2024 WNBA Finals

Result

Finals MVP: Jonquel Jones

New York's first WNBA title in franchise history, after five previous Finals losses (1997, 1999, 2000, 2002, 2023) dating back to the league's inaugural season. This was the last Finals played in the best-of-five format before the move to best-of-seven in 2025.

Games

Finals context

After five prior Finals losses stretching back to the league's inaugural 1997 season, New York finally broke through in 2024, but not before enduring a five-game series against Minnesota defined by extraordinary comebacks and a controversial officiating decision in the closer. Game 1 in New York produced one of the most dramatic finishes in Finals history: after trailing by as many as 32-19 after one quarter and by eight at halftime, Minnesota staged the largest fourth-quarter-or-later comeback in WNBA playoff history, with Courtney Williams hitting a four-point play with 5.5 seconds left in regulation to force overtime, where the Lynx prevailed 95-93; Jonquel Jones had 24 points and 10 rebounds for New York in the loss. The Liberty answered decisively in Game 2, winning 80-66 as Breanna Stewart recorded a Finals-record 7 steals to go with 21 points, building an early 31-21 first-quarter lead that Minnesota never fully closed. New York took a 2-1 series lead with an 80-77 win in Game 3 before a record Target Center crowd of 19,521, with Stewart posting 30 points and 11 rebounds and Sabrina Ionescu sealing the win with a three-pointer with one second left. Minnesota forced a decisive Game 5 by winning Game 4, 82-80, suffocating New York's stars — Stewart and Ionescu combined to shoot just 10-of-36 from the field — while Bridget Carleton's late free throws secured the win. The finale, in New York, went to overtime after Minnesota led by as many as 12 points and by one in the closing minute of regulation, but a foul call on Minnesota's Alanna Smith with 5.2 seconds left allowed Stewart to tie the game at 60, a decision that drew immediate and sustained criticism, including public comments from figures such as LeBron James and Damian Lillard, and was described by at least one prominent WNBA journalist as leaving a lasting "stain" on an otherwise outstanding series. New York won the extra period 7-2 to clinch the title, with Jonquel Jones named Finals MVP after scoring 17 points in the decider. The championship, New York's first in franchise history after appearances in 1997, 1999, 2000, 2002, and 2023 all ending in defeat, capped a six-Finals odyssey and represented the first professional basketball championship for the New York area since the ABA's Nets in 1976. Minnesota head coach Cheryl Reeve stated bluntly afterward that she believed the title had been "stolen" by the officiating, ensuring the series' legacy would be debated for years. This was also the last Finals played under the best-of-five format before the league's move to best-of-seven in 2025.

Sources

• Wikipedia — 2024 WNBA Finals
• Basketball-Reference.com — WNBA Playoffs