2024 WNBA Finals: How Liberty won title despite Sabrina Ionescu and Breanna Stewart shooting 14.7% in Game 5

The New York Liberty claimed the first title in franchise history on Sunday night, ending a 28-season quest, with a 67-62 victory over the Minnesota Lynx in Game 5 of the 2024 WNBA Finals. In a fitting ending to one of the best Finals ever, the winner-take-all Game 5 went to overtime, where the Liberty did just enough to escape with the trophy. 

The Liberty won despite scoring only 10 points in the first quarter, trailing by 12 in the first half, shooting 22 of 72 (30.5%) from the field, including 2 of 23 (8.6%) from behind the arc and getting a combined 18 points on 5 of 34 (14.7%) from Breanna Stewart and Sabrina Ionescu. The latter was particularly poor, going 1 of 19 (5.3%) from the field in the worst shooting performance (minimum 15 shots) ever in playoff history. 

So then exactly how did the Liberty manage to win despite all of those factors going against them? Let’s take a closer look:

Jones’ consistency

Jonquel Jones was named Finals MVP, not for any show-stopping performances, but maintaining a level of consistency that the Liberty desperately needed. Game 5 was a perfect example. Jones didn’t do anything amazing, but she finished with a team-high 17 points and six rebounds on 5 of 10 from the field and 8 of 8 at the free throw line. 

Jones was particularly important in the first half. While the rest of the team couldn’t buy a bucket, Jones got inside for some high-percentage looks that kept the Liberty within striking distance. They only trailed by seven at the half in large part because of Jones, who had 10 of their 27 points. 

The Liberty were the more talented team in this matchup, but they didn’t always play up to their potential. Jones was the one constant along the way. It said a lot that on multiple occasions in Game 5, the Liberty went to Jones out of a timeout when they really needed a bucket. 

“Really, really proud of JJ,” Liberty coach Sandy Brondello said. “I love coaching her. I just love her personality, how she brings it every single day. She was big for us. It wasn’t a pretty game today. But we were trying to establish her early. At both ends, she worked her butt off. 

“Usually I don’t like to play her 42 minutes, but she just stayed competing because that’s how important it was. She knew how she needed to help us. She’s been big for us. She’s been big for us all season long but particularly these playoffs. She’s amazing. We love you, JJ. So proud of you, mate. You deserve this. Your first one, baby.”

A burst off the bench

Coming into Sunday’s Game 5, Nyara Sabally was probably best known for being the younger sister of former No. 2 overall pick Satou Sabally. That is no longer the case. In the best and most important performance of her career, Sabally finished with 13 points and seven rebounds on 5 of 7 (71.4%) from the field. 

She earned herself a spot on the podium during the post-game press conference, and the Barclays Center crowd even chanted her name during the trophy presentation. Between the regular season and playoffs, this was only the fourth time that Sabally had reached double figures in her career. And prior to this game she had just 11 points in 37 minutes in this series. 

In a game in which most players appeared to be feeling the weight of the moment, Sabally hit the court with a burst of carefree energy. She had some huge baskets in the third quarter as the Liberty made their game-changing run and crashed the glass well. Easily her most important play came late in overtime when she made an incredible recovery to block Napheesa Collier, who was about to convert a layup to make it a one-point game. 

“I think what’s incredible about Ny is if you look back at the semifinal series, she didn’t really play,” Stewart said. “Then she stayed ready and knew that in the Finals, her time will come and she continued to stick with it. When we needed her most, because you were the X-factor tonight, Ny.

“Listen, we were tired. We were trying to do whatever we could. We needed, like a spark and she was that. She continued to trust the process and we are so proud of Ny. So proud.”

Getting to the line

The Liberty are primarily a jump shooting team. During the regular season they finished first in 3-pointers made per game (10.1), seventh in points in the paint per game (35.9) ninth in the league in free throw rate (.250) and ninth in percentage of points from the free throw line (16.3).

In Game 5, they flipped the script. Their jump shots were not falling — they shot 2 of 23 on 3-point attempts and made just three total shots outside of the paint — so they worked the ball inside against the smaller Lynx and fought their way to the line for easy points. 

They shot 25 free throws — their third-most in a game all season — compared to only eight attempts for the Lynx, a fact that enraged Lynx coach Cheryl Reeve, who said that the title was “stolen” from her team by the officials. Brondello, to little surprise, thought the refs were “pretty fair.” 

There were certainly some questionable calls, including the one that sent Stewart to the line with 5.2 seconds remaining, for her game-tying free throws. The Liberty forced the issue, though, and sometimes when that happens you get the benefit of the doubt. 

“I came in with a game plan of like, it doesn’t matter,” Stewart said. “I want to play defense. I want to rebound. I want to do the little things, and I’ll continue to be aggressive and shoot my shots.

“But if they are not falling, they are not falling. I’m not going to let that affect the way I do things. So continuing to be there for my team. I didn’t talk about this, but before I made the [game tying] free throws, I missed two free throws. I was like, no, I can’t do this again, I can’t. I have to be here. [Assistant coach] Olaf [Lange], him and I have talked about being a python, where it’s like you know your moment when to strike. At that moment, I was just thinking about being a python.”