New York Liberty Looking Like WNBA Champions

This really should be the New York Liberty’s year. 

The franchise that has never won the WNBA title is ready to fly a flag starting sometime in October. They’ll have the top seed for the playoffs on merit, and more than the Las Vegas Aces, are scoring high grades on the eye test.

But can this super team of Stewart, Ionescu, Jones, etc. do what they couldn’t do last year? On paper, yes. There’s a reason they enter Thursday’s regular season finale at 32-7 and lead the league in scoring—because they’re better than everyone else. 

Right?

Yes. But not even the WNBA postseason works that way. 

On paper, six—maybe even seven—teams can claim no worse than a puncher’s chance of winning their first-round series. Only the No. 8 seed that New York devours like a cream puff in the first round is a sure thing to bow out in Round 1.

Otherwise, this could be the most fun postseason in the league’s history. 

How might it play out? 

We spun one of those orange and white balls on our finger, thought back about all the fun times this summer, even had a flashback to the league’s beginning when Rebecca Lobo was playing the game instead of talking about it, and came up with this possible scenario:

FIRST ROUND

Liberty over either Dream, Mystics or Sky: The Dream gets the eighth spot with a win or if all three lose. The Mystics, who have won seven of their last 11 to stumble into contention, can extend their season by beating Indiana and having the Dream lose. The Sky must win at Connecticut and hope the other two lose.

The Mystics are playing the best of the trio, but expecting them to pull off the 1-8 upset is a bit like expecting, say, Western Illinois to go win at South Carolina in the first round of the NCAA tourney. Two words: Not happening.

Lynx over Mercury: Minnesota is playing the best ball of anyone at the moment. It won the season series from New York, including an impressive 88-79 win Sunday in Brooklyn. It goes into the postseason as the No. 2 seed.

The Lynx took three of four from Phoenix in the regular season. Even though the Mercury have veterans like Diana Taurasi and Brittney Griner, they just don’t have enough to pull this off.

Sun over Fever: This is the series you’ll see non-stop across the four-letter network, and for good reason. Caitlin Clark brings eyeballs to arenas and TV because she’s just that good. Indiana got better as the year went on, but it’s not ready to win this series yet.

Connecticut is probably too experienced and a little too solid on the defensive end for Indiana. Give Clark and her teammates a couple of years to grow into things though, and they will win championships. Just not now.

Aces over Storm: Four against five is usually your best first-round series in an eight-team format. There’s a lot to like about both these teams and a nice contrast in styles. Las Vegas has the league’s best player in A’ja Wilson, and Seattle has inspirational force Skylar Diggins-Smith.

In the end, the Aces’ championship pedigree gets them through to the semifinals.

SEMIFINALS

Liberty over Aces: The three-peat ends here as New York again uses its defense to make things just hard enough for Wilson. The Liberty swept the season series, allowing just over 73 ppg to a team known for its brilliance on offense.

Lynx over Sun: Connecticut is that team that always contends but never quite climbs the mountain. This time, it’s Napheesa Collier and Minnesota that block its path to the summit.

CHAMPIONSHIP

Lynx over Liberty: Basketball is all about matchups, and Minnesota is the team that has given New York the most trouble. It drilled the Liberty by 17 in May and led Sunday by 26 in the second half.

New York couldn’t make 40 percent of its shots in any of the teams’ three games this year. The numbers add up to the Lynx becoming the new WNBA champion.