The New York Liberty will get the full ticker-tape treatment down the "Canyon of Heroes" to celebrate their WNBA Finals victory over the Minnesota Lynx.
New York Mayor Eric Adams announced the city will have a parade at 10 a.m. ET on Thursday and a formal ceremony at City Hall. The "Canyon of Heroes" runs along Broadway in Lower Manhattan.
The Liberty said they'll hold another championship ceremony in Brooklyn, which is where they play their home games at Barclays Center.
New York was crowned the WNBA champion for the first time in its history, and this is the first pro basketball title for the city since the New York Knicks triumphed in the 1973 NBA Finals.
The Liberty prevailed 67-62 in the winner-take-all Game 5 on Sunday night. Breanna Stewart had a double-double (13 points and 15 rebounds), while Jonquel Jones capped off her Finals MVP run with 17 points and six boards.
New York's win wasn't without some controversy.
Lynx head coach Cheryl Reeve went so far as to argue the title "was stolen from us" thanks to the officials in Game 5. The Liberty attempted 17 more free throws and benefited from a contentious foul call toward the end of regulation.
Alanna Smith's shooting foul on Stewart, which was upheld after a video review, allowed the two-time WNBA MVP to sink two free throws and tie the game with 5.2 seconds on the clock.
Reeve also alluded to more broad frustrations in her postgame press conference.
The decorated head coach said the Lynx "built a team within the rules" and didn't "circumvent" the salary cap, seemingly a reference to the Liberty managing to sign Stewart, Jones and Courtney Vandersloot in the same offseason. Reeve also alluded to New York receiving a $500,000 fine in 2022 for league violations including the use of chartered flights.
To the victor go the spoils.
Last year, Las Vegas Aces star A'ja Wilson wore a shirt that featured her MVP vote shares during the team's championship parade. Wilson finished third in a tight race behind Stewart and the Connecticut Sun's Alyssa Thomas but had the last laugh when Las Vegas repeated as the title-winner.
In 2021, the Chicago Sky brought to their celebration the door from Wintrust Arena that Phoenix Mercury star Diana Taurasi purportedly slammed following a Finals loss.
Don't put it past the Liberty to take a subtle or perhaps more direct shot at Reeve during Thursday's festivities.
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