Few series leave a lasting impression like the New York Liberty-Minnesota Lynx WNBA Finals of 2024, with the Liberty clinching the win in a 3-2 series. Now, familiar rivals meet once again in the first round of the playoffs as the eighth-seed New York Liberty take on the number one seed Minnesota Lynx. All signs point to this being a tight contest, and Napheesa Collier sounds ready to flip the script, as she told WNBA reporter Andrew Dukowitz on X.
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“Yeah, I think it was an amazing series. I mean, objectively, it was, I think one of the best series in WNBA history, just the two best teams going out and playing great basketball. Obviously, I wish we would have won the series, but I think it was just a great show of, like, what the WNBA is with the talent and the excitement. So many game winners. It was a fun series,” said Collier.
“We have a completely new team, so it doesn’t feel like it’s a rematch in 2024. This is a new season for us. This is a new, like, path to a championship, so I think we’re just about to sign whoever we’re going to play today, making sure that we’re coming out already. This is about how our team is preparing. So I don’t feel like it’s a rematch.”
Both teams have changed significantly since they met in the 2024 finals. Collier was the leader of the Lynx team at that time, and the duo of Sabrina Ionescu and Breanna Stewart was in peak form. However, Ionescu has struggled with injuries this season, having played only 31 games, averaging 14.6 PPG, her lowest in the last five seasons. The Liberty and head coach Chris DeMarco have been over-reliant on Stewart to get the results in their favor.
With a 26-18 record, the Liberty look like the weaker side this time. But then again, a team with the fastest player to reach 3000 points with a single franchise in WNBA history, Stewart, cannot be ruled out so easily. Stewart is still putting up 20.8 points, 8.3 rebounds, and 3.3 assists per game this season. The Lynx and the Liberty are set to lock horns for the first playoff game of the series on Sunday at the Target Center, with ESPN giving the Lynx a 63.6% chance of taking the win, leaving the Liberty with 36.4%.
And as far as the Lynx are concerned, the absence of Napheesa Collier in the first half of the season did not create as big a problem as was expected at the start of the season, courtesy of one emerging player.
Olivia Miles Emerges As ROTY Candidate In Napheesa Collier’s Absence
Back in July, when talking about Napheesa Collier’s return, Cheryl Reeve made a bold statement.
“With regard to her [return], it’s still Phee’s team,” Reeve said before her team’s 90-85 win over the New York Liberty on July 11.
“There is not anybody that walks into the gym that doesn’t know that it’s still Phee’s team. What’s great is [Courtney Williams] and [Kayla McBride], they’re very happy to declare that it’s Phee’s team.”
While Collier may have finished second for two years in a row in the MVP race, each time finishing behind A’ja Wilson, some analysts and fans may not agree with Reeve’s assessment.
The numbers say that this is now Olivia Miles’ team.
Playing 40 games and starting in all of them, Miles is averaging 19.8 points, 4.7 rebounds, 6.0 assists, and 1.3 steals per game this season. She leads the Lynx team in points and assists per game. However, her impact has been more than just scoring for this Lynx team.
“She’s incredible to watch,” Sue Bird said about Miles in her podcast, Bird’s Eye View, back in August.
“She’s bringing new aspects of the game to that position… the point guard spot has been an evolution. It was – all you do is dribble it up, call the play, and pass, and you’re probably not a shooter, and we can just ignore you – to like an evolution of you have to be a scorer.”
If four-time WNBA Coach of the Year, Cheryl Reeve, is putting he faith in Miles to be the primary playmaker and floor general of this team, it says a lot about the rookie’s calibre.
The only question that now remains is how well the Lynx will be able to utilize Miles’ rich form. Now that they have a fit Collier available on the team as well, expectations are high for this team to end its title drought since 2017. The Lynx have been consistently a top-five team in major offensive and defensive categories this season. They are fittingly the team with the best odds to win the title as of now.
Only time will tell if they actually are able to do it. The Lynx will have to win two games of the three-game series to proceed to the semifinals.