Freedom Ain’t [Phee]

They did it. They actually did it. After 28 seasons of existence, and in the final WNBA Finals of the best-of-five format before moving to best-of-seven next year, the New York Liberty finally won their first championship in the full five games featuring two overtimes it took to undo the Minnesota Lynx, featuring Defensive Player Of The Year and MVP runner-up Napheesa Collier (awesome playoff run, and thanks for the headline, but: we will not be hearing about her for the remainder of this post). Behind Finals MVP Jonquel Jones and Nyara Sabally, the latter of whom put up a much-needed thirteen points and six rebounds in seventeen minutes off the bench Sunday night, the Liberty won 67-62.

Despite Sabrina Ionescu’s (1-19; alt text: ONE FOR NINETEEN FROM THE FIELD) and Breanna Stewart’s (4-15; alt text, but slightly – only slightly – more cordial this time: FOUR FOR FIFTEEN FROM THE FIELD) worst efforts on offense of their respective playoffs, the Liberty’s defense carried them through. The New York Liberty are the WNBA champions.

An absolutely on fire Courtney Williams and a cast of complementary talent, featuring three-point ace Bridget Carleton and shapeshifting big Alanna Smith, reacted to every Liberty offensive. Cheryl Reeve is in the Geno Auriemma class of coaches who have a response to everything (shout out to my friend Dan, an OG Liberty fan, for that one).

After not exactly being caretakers of the ball in this series, New York forced more than they gave up, 16-12. With each of Ionescu and Stewart contributing mightily on the other end and in transition via rebounds, counterstrikes and playmaking, the Liberty kept afloat and managed to scrounge their way back from down twelve in the second quarter. Off shooting nights from the stars meant role players had to ride in from out of town. Thus, Sabally, Ionescu’s collegiate teammate, delivered the kind of unexpectedly splendid performance any championship team needs.

Of course, and as in any contentious series, there were officiating follies. Reeve has a point about Game 5’s calls and non-calls; Reeve’s press conference after Game 3, though, may or may not have yielded some decidedly questionable officiating in Game 4. Not even the digital hand of the almighty LeBron could wave the invisible hand down the stretch of Game 5.

New York overtook the Lynx, eventually leading by four with a little over three minutes left in the fourth quarter. After tying the game, Collier hit a jumper to put Minnesota up two; a couple of fouls later, Stewart missed two that would’ve tied the game. 33 game-time seconds that collectively felt like several weeks later, Smith fouled Stewart, allowing the former MVP a pair of shots at redemption. A tie and an overtime later, and the Liberty are the world champions.

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By an astronomical margin, this has been the most consequential season of the W’s existence so far. A large part of that was the spillover of collegiate fans following Iowa’s Caitlin Clark and LSU’s Angel Reese, among a few other star rookies, into the professional ranks. Some of it was due to an influx of curious men’s basketball fans being able to watch the W with an increased slate of nationally-televised games. Part of it was due to Liberty mascot Ellie the Elephant (who, notably, now has one more title under her belt than Gritty does in his tenure with the Philadelphia Flyers).

Some of it likely includes post-Olympic considerations. Knowing the US women’s basketball team is literally the most dominant thing going, and with many more eyes on it than in the past, this makes sense. Even after two straight Final Four runs with Iowa, Clark was left off the Team USA roster because she wasn’t yet proven to be one of the best Americans women’s basketball players: this is a pretty straightforward explanation. Especially after Reese’s season-ending wrist injury in September, this is what the incense had left in its dying light.

The politics surrounding the many hundreds of thousands of people who’d only ever treated the WNBA as a nominal joke until they finally received the opportunity to defend a white woman aren’t really my business, except that they’re there, and they’re constantly there: Stewart and her wife received death threats, which you can “oh, please” all you want until you hear – stopping short of saying “realize,” because many still in the throes outright reject this as a possibility, it could never happen to them – that the greatest strength of alarmism is having perceived threats on your own side.

After ingesting any of this, one might see why Stewie would miss a free throw, why Ionescu may lose herself in the moment. Meanwhile, with all the visibility on this league at this time, the WNBA is at a new dawn-type moment, as its own players union reiterated today by opting out of the current CBA. When people ask, normally in bad or uninformed faith, why “these girls” make more money than “real Americans,” welp: it’s time to ask why any of the latter watch television, an obvious villain, and how fed up they are with advertising on behalf of the military.

Then, after hearing about how WNBA commercial space and the military have nothing to do with each other, except for how much of the military’s budget – you know, your own tax dollars – is going into that advertising, then you should ask about how pleased they are with post-service follow-ups from the greatest-funded entity that has ever existed.

Anyway, sure: blame the bleached-blonde Black women for the prices at the grocery store or gas station. Now, your turn: explain that to me. Ah! Sorry: allow me off of my pedestal first.

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The last part, arguably the most important, is that the Liberty brought New York, the city, together in a way that is increasingly vanishing. Anecdotal evidence is what exactly that, but the feel of the city is lighter, a place with less trepidation and more hopeful, in the WNBA seasons of the past few years.

In a time when New York sports are hitting collectively like they haven’t in a bit, the Liberty, following the lead of fellow superteam and last year’s NWSL champions, NJ/NY Gotham FC, feels appropriate. Hype has been following the team since Ionescu’s drafting, increasing especially since the acquisitions of Stewart and Jones two years ago. There has been hope; major sports media outlets have noticed, and the league has noticed.

As usual, women have led the way. If the Yankees, or the Knicks, or the Giants, or Rangers, or whatever other team brings this town another parade, so be it. Great! Can’t wait. But right now, nearly three decades in, is the New York Liberty’s time. I hope Ellie dances.