That the Liberty have been right here, in Game 1 of the WNBA Finals on Thursday night time at Barclays Center, would have come as little shock to those that set out months in the past to forecast a landmark 2024 season.
It’s the identification of their opponent that offered the upset.
A preferred preseason Finals choose have been the two-time defending champion Las Vegas Aces, who wobbled all summer season and in the (semi)last reckoning have been eradicated by the Liberty in the earlier spherical.
Or the Connecticut Sun, a perennial deep-playoff entry, appeared believable. Ditto the Seattle Storm or Phoenix Mercury, if all the things broke proper with their big-name offseason additions.
Nope, nope and nope.
Instead, it’s the Minnesota Lynx, who completed 19-21 a yr in the past and — a lot to the told-ya-so delight of head coach Cheryl Reeve — have been pegged ninth in ESPN’s preseason rankings (The Post had them sixth, for the file), who got here to Brooklyn three wins away from a title.
If the Liberty are the superteam, the Lynx are the everyteam.
Their renaissance begins with homegrown Napheesa Collier ascending from an All-Star right into a consensus top-three participant in the world. Collier, in her sixth professional season, averaged 20.4 factors with a career-high 9.7 rebounds and 1.4 blocks and completed second in MVP voting.
Collier was surrounded by complementary items in a new-look beginning 5: holdover sharpshooters Kayla McBride and Bridget Carleton, plus mid-level free brokers Courtney Williams and Alanna Smith (each signed away from Chicago).
Reeve stated she acknowledged all the approach again on the second day of coaching camp that one thing particular was brewing together with her workforce.
“They were there for each other to cover, and the joy that they did it with — hadn’t experienced that in a couple of years,” Reeve stated. “At the time, I just walked out of there. I didn’t tell anybody. It was just kind of like, ‘OK, this is really good.’ ”
The Lynx notched a press release win over the Liberty in their fourth recreation on May 25 and scarcely regarded again. They have been the solely workforce to beat the Liberty twice (3 times in all). They completed in second place with a 30-10 file, together with a 13-2 mark after the Olympics break.
Their hallmark grew to become their protection, which completed second in the league with a 94.8 ranking.
“They just trust it, and they rotate so well,” Liberty head coach Sandy Brondello stated earlier than Game 1. “They’re on a string.”
The Lynx have been the preeminent WNBA dynasty of the 2010s, successful 4 championships with the likes of Maya Moore, Lindsay Whalen, Seimone Augustus, Rebekkah Bronson and Sylvia Fowles.
Now, with Collier fronting a brand new nucleus and Reeve in sight of an unprecedented fifth ring, they’re again in the league’s internal circle.
“It wouldn’t mean as much to me as it would in terms of how I feel about them,” Reeve stated. “I really, really am excited for this group to prove all the prognosticators wrong once again.”
