This season of the WNBA is widely regarded as one of the best in its history, culminating in an exciting finale that extended into overtime.
The New York Liberty won their first WNBA championship in franchise history, prevailing in the first Game 5 ever settled in overtime 67-62 over the Minnesota Lynx. Appearing in its sixth Finals series all-time, New York has recorded its first Finals series victory.
“I’ve been manifesting this moment for awhile, there’s no feeling like it,” Liberty forward Breanna Stewart said. “Credit to Minnesota, they gave us a tough series. The fans have been amazing everywhere we’ve gone. To bring a championship to New York, first ever in franchise history it’s an incredible feeling. I can’t wait to continue to celebrate with the city. It’s going to be bonkers.”
Stewart, who previously missed a free throw with 0.8 seconds remaining at the end of regulation in Game 1, successfully converted two free throws with 10.1 seconds left in overtime, securing the victory.
Other players rose to the occasion in a challenging offensive performance from stars Stewart and Sabrina Ionescu. Leonie Fiebich opened overtime with a three-pointer, followed by a key steal from Nyara Sabally, who contributed 13 points and completed a layup to bring the score to 65-60, energizing the sellout crowd.
The game featured five lead changes and five ties, with three lead changes and two ties in the competitive fourth quarter alone.
In the overtime period, Minnesota did not score until Kayla McBride made two free throws with 1:51 remaining. The Lynx were unsuccessful with all six field goal attempts during overtime. Following a missed attempt by Ionescu with 21 seconds remaining, resulting in her having made only 1 of 19 shot attempts, the Lynx had one final opportunity. However, Bridget Carleton’s 3-point attempt with 16 seconds left did not succeed.
Napheesa Collier contributed significantly to Minnesota’s performance by scoring 22 points before fouling out with 13 seconds remaining in overtime.
“They turned up the pressure, it is the end of the game, we are both trying to win,” Collier said. “We got a couple of turnovers but did not execute our offensive plays at the end.”
Despite falling short in the 2024 WNBA Finals, the Lynx are tied for most WNBA championships with four.
The Lynx fall to 4-4 all-time in WNBA Finals series.
The WNBA Finals Most Valuable Player was Jonquel Jones, whose per-game series averages were 17.8 points and 7.6 rebounds while shooting 54.2% from the field and a perfect 19-for-19 from the free-throw line. In Game 5, Jones paced the Liberty in points with 17 (5-for-10 FG, 7-for-7 FT), Stewart led the team in rebounds (15) and blocks (three), and Sabrina Ionescu tallied a game-high eight assists.
Sunday’s Game 5 attendance was 18,090, breaking WNBA Finals attendance records for both total attendance (92,599) and average game attendance (18,520). The previous WNBA Finals records for total attendance and average game attendance were 82,018 (Mercury-Fever in 2009) and 17,924 (Liberty-Comets in 2000).
In the Finals, Stewart averaged 18.6 points, 11.0 rebounds, 3.4 assists, 2.2 blocks and 2.0 steals per game. In Game 5, the two-time WNBA MVP and two-time WNBA Finals MVP notched her seventh career WNBA Finals double-double, placing her second all-time, only trailing Sylvia Fowles. Stewart tied Diana Taurasi for third all-time in WNBA Finals scoring (320 points), with teammate Jones just behind the pair with 319 career Finals points.
In WNBA Finals history, Jones now ranks third in rebounds, double-doubles (6), and field goals made, tied for fourth in blocks and fifth in scoring.
Collier and Kayla McBride led the Lynx in Game 5 with 22 and 21 points, respectively. Collier also contributed seven rebounds, two blocks, and one steal, while McBride tallied a game-high four steals.
Collier (2024) surpassed Tamika Catchings (2009) for most stocks (steals and blocks) in a postseason with her 48th. She also tied Nykesha Sales (2004) for second-most steals in a postseason with her 25th. Earlier this series, the Lynx forward set the WNBA record for points in a single postseason. In the 2024 WNBA Finals, Collier averaged 19.0 points, 8.0 rebounds, 2.6 assists, 3.4 steals, and 1.8 blocks while shooting 49.4% from the field. Her 17 steals in the series mark the most ever by a player in a WNBA Finals series, besting Tamika Catchings’ previous record of 16 in the 2009 WNBA Finals.
With the victory, Liberty head coach Sandy Brondello passed Richie Adubato (14) for most wins in Liberty postseason history.
Fiebich passed Briann January (61) for most points scored by a rookie in WNBA Finals history and is now tied with Kara Lawson, Allie Quigley, and Diana Taurasi for the sixth-most three-pointers made in a single Finals series by a player in WNBA history.
McBride and Ionescu each made a triple in Game 5, giving each 29 in the 2024 postseason, tied with Ionescu’s 2023 postseason for fourth most all-time in a postseason.
Ionescu passed Teresa Weatherspoon in the game for most WNBA Finals assists in Liberty history. She also now has the most rebounds by a Liberty guard in WNBA Finals history, passing Vickie Johnson.
Liberty all-time postseason record: 42-46 – Liberty all-time Finals record: 5-12
Lynx all-time postseason record: 50-32 – Lynx all-time Finals record: 17-14.
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