It doesn’t matter which team wins the 2024 WNBA Finals as history will be created on either side of the scale, regardless. And both would be equally magnificent. The Minnesota Lynx is only one of three WNBA teams with 4 championships, having graced the top step in 2011, 2013, 2015, and 2017. If they crush the top-seeded New York Liberty, the Minneapolis-based franchise will surpass the Houston Comets and the Seattle Storm to sit atop the championship leaderboard with 5 titles. But as you know, it won’t be a walk in the park.

The Liberty emphatically overpowered the 2x defending champs, Las Vegas Aces, 3-1 in the semi-final to make their second straight Finals appearance. But they face more pressure with the undesirable statistic of not winning a championship in 5 trips to the Finals facing them. But the plight of New York fans is worse than the team because the last time the city celebrated a basketball championship was in 1973 when the Knicks beat the Lakers in the NBA. With everything to play for, this 2024 WNBA Finals is between the most evenly matched teams. And here’s how it all looks before Game 1 at the Barclays Center Arena on Thursday night.

Liberty v/s Lynx: Expected lineups and the big team statements

New York Liberty isn’t a team you want to mess with this season. Though the Minnesota Lynx has beaten them twice in the regular season, and also in the 2024 Commissioner’s Cup Championship, Liberty head coach Sandy Brondello sent a chilling warning to their rivals ahead of the series. “They’re a great team. They’re a really good team. Obviously, they’ve beaten us a few [times]. I don’t think they’ve seen us at our best,” was her message as per ESPN on Wednesday.

Lynx coach Cheryl Reeve made her own distinct comparison to subtly indicate how the Liberty will go down. She likened her team to the 2004 Detroit Pistons, who came out of nowhere to upset the ever-dominant Lakers in the NBA Finals. Reeve being awarded the 2024 WNBA Coach of the Year only solidifies the power behind her analogy.

To back her statement, Reeve is most likely to keep her starting 5 unchanged. Napheesa Collier, Alanna Smith, Bridget Carleton, Kayla McBride, and Courtney Williams should start for the Lynx. As for the Liberty, coach Brondello has been bold in experimenting with her roster. She began the playoffs by replacing veteran “Floor General” Courtney Vandersloot with rookie Leonie Fiebich.

The Liberty is expected to start with their Big 3 of Sabrina Ionescu, Breanna Stewart, and Jonquel Jones, with Betnijah Laney-Hamilton and Fiebich rounding up the 5. However, it is possible that Brondello opts for Vandersloot’s experience to lead the way in the Finals. But if she doesn’t, it would only be with the intent of surprising the Lynx with a lineup they didn’t come across in the regular season.

When the showdown for the ultimate prize begins, there will be another storyline in the mix. The co-founders of the game-changing Unrivaled Women’s Basketball League will be at each other’s throats.

Collier v/s Stewart & Ionescu: Battle of the WNBA’s Avengers

Napheesa Collier and Breanna Stewart co-founded Unrivaled in 2023. It is a 3 v 3 women’s basketball league that will kick off its inaugural season in January 2024 in Miami. It promises a 6-figure salary to all 30 players competing across 6 teams. But before we get to that part of the offseason, their sisterhood will need to stand the test when the New York Liberty faces the Minnesota Lynx in the WNBA Finals.

Collier has headlined nearly all the Lynx’s wins in the playoffs. She racked up back-to-back career highs with 38 and 42 points in the first round against the Phoenix Mercury. In Game 5 of the semi-final against the Sun, she dominantly showed up again with a game-high 27 points and 11 rebounds. Her terror is such that the Liberty coach Sandy Brondello had to specially address her in her final preview.

“She’s a great player, and she’s so crafty,” Brondello said of the Defensive Player of the Year. “It’s like, yeah, we know she wants to go left. Oh yeah, she wants to go to her right shoulder. And she still does it every single game. So it’s just making it hard for her, and I think we have to be locked in.” The Lynx Power Forward averaged 20.4 points, 9.7 rebounds, 3.4 assists, and 1.9 steals in the regular season, finishing second in the MVP voting.

Incidentally, Breanna Stewart also averaged the same when it came to points – 20.4. In the other stats too, the 2023 MVP hovered close, finishing the regular season with 8.5 rebounds, 3.5 assists, and 1.7 steals per game. But the Liberty has another advantage.

With their 2023 loss being a fresh scar, Sabrina Ionescu said, “[We are] fueled by that feeling that we all felt in the locker room last year, to not feel that again. That fire is burning bright in all of us, and to be able to use that to continue to motivate us, and if we do that and control what we can, we’re the best team in the league, and no one can beat us.”

Who do you think will reign supreme in this battle between the New York Liberty, the best offensive team this year, and the Minnesota Lynx, the second-best defensive team?