Tag: WNBA Finals

Breanna Stewart shared the coldest Liberty championship trophy photo mid-parade

Thanks for playing, everybody. Breanna Stewart wins COLDEST photo of the day.

Breanna Stewart had the time of her life at the Liberty’s championship parade, and one photo showed her journey, which, despite a tough WNBA Finals, was all worth it.

No one had a better time celebrating New York’s first championship than Stewie. Her wife kicked things off early with a hysterical custom parade shirt of Stewie smiling while holding an enormous wine glass. Then, Stewie tweeted that someone should bring her a bottle of wine for the parade, and guess what? SOMEONE BROUGHT STEWIE THE WINE.

As excellent as that sequence of events is, nothing tops a mid-celebration photo that Stewie shared on her social media. In an unbelievably spectacular image from the parade, Stewie is on a float, smoking a victory cigar and holding a glass of red wine while sitting beside the Liberty’s championship trophy. COLDDDDD. 10/10 content. No notes.

https://www.instagram.com/p/DBg2piIOkS-/?igsh=cTJrYTQ2MTNrZGwx

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Sabrina Ionescu wore a sick custom jacket to the Liberty’s parade

Sabrina’s jacket is FIRE.

Sabrina Ionescu wore a sick custom Nike championship jacket to the Liberty’s parade, and it was awesome.

The New York Liberty held its championship parade Thursday for thousands of fans to celebrate the city’s first WNBA title. As you might suspect, there was plenty of celebrating to do after a thrilling five-game series with Minnesota that took New York down to the wire.

When something like that happens, you gotta celebrate big. And if you’re Sabrina Ionescu, that means stunting in a custom jacket at the victory parade. Sab rolled through New York in a SWEET black, white and seafoam look, complete with the records it took to beat the Dream, Aces and Lynx, her logo, and several phrases like “Liberty has a nice ring to it.”

https://www.instagram.com/reel/DBgrCSQRIQi/?igsh=MWFydmhraDdjd29ydg==

https://www.instagram.com/p/DBgujPyuCpK/?igsh=NDM1dTBhcjZjeGY=

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Breanna Stewart’s wife, Marta Xargay, wore a perfect custom Stewie shirt to Liberty title parade

The smile. The GINORMOUS glass. 10/10 shirt.

Breanna Stewart‘s wife, Marta Xargay, wore an epic shirt with Stewie’s face on it to the Liberty’s championship parade, and we could not stop laughing.

First, let us say that when you win a championship, there are no rules at the parade. YOU DO WHAT YOU WANT. That includes drinking at wildly early times of the day. For Breanna Stewart, that meant wine before noon, and her wife, Marta — another basketball champ —was totally here for her shenanigans.

Ahead of Thursday’s Liberty championship parade, Stewie shared a photo of the whole family patiently waiting for the festivities to start. It seemed harmless until we realized Marta was wearing a shirt with a picture of Stewie smiling while holding a GIANT wine glass.

But wait. It gets better. Shortly after Stewie posted the image, she tweeted, asking someone to bring her a bottle of wine at the parade.

While she didn’t get the red wine she requested, her Instagram story shows someone brought her some white wine.

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Liberty’s Sandy Brondello held back coughs smoking WNBA championship cigar

Somebody help that poor woman!

Somebody needs to help Sandy Brondello. After winning a championship, that poor woman struggled so badly with the Liberty’s victory cigars.

Admittedly, I could never smoke a cigar. These poor baby lungs of mine would never let me do it. So, whenever I see someone smoking a stogie, I’m always so jealous of them — especially one smoked after a huge victory. That seems like the best, right?

It all sounds good until I realized I would probably end up like poor Sandy Brondello, who tried so hard — and seemingly failed — to light up after the Liberty secured its first championship. In a new video, Brondello excitedly attempts to take a puff of a cigar lit multiple times, but she coughs horribly after each puff, and I just want to hug her.

https://www.instagram.com/reel/DBZINecPkPs/?igsh=dW85bjZoYTFtOXFk

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Liberty’s Nyara Sabally deserves her flowers for heroic WNBA Finals performance

A New York Liberty championship doesn’t happen without Nyara Sabally.

The New York Liberty would not have a championship without Nyara Sabally’s contributions, and I’m not even being dramatic.

A lot of what happens in the WNBA Finals is all about adjustments. It’s the unspoken thing that doesn’t get enough credit. For example, when Chelsey Gray and Kiah Stokes suffered injuries during the 2023 Finals, Becky Hammon threw out a starting lineup with few minutes together and a defensive scheme that neither the Aces nor Liberty had ever seen — and it worked. Another unspoken series-changing adjustment happened during Sunday’s Game 5, and it came with massive implications and a ring.

With their backs against the wall, Sandy Brondello went to her bench, throwing in Nyara Sabally. Before Sunday, Sabally averaged only nine minutes and three points per game during the Finals. However, her buckets were always timely leading up to the penultimate title game, and when the pressure was on, the 6-foot-5 center was DYNAMITE.

The former No. 5 overall pick played 17 minutes Sunday and dropped a career-high 13 points — nine of which came in the third quarter.

She also grabbed seven boards and secured a back-breaking steal on Napheesa Collier during overtime that ultimately helped shut the door on the Lynx.

Cheryl Reeve might think differently, but this was a coaching masterclass move by Sandy Brondello. Sometimes, you must do unconventional yet calculated things for a chance at postseason glory.

We aren’t talking about a Liberty championship without Brondello’s adjustment and Sabally’s unshakeable confidence on the league’s highest stage. Let’s give NYara — See what I did there? — her rightful flowers as the series’ unsung hero.

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The Liberty trolled Courtney Williams with a Target bag after her Birkin quote

Oh no, Courtney.

Courtney Williams didn’t have her best performance during Game 5 of the WNBA Finals, and the New York Liberty made sure she knew it after they won a championship.

During a halftime interview of Game 4 in Minneapolis Friday, Courtney, who was having a stellar game, told Holly Rowe that she was in her bag. Williams hilariously explained, “I’m in a Birkin right now. So, I gotta make sure I don’t drop down to like a Target bag. I gotta stay in my Birkin.”

Unfortunately, she DID NOT stay in her Birkin on Sunday when the series shifted back to Brooklyn. Williams had just four points and shot 14 percent from the field. Postgame, someone masterfully left a bag with “Birkin” written on it and a Target bag on the Liberty’s midcourt logo.

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Cheryl Reeve had a scathing critique of WNBA Finals refs after botched Breanna Stewart foul

“This [expletive] was stolen from us.”

Cheryl Reeve went scored earth on the officiating crew overseeing Game 5 of the WNBA Finals, and she did not hold back.

The Liberty-Lynx series had been incredibly tight throughout the Finals. The margin of victory was tiny — less than five points in multiple games — and every basket and foul call counted. Late in Game 5, the Lynx were seemingly on the verge of locking up the franchise’s fifth championship when two fouls were called on the Lynx.

After the first foul, Breanna Stewart missed both free throws, which should have seemingly iced the matchup. But the second foul, called with just under four seconds left, sent Stewie to the line. She nailed both free throws, and the Lynx couldn’t get a shot to fall afterward, sending the game into overtime. That typically isn’t a huge deal until you see the play was called a foul.

As you can see, Stewie seemingly traveled before the foul. But that isn’t what caused an uproar. Many people, including LeBron James, quickly pointed out that the call wasn’t a foul at all. (Warning: NSFW language.)

Cheryl Reeve also thought the foul call was awful and challenged it in-game, but it was unsuccessful. As a result, she went IN on the refs during a fiery postgame presser. Here’s part of what she said:

“The officials, during the game, should have a third party because that was not a foul. That call should have been reversed on that challenge. If we sent that clip in … they would have told us that it was marginal contact. No foul. Guaranteed … that decided the game.”

But that wasn’t all Cheryl had to say. She acknowledged that the headlines would discuss her rant before adding, “This [expletive] was stolen from us.” (Warning: NSFW language.)

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Championship eludes former Notre Dame guard Kayla McBride again

Still can’t get it done.

Former Notre Dame guard [autotag]Kayla McBride[/autotag] had her best chance to win a championship yet this season. Her Minnesota Lynx had a 30-10 regular-season record and took the New York Liberty, the only team with a better record, to a winner-take-all Game 5 of the WNBA Finals.

McBride did everything she could, scoring 21 points, the second-most on the Lynx. She also grabbed five rebounds, had a team-high five assists and a game-high four steals.

It was not enough though as the Liberty won their first WNBA championship with a 67-62 overtime victory. The Lynx remain in a three-way tie for the most WNBA titles with four.

McBride is used to just coming up short by now. She made the finals with the Las Vegas Aces in 2020, but the Seattle Storm, one of the other two teams with four championships, swept that series. She went to three national title games with the Irish in the 2010s but lost every single time.

It’s a classic example of always being the bridesmaid but never the bride. Let’s hope that McBride, who turns 33 next season, can become the bride before too long.

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Follow Geoffrey on X: @gfclark89

Jonquel Jones winning WNBA Finals MVP for the Liberty shouldn’t be surprising

Put some respect on Jonquel Jones’ name.

Jonquel Jones and her stellar WNBA Finals performance earned Finals MVP accolades.

So much has been said about Breanna Stewart and Sabrina Ionescu’s Finals performances, but Jonquel Jones was quietly balling all series long. Minnesota had little answer for her height, length and quick scoring ability. Ultimately, that allowed the former 2021 WNBA MVP to go to work, averaging nearly 18 points and 7.6 rebounds for the series.

She even dropped a 17-point and six-rebound performance Sunday when New York needed it most. The Liberty struggled early in Game 5’s overtime matchup. However, Jones was confident in her shot, shooting 50 percent from the field and nailing all her free throws. Her calm demeanor helped the Liberty lift a trophy for the first time in franchise history. Jones told Holly Rowe during the postgame awards ceremony, “I couldn’t dream of this,” but this happens when you work to make your dreams happen. Congratulations to Jonquel!

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Ryan Ruocco’s electric call of the Liberty’s WNBA championship moment was amazing

“Twenty-eight years in the making!”

After six trips to the WNBA’s largest stage, the New York Liberty are finally champions.

All season long, the New York Liberty were atop the WNBA standings, and for good reason. Their starters for most of the year — Breanna Stewart, Jonquel Jones, Sabrina Ionescu and Betnijah Laney-Hamilton — put together a masterclass in imposing wills on every team across the league. Then, when New York swapped out veteran Courtney Vandersloot for rookie Leonie Fiebich in its starting lineup, the Liberty unlocked a new level of offensive production that they had been missing.

Fiebich’s will, no-fear mentality and pure determination were so impressive that they helped New York wrap a pretty bow around its first title. New York walked out of Barclays with a Game 5 overtime win, 67-62, and bragging rights for the next year. Here’s Ryan Ruocco’s electric call of New York winning it all.

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