Liberty celebrate WNBA championship with ticker-tape parade in New York City
NEW YORK -- The New York Liberty celebrated their historic WNBA championship on Thursday in New York City.
A ticker-tape parade marched up the Canyon of Heroes to City Hall in Lower Manhattan, where a special ceremony was held to honor the city's newest champions.
Breanna Stewart, Sabrina Ionescu, Jonquel Jones and the rest of the team's stars rolled through on floats, along with New York Gov. Kathy Hochul and New York City Mayor Eric Adams.
"Welcome to the sweet land of Liberty," Hochul said, kicking off the City Hall celebration. "On behalf of 20 million incredibly proud New Yorkers, I say welcome home to our champion women. Let's do it again next year!"
"This is huge. History is made. And just to be able to do this just means so much to the city," Adams added. "This team is called Liberty, free to express yourself the way you want to be. Look at the players of this team, they personify the energy and the spirit of this city."
It was a thrilling season for the Liberty, the WNBA's final original franchise to win a title. They defeated the Minnesota Lynx in a dramatic Game 5 on Sunday for the first championship in the team's 28-year history and put an end to a 51-year professional basketball title drought in New York.
Liberty head coach Sandy Brondello, who hails from Australia, lauded her players and thanked the fans for their overwhelming support.
"From Day 1, I could see it in their eyes, the commitment to excellence, the buy-in, the accepting of the role, and then going out there and playing one game at a time. They're amazing human beings -- they're wonderful players, but they're even better people -- so really, really proud of them," Brondello said at City Hall. "I'm really, really proud to be standing up here. I feel like I'm a New Yorker. Just the way [the fans] got behind us, it's something that I will never forget, but let's play it back next year!"
Ionescu, who is from California, thanked the Liberty organization for drafting her No. 1 overall back in 2020.
"Knowing the work that we've put in to get to this point today, being at this parade [and] able to see so many people just celebrating us, I can't put it into words what it means to be part of this community and I think I'm a New Yorker now," Ionescu said, adding when asked about the parade, "Obviously, I'm new to this. This is the first time I've been able to be a part of this, but just being able to take it all in, seeing all the people who were in the crowd smiling, celebrating with their Liberty gear, it really puts into perspective what it means to bring a championship to this city, and how it takes everyone."
Stewart, a two-time WNBA MVP and now a three-time champion, said she takes pride in being from upstate New York.
"It means a lot to be able to bring the first championship here. My first WNBA game was a Liberty game, when we played at MSG, so to be able [to have] a full-circle moment, come here, come back, bring the championship here ... we're not done yet," said Stewart, who also won four national championships at UConn. "I appreciate you guys so much. This has been an incredible journey."
Jones, the WNBA Finals MVP, spoke about finally breaking through after losing last season in the Finals with the Liberty and twice earlier in her career with the Connecticut Sun (2019, 2022).
"Mt teammates are special, man. I love them. Everybody has sacrificed, Everybody has really poured into the team to make sure that we would end up being successful, and now we have the ultimate prize. We have something that can never be taken away from us, and that's what it's all about," Jones said.
NY Liberty celebration at Barclays Center
The Liberty also threw a party for their fans in their home borough of Brooklyn on Thursday night at the Barclays Center.
Thousands of fans packed the Liberty's home court to celebrate their first ever WNBA title.
Michelle Mullings has been a fan since the franchise was founded in 1997, and is excited to share the win with her 7-year-old daughter, Riley.
"I've been waiting. Thanks for making it!" Mullings said.
"Maybe next year, they'll win the championship again," Riley said.
"Now to see all the little girls especially interested in playing basketball, it really feels great," Mullings said.
"They can see, wow, I don't have to think about, oh, I wanna be like LeBron and I wanna be like Steph Curry. They can say, I wanna be like Betnijah, I wanna be like Sabrina," fan Arvetta Drumgold said.
Partying with the fans was iconic mascot Ellie the Elephant and the Timeless Torches, the Liberty's official dance team for performers over the age of 40.
"We're really enjoying this because the energy, we can feel the energy," dance team member Luis Jimenez said.
The Liberty is hoping all this excitement carries over to next season.
"Thank you for tonight. For tomorrow, we'll continue to be here," Breanna Stewart said.
The celebration included surprise performances by rappers Lil Mama, Remy Ma and Fat Joe.
Map shows NY Liberty parade route
The parade stepped off at 10 a.m. from Battery Park, traveling north along Broadway to City Hall, through what's known as the Canyon of Heroes.
For more than 130 years, the Canyon of Heroes has set the stage for the city's ticker-tape parades, starting with the grand opening of the Statue of Liberty in 1886.
The city has thrown 206 ticker-tape parades to date, most recently hosting a Hometown Heroes Parade for pandemic first responders in July 2021 and the U.S. Women's National Soccer Team in July 2019.
The last ticker-tape parade for a local sports team was in 2012 when the New York Giants won the Super Bowl.
Where to buy NY Liberty championship merch
The Liberty team store at the Barclays Center extended its hours this week for those hoping to dress the part in the latest WNBA championship merchandise.
The Brooklyn Fanatics store was open from 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. Thursday, featuring championship hats, shirts and commemorative gear like basketballs, pennants and more.
For die-hard fans, a Sabrina Ionescu signed jersey is the biggest-ticket item, listed online for nearly $900.