“I was wrong!” says Sheryl Swoopes, giving in and admitting she shouldn’t have doubted Liberty star’s skills. The WNBA legend has always been known for her no-nonsense approach. She doesn’t believe in holding it in, and if she’s got something to say, she’s going to say it. Recently, though, she showed a softer side when she gave a heartfelt shoutout to an athlete who proved her wrong.

While discussing the 2024 Finals MVP, Jonquel Jones, the 3× WNBA MVP, confessed, “I don’t want to say I was hard on her, but I was like, Jonquel, you could dominate a lot more than you are if you would just establish yourself in the paint. Because Minnesota couldn’t do nothing with her in the paint.”

According to the the legend, there were times when the 30-year-old was like, ‘All right, I don’t have enough of this in the paint, so let me go, get me a couple of threes in’. “Now, great, she could shoot it, but that’s not where she’s going to hurt you. Phee struggled, Atlanta struggled. Dorka Juhász came in, she struggled. There was nobody that could guard her in the paint,” she explained.

And if a 4x WNBA Champion is saying, you know it’s true. Finally, she admitted in her podcast ‘Levels To This,’ “I’m going to take this time, though, to say to Jonquel Jones, I was wrong. Sis, you balled your a– out. You deserve this Finals MVP. You deserve this championship.”

She did bag 17 points and 6 bounds, especially at a time when Ionescu missed 13 consecutive shots, and Stewart’s shooting wasn’t looking any better. She kept the Liberty’s momentum alive. But this hasn’t been easy for her. She has seen a few near-misses, 4 to be specific. 

Although Liberty put together a superteam this season, at the end of the day, it was JJ’s consistency that lifted the team to a 67-62 win. Already a former MVP (2021), a Commissioner’s Cup MVP, an All-WNBA Team veteran, and the 2018 Sixth Woman of the Year, Jones was everywhere except for the WNBA title. Averaging 18 points and 7.6 rebounds per game, she hustled through it all to clinch Liberty’s first championship and her first Finals MVP.

And indeed, after four Finals tries, the 5× WNBA All-Star finally has her trophy and it means the world to her. “I’m just really happy. I’m just up here smiling, thanking Jesus, and thanking my teammates,” she shared. But do you know her next goal isn’t about the number or any title? 

What’s on Jonquel Jones’ list next?

After winning the championship, Jones has big plans for her homeland, the Bahamas. She aims to expand the athletic infrastructure back home. “I want to make it my mission to help just grow the game in the Bahamas because we have so much natural talent.”

“I think you need more investment in sports in the Bahamas, to give the kids more games and to allow them to be able to have more developmental camps and different things going on. Just to have more people invested in it,” the reigning Finals MVP announced in the post-Finals press conference as she held on to her trophy.

The WNBA star wants to make sure kids don’t always have to leave for the U.S. to find opportunities. “So many people that come out of the Bahamas go to the U.S.…I would like the kids to be able to stay home in the Bahamas and still come to the U.S. to play professionally. That’s the next step we have to take,” she explained. 

Stewie has already suggested an exhibition game in the Bahamas for the next season, and Nyara Saballay and coach Sandy Brondello have pushed the championship parade, which might make its way ‘South.’ So, with Jones’ determination, there’s no limit to what she can make happen on the court and beyond.