The top-seeded Minnesota Lynx begin their quest for their first WNBA title since 2017 by hosting the eighth-seeded New York Liberty in Game 1 of their best-of-three first-round series Sunday afternoon in Minneapolis.
The teams are no strangers to one another. New York took down Minnesota 3-2 in the 2024 WNBA Finals and, while there are new faces on both sides, the memory of that hotly contested series lingers.
“You know they have more players (from 2024) on their team than we do on ours, but we have some key pieces, too … what does it mean?” Minnesota coach Cheryl Reeve said. “You have to have a healthy dislike for one another and I think that exists, but also at the same time, a lot of respect. I think it just makes for great cinema.”
Minnesota was the WNBA’s most consistent team, finishing 33-11 this season and making the playoffs for the 15th time in the last 16 years.
Rookie Olivia Miles leads the Lynx with 19.8 points a game after taking over early in the season until All-Star forward Napheesa Collier returned from injury.
The Lynx went 2-2 after returning from the FIBA World Cup break. Miles missed the last two games with a calf injury, largely a precaution, but should be good to go Sunday.
“I don’t think anybody should be surprised at any outcomes,” Reeve said. “I know the betting people will have favorites and that sort of thing. I wouldn’t pay attention to any of it. I wouldn’t be surprised by anything that happens because I think all the teams are that good.”
The Liberty won the 2026 Commissioners Cup and finished 26-18. Just like in 2024, they are led by their version of the Big Three: Breanna Stewart, Sabrina Ionescu and Jonquel Jones.
Stewart, lately battling a sore knee, played in 42 games this season and ranked seventh in the league in scoring at 20.8 points a game. Ionescu missed a chunk of the season with ankle and back injuries.
Defensively, the Liberty struggled at times and are coming off consecutive losses at home this week against the Atlanta Dream. They did beat Minnesota in two of three meetings.
“It’s the playoffs: 0-0,” first-year Liberty coach Chris DeMarco said. “We’re hopefully, I think, going to be healthy and be ready to go. I will say this about our team, we do have a ton of fight. When the moments become big, we have answered. And, obviously, these last two games, we struggled a little bit. But we’ll be ready to go against Minnesota.”
Reeve took the opportunity in her post-game remarks Thursday after Minnesota’s season finale to campaign for longer playoff series.
“We are at seven (games) for the first time for the Finals and I love the look of that and I see the other seven teams in the field who are all great,” she said. “Great basketball should go on as long as you can. I would like to see that and it’s something when we get a new commissioner and a new competition committee, I think we are all in favor of it.”
–Field Level Media
