Liberty clinch No. 1 seed in WNBA playoffs with win over Mystics; Lynx nab No. 2 seed

A year after falling short in the finals, the New York Liberty clinched the No. 1 seed for the upcoming WNBA playoffs.

The Liberty (32-7) secured the top spot Tuesday night by beating the Washington Mystics 87-71. This is the first time New York claimed the No. 1 seed since the 2015 WNBA playoffs, which used a different format with top seeds from the Eastern and Western Conferences.

Despite their prestige as one of only four remaining WNBA original franchises, the Liberty are aiming to earn their first championship. They’ve finished as runners-up five times (1997, 1999, 2000, 2002 and 2023).

“It was one of our goals that we set out — trying to get that home-court advantage,” Liberty coach Sandy Brondello said postgame. “We still have to take care of our business in the playoffs. … We have a great arena. We have great fans, so we want to play in front of our fans as much as we can.”

To grab home-court advantage during the postseason, New York first had to acknowledge its scars from last year’s WNBA Finals.

As the No. 2 seed, the Liberty and their star-studded roster lost the finals in four games to the Las Vegas Aces, with the ending — an air-balled Courtney Vandersloot jumper — silencing fans who eagerly anticipated a decisive fifth contest.

An offseason of learning saw the Liberty race out to a 4-0 start, and eventually a 12-2 record, tied for the franchise’s best start.

But grabbing the No. 1 seed was far from seamless. New York dealt with absences to key contributors, including Betnijah Laney-Hamilton and Vandersloot, and had to overcome periodic struggles on the court. 

Yet, the Liberty own the WNBA’s best net rating, with the added year of familiarity helping create a more cohesive offense and defense. Stewart, a two-time MVP, is again playing at an All-WNBA level and is averaging 20.7 points and 8.6 rebounds per game. 

New York, which became the first franchise in league history to record consecutive 30-win seasons, will face either the Mystics or the Chicago Sky/Atlanta Dream in the first round of the postseason. The Minnesota Lynx clinched the No. 2 seed on Tuesday night with a 78-76 win over the Connecticut Sun and will play the Phoenix Mercury when the playoffs begin Sunday.

Exact start times will be determined after the regular season concludes Thursday. 

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(Photo: Evan Bernstein / Getty Images)