The WNBA Finals loss in 2023 hangs in the air. But the Liberty have reason to believe this could be the year they win the franchise’s first title.
to grab the inbounds pass from Sabrina Ionescu. There were 8.8 seconds left in Game 4 of the 2023 WNBA Finals, and the New York Liberty trailed the Las Vegas Aces by one. Even worse, they were one loss from elimination.
Stewart drove toward the block and spun in the lane as Aces guard Jackie Young stepped forward to double-team her. The reigning MVP kicked the ball out to the wing, her last touch of the 2023 season.
After one more pass, the ball wound up in Courtney Vandersloot’s hands on the baseline. With 1.7 seconds left, she launched the ball toward the basket. It sailed over the rim. Jonquel Jones grabbed it for a put-back, but the red light gleamed on the backboard and the clock read 0.0. The scoreboard sealed it: Aces 70, Liberty 69. The game was over. The season was over. The championship quest was over.
The Liberty had led by nine at halftime. They were playing a shorthanded team that didn’t have point guard Chelsea Gray, center Kiah Stokes or legend Candace Parker. They were playing on their home court.
The Aces formed a dogpile near the Liberty logo.
«We have a scar as a team», Vandersloot says 11 months later. «We are working through that.»
A scar. A physical reminder of trauma, of pain. The Liberty will confront that reminder starting Sunday in a semifinal matchup with the team that inflicted it. New York has the best record in the league this season. The Liberty have beaten the Aces all three times they’ve played. But questions remain. Will the scar motivate them or haunt them? Have the Liberty healed enough to bring home the first championship in franchise history?
THE BALL HADN’T cleared the net’s nylon when Ionescu hung her head and walked toward the Liberty bench. The ball was still bouncing near the baseline when Jones turned her eyes away from the celebration and toward her downcast teammates. Stewart leaned over, her hands on her knees, as the Las Vegas party gained steam.
Minutes later, Stewart, the season’s MVP, and Vandersloot, the game’s high scorer, stared at the stat sheets as though they contained the secret to fixing the New York City subway system. They were asked how they would describe their level of disappointment.
«High», Stewart said, and silence followed.
«Very high», Vandersloot said.
All season, buzz surrounded the arrival of Stewart, Vandersloot and Jones in New York. Stewart was a two-time WNBA champion in Seattle, a former MVP and recognized as one of the best players in the world. Vandersloot ranked in the top three for career assists in the WNBA and won a championship in Chicago. Jones, a former MVP with Connecticut, led the league in rebounds per game in 2017, 2019 and 2021. The All-Stars had conspired to join Ionescu, the No. 1 draft pick in 2020, in the biggest market in the league, in the basketball mecca of the world.
