The New York Liberty's first championship was years in the making. Many legends played for the Liberty, including Teresa Weatherspoon, Tina Charles, and Rebecca Lobo, but they never won a title. However, the 2024 team won on the backs of two-time Finals MVP Breanna Stewart and current Finals MVP, Jonquel Jones. Those two stars were vital to winning it all, but the process started with the top college player in 2020, Sabrina Ionescu (yo-NESS-coo).

In 2020, the Liberty selected their franchise player who had a historic college career. In four seasons at Oregon, she averaged 18.0 points, 7.3 rebounds, and 7.7 assists, and set the current record for the most career triple-doubles at 26. Ionescu is also the only player in college history to achieve 2,000 points, 1,000 rebounds, and 1,000 assists in a college career (male or female). Despite being the first overall pick, she played only two games before being sidelined for the rest of the season. New York finished the year 2-20, but with new changes made by the ownership group, they only got better.

After 2020, the future became promising for the Liberty. Under new head coach Sandy Brondello, and owners Joe and Clara Wu Tsai (Sigh), they made the playoffs in 2022 after finishing 16-20. The Tsai family, who also owns the NBA’s Brooklyn Nets, bought the Liberty in 2019. Besides a new coach, one of the new changes was moving their home games to the Barclays Center. The new arena is home to the Nets, and seats up to 19,000. The Liberty also added another key piece in guard Benijah Laney-Hamilton (buh-NYE-juh lay-knee) from the Atlanta Dream. In her previous season with the Dream, she averaged 17.2 points, 4.9 rebounds, and 1.6 steals per game. While New York built a playoff team with a new leader, they became a superteam after the 2023 offseason, where they acquired multiple stars.

The Liberty became an appealing destination for free agents, as they signed Stewart after trading for Jones to create their dominant frontcourt. Former Champion and veteran point guard Courtney Vandersloot also decided to join the team. They also drafted another former Oregon Duck, Nyara Sabally (knee-ARE-uh SAH-buh-lee). New York had a historic 2023 season, finishing 32-8, and made the WNBA Finals for the first time since 2002. Stewart had an incredible first season with the Liberty, as she won her second WNBA MVP award. She averaged 23.0 points, 9.3 rebounds, 1.5 steals, and 1.6 blocks per game. Unfortunately, they fell to the defending champion Las Vegas Aces, who built a superteam of their own. With the bitter taste of defeat in their mouths, the decision to add more pieces around their nucleus paid off in 2024.

After an offseason where they added depth to their bench, New York added a key starter in German forward Leonie Fiebich (Lee-Own-E Fee-Bish). After being drafted by Los Angeles in 2020, she decided to take her talents overseas before joining the Liberty in 2024. Officially being designated a rookie, her production was good enough to earn a place on the All-Rookie Team. She proved to be an effective starter, averaging 6.7 points, 3.0 rebounds, 1.0 steals and shot 43.3 % from three-point land. Fiebich also recorded 3.3 win shares, which means she was solely responsible for just over three wins this season. New York finished 32-8 again with another trip to the Finals. In a path where the Liberty eliminated the Aces, they also defeated the Minnesota Lynx in five games, to win the championship. New York looked like the favorite to win it all since the start of the season, and they followed through after experiencing defeat last season.

For the Liberty, the famous saying “Rome wasn’t built in a day” is relatable. Although championship teams can be built in different ways and timeframes, theirs was a true process. With patience, grit, and determination, the wait was worth it for the ultimate first for the 2024 WNBA Champions, the New York Liberty.