Despite being one of the league’s original teams and making it to the WNBA Finals five times, the New York Liberty never won a championship. That changed on Sunday night, when the Liberty capped off their sixth Finals appearance with the first ring in franchise history thanks to a thrilling, 67-62 overtime victory in Game 5 over the Minnesota Lynx.
Everyone in the Barclays Center who wasn’t affiliated with the Lynx began celebrating the moment the clock hit zero in the extra period. Meanwhile, presumably somewhere else in the U.S., the folks at Nike prepared to roll out the ad that they made to celebrate the win. It hit the airwaves right as ESPN went to commercial, and it’s one of the simplest (but best) ads to celebrate a champion that you will ever see.
A monumental statement with a ring to match. pic.twitter.com/O24Q8exf2i
— Nike Basketball (@nikebasketball) October 21, 2024
This marked the second year in a row that the Liberty made it to the WNBA Finals. Last season, the team fell to the Las Vegas Aces in four games, but were able to get revenge on their road to a championship this year. The team started off their run by beating the Atlanta Dream in two games before beating the Aces in four games in the semifinals.