead but missed the latter half of a free throw set that could've given New York control back. Stewart was also fresh off consecutive misses on a prior pair, one that indirectly gave Minnesota its late lead.

This time, Stewart confidently sank the dramatic duo, setting up bookends of overtime. Leonie Fiebich's three-pointer ... just New York's second on 23 tries ... just eight seconds gave the Liberty the lead for good and set the tone for a 7-2 advantage in the extra session. Minnesota failed to hit a shot from the field in the final five, its only tallies coming from Kayla McBride free throws.

Free throws playing a role in late-game drama were a recurring theme throughout the series: this time, the Liberty earned 25 trips to the foul line compared to eight for Minnesota, giving New York a plus-17 advantage after head coach Sandy Brondello called out Game 4 officials for favoring the Lynx in the department. Brondello's counterpart Cheryl Reeve took issue on Sunday, alleging that the final game was "stolen" by officials and disagreeing with the call of Collier's late foul that indirectly forced overtime.

The Liberty will unveil plans for their celebrations later this week, with plans to celebrate in both Brooklyn and their former borough of Manhattan.

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