How does one eulogize the journey of a championship runner-up in the WNBA? A team that comes achingly close to the ultimate goal, only to finish second—perhaps an even more hurtful ending than not making the playoffs at all?
The Minnesota Lynx are the team that must bear that title in 2024, having lost in the Finals to the New York Liberty in a competitive and dramatic (and at times controversial) five games. The fact that the Lynx were mere seconds from upsetting the Liberty in the deciding game but ended up losing in overtime may further complicate the narrative for some.
Make no mistake about it, though: The 2024 Lynx were a special team and deserve to be celebrated all the same. It’s not just what they accomplished in their playoff run—taking the favored Liberty to the brink after dispatching the Connecticut Sun in the semifinals—that warrants praise. It’s also how they went about their business, quickly going from a team that seemed to have a patchwork roster with a questionable offensive hierarchy to a well-oiled basketball machine that emphasized modern offensive concepts and hard-working and disruptive team defense, regularly outclassing teams thought to be superior on pape— but, as it turned out, not on the hardwood.
