The New York Liberty will compete in the WNBA Finals for the second straight season after eliminating the two-time reigning champions, Las Vegas Aces, in the semifinals. They will battle the Minnesota Lynx, who beat the Connecticut Sun 3-2 to head their seventh championship series. This will be the Liberty’s sixth trip to the Finals but are yet to win the title and Stephen A. Smith has had enough.
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On First Take, the analyst pleaded with the team to end the city’s long wait for a basketball championship. He claimed that the Liberty have already done the hard part by eliminating A’ja Wilson and the Aces and have enough firepower to beat Napheesa Collier and the Minnesota Lynx in the Finals.
Stephen A. Smith: “The Liberty has been teasing us for a while, get it done. You sent A’ja Wilson home, you can send home Napheesa Collier. Handle your business. Do what you need to do. Finish the job.”
"New York is starving for a basketball championship. … FINISH THE JOB." @stephenasmith says he's all-in on the Liberty to win the WNBA Finals 😤 pic.twitter.com/Bx7Sa0SI2Z
— First Take (@FirstTake) October 9, 2024
Smith believes the Aces were the Liberty’s biggest test in their quest for the championship. However, New York had a comfortable time against Las Aces this season, which wasn’t the case when facing the Lynx.
Liberty were unbeaten in the regular season against the Aces but lost three of their four games against the Lynx. Their losing record against the team they are set to face in the Finals is concerning. Regardless, fans in New York are pinning their hopes on the Liberty to end their city’s long title drought.
New York basketball fans have waited too long
The last time New York celebrated a basketball championship was in 1973 when the Walt Frazier-led Knicks beat Jerry West and the Lakers in the NBA Finals. Since then, it has been bereft of a championship. The Knicks have two championship banners but the 41-year draught has definitely left its mark on the franchise and its fans.
To add salt to the wound, Knicks have not made it to an NBA Final since 1999, when the Spurs decimated them and stole the series in just 5 games. On the other hand, though the Liberty have never won a title, they are the most recent New York basketball team to reach a championship final.
Their 2023 campaign, though deep, was anticlimactic. This is their year of redemption and Stephen A. Smith, along with every New York basketball fan, is counting on it.
