New York wins first WNBA championship after falling in previous five appearances in the Finals

 

After losing in the title round of their previous five WNBA championships, the New York Liberty have won their first championship.

The Liberty, a founding team of the league when it began play in 1997, have faced opponents in one-game, best-of-three, and best-of-five formats. To defeat Minnesota, New York need five games plus overtime, so it took a little longer than expected.


A recap of their prior title appearances is shown below:

1997 lost one game to Houston.

The Liberty lost the inaugural championship as they had no answer for league MVP Cynthia Cooper. She scored 14 of her 25 points in the second half — the league played two halves back then. The Comets used a 10-0 run to open up a tight game. Tina Thompson added 18 points in the 65-51 win. Kym Hampton had 13 points and 13 rebounds to lead New York.

1999 lost to Houston in three games

With the Liberty forcing three games, the 1999 Finals between Houston and New York were the most competitive of the three meetings. After dropping the first game at home, New York was left with the difficult task of having to win two games at Houston to win the championship. With 2.4 seconds remaining, Thompson banked in a shot to give the Comets a 67-65 lead, and all appeared gone. The ball was heaved up by Teresa Weatherspoon, who then banked it in at the buzzer to even the best-of-three series with Houston after receiving the inbounds pass and dribbling to halfcourt. Less than twenty-four hours later, the Liberty lost the decisive game against the Comets by a score of twelve points.

2000 dropped two games against Houston.

For the Liberty, losing to Houston for the third time in four years, the third time wasn't the charm. The Liberty fell behind early in the home opener. They trailed 29–22 at the half, 10 early in the second half, and 52 seconds later, Weatherspoon's two free throws pulled them within 52–50. Unfortunately, 26 seconds later, Cooper responded with a three-point play. In Game 2, New York gave it everything they had, but ultimately lost in overtime. With twenty-one seconds remaining in the back-and-forth game, New York was ahead 64–61 when Cooper made the game-winning 3-pointer. Sue Wicks' 3-pointer with 2:14 remaining in overtime gave New York a 70-69 lead before Houston scored 10 of the game's remaining points.

New York lost Game 1 at home despite 18 points from Becky Hammon. In Game 2, the game was tied with 2.1 seconds left before Nikki Teasley hit a 3-pointer to give the Sparks the lead. Weatherspoon tried to hit another halfcourt shot at the buzzer, but her shot was blocked and the Sparks won their second consecutive title, a feat that wouldn't be matched until the Las Vegas Aces did it in 2022 and 2023.

2023 lost to Las Vegas in four games

Set the foundation for this year's championship. The Liberty started on the road, dropping the first two games to Las Vegas before returning home. They won the third game and it looked like the tide had turned in their favor with injuries to Chelsea Gray and Kiah Stokes. New York was down 70-64 with 1:27 left before rallying to within one. They couldn't get over the hump.