There were several heroes for the New York Liberty, who finally captured their first WNBA Title by beating the Minnesota Lynx in a 67-62 Game 5 overtime thriller. Breanna Stewart, Sabrina Ionescu, and others all had their moments, but in the end, Jonquel Jones was named WNBA Finals MVP.
The honor was a bit of an upset as Jones had the third-best odds on her team to win the honor before the series began. Stewart was +115 at BetMGM while Ionescu was +210 and Jones a distant +3500.
Still, it’s hard to argue she didn’t deserve it.
Jones came up huge all series long, averaging 17.8 PPG, 7.6 rebounds and 2.2 assists. She rose to the occasion in the decisive Game 5, scoring a team-high 17 points to go along with six boards.
The eight-year veteran arrived in New York in 2023 after a storied career with the Connecticut Sun, where she was a four-time All-Star and the league’s MVP in 2021. However, she was never able to win the title during her six years there.
Meanwhile, New York’s title was a long time coming as one of the league’s charter franchises had never won the crown. They’d appeared in five WNBA Finals yet came up empty each time, including last year when the Las Vegas Aces beat them in four games. Jones made sure that wouldn’t be the case this time as she and the Liberty finally reached the mountaintop for the first time.
