Courtesy of the New York Liberty
In the thrilling WNBA Finals, the New York Liberty won their first WNBA championship title in a Game 5 win over the Minnesota Lynx.
The WNBA Finals, seen by millions, kept viewers on their toes throughout the entire series. Four of the five games were decided by five points or less, including Game 5 which the Liberty took 67-62. Two of the games, also including Game 5, went into overtime. It was anybody’s game between the 4x championship winning Lynx and the Liberty hungry for their first title.
The Liberty was led by forward Jonquel Jones, who was named the WNBA Finals MVP, averaging 17.8 points, 7.6 rebounds, and 2.2 assists in the series. Leonie Fiebich, Nyara Sabally, and Breanna Stewart also put up double digits in Game 5, and Stewart recorded her third double-double of the series with 13 points and 15 rebounds.
The Liberty’s first championship title is also New York City’s first professional basketball championship win since the New York Nets won the ABA championship in 1976.
New York City celebrated the Liberty with a ticker-tape parade, marking the third time NYC celebrated a women’s team with a ticker-tape parade. The Liberty was also honored with the keys to the city.
At the parade, Sabrina Ionescu, the Liberty’s first overall draft pick out of Oregon in 2020, said about the championship title and celebration, “Seeing how many people were in the crowd smiling, celebrating with the Liberty here really puts in perspective what it means to bring a championship to this city and how it really takes everyone.”
In addition to the win being historic for New York, the immensely popular 2024 WNBA Finals made history throughout the series, and especially in Game 5. The viewership of this year’s Finals doubled the amount of last year’s, and by reaching 3.3 million viewers, Game 5 had the highest viewership of a WNBA finals game in 25 years. On a busy night for New York, sports, and New York sports, the Game 5 viewership was an even bigger success considering the game took place at the same time as Sunday Night Football between the New York Jets and Pittsburgh Steelers and Game 6 of the ALCS between the Los Angeles Dodgers and New York Mets.
Across the league and throughout the season, the WNBA saw extensive increases in viewership and attendance, as well as in merchandise sales, and in engagement with WNBA content on social media.
The WNBA’s future is bright and it will only grow further, literally. Next season the Golden State Valkyries will make their debut; teams will play 44 regular season games rather than 40, and the WNBA Finals will expand to seven games.
History is only going to continue to be made in the WNBA and in other women’s sports. Support, watch, and invest in women’s sports.
Congratulations to the WNBA champions, the New York Liberty!
Courtesy of the New York Liberty (@nyliberty) on Instagram
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