Kayla Thornton Birthday Bash Fuels Liberty Title

It was a special day in more ways than one for New York Liberty defensive stalwart Kayla Thornton.

Aug 6, 2023; Brooklyn, New York, USA; New York Liberty forward Kayla Thornton (5) celebrates after making a three point shot in the third quarter against the Las Vegas Aces at Barclays Center. Mandatory Credit: Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images / Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images

BROOKLYN -- New York Liberty reserve forward Kayla Thornton hosted her 32nd birthday party in Brooklyn on Sunday. She invited 19,000 of her closest friends and sent them off with the ultimate party favor.

Thornton's officially going down in history, as she's one of the dozen women who brought New York its first professional basketball title in 51 years. With a 67-62 overtime victory over the Minnesota Lynx in the Game 5 finale of the 204 WNBA Finals, the Liberty will get to raise their first postseason championship banner since the franchise's formation in 1997.

"This is the greatest birthday present ever," Thronton said. "The greatest."

Thornton had no problem paying for her own gift: as New York struggled to maintain its trademark deep-ball action (Thornton herself went 0-of-3), she contributed to a dominant defensive effort and an unexpected lineup change that broke out the champagne. Thornton proved to be another year older and recklessly wiser, diving for loose balls and clamping down on Minnesota's shooters while New York moved to a bigger lineup that co-starred Jonquel Jones, Nyara Sabally, and Breanna Stewart.

The former Dallas Wing wound up playing just over 20 minutes, her biggest workload this postseason. New York switched to the larger lineup in the second half and the payoff was apparent in the box score: Minnesota did not score more than 16 points in any of the final three periods and the Liberty owned a plus-11 advantage on the glass (including 9-4 in second chances).

"I don't think we did anything different," the 6-1, 190-lb. Thornton said. "I think I just came in and just tried to give my team an extra spark, get them something that we needed to turn the game around ... I think, every play, the work that I put in on defense, and just the little things, the ball pressure, deflection, stuff like that, came into play."

Since coming over in the multi-pronged deal that also acquired Finals MVP Jones, Thornton has spent the past two seasons serving as the Liberty's sixth woman, though she got a few starts when Courtney Vandersloot took time off for bereavement and Betnijah Laney-Hamilton endured knee issues.

Prior to last postseason, Thornton signed a multi-year extension that will keep her in New York through next season. That fall, however, turned bittersweet when the Liberty fell in the Finals to the Las Vegas Aces.

But thanks to Thornton's efforts, an elusive title was, in the birthday girl's words, "delayed, not denied."

"We could have done it last year, but God has His reasons," Thornton professed. "I think today is the perfect reason. We finally got our blessing."

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