Lynx-Liberty playoff series preview: Schedule, TV information, key players, storylines

The superteam assembled in New York was a preseason favorite to return to the finals after finishing runner-up in 2023, while Minnesota was largely predicted to be a fringe playoff contender.

Now, months later, the No. 1 and No. 2 seeds in the WNBA playoffs meet in the WNBA Finals with history on the line.

Best-of-five series

Thursday: at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, N.Y. (7 p.m., ESPN)

Sunday: at Barclays Center (2 p.m., ABC)

Wednesday, Oct. 16: at Target Center in Minneapolis (7 p.m., ESPN)

Friday, Oct. 18 (if necessary): at Target Center (7 p.m., ESPN)

Sunday, Oct. 20 (if necessary): at Barclays Center, (7 p.m., ESPN)

The second-seeded Lynx swept the seventh-seeded Phoenix Mercury before battling out a scrappy five-game series against the Connecticut Sun. The Lynx won Game 5 88-77 at Target Center on Tuesday.

The top-seeded Liberty swept the Atlanta Dream in the first round, then avenged their 2023 Finals loss to the Las Vegas Aces in the semifinals, knocking off the two-time defending champs in four games.

LYNX

Napheesa Collier: After scoring 80 points in two games against the Mercury, Napheesa Collier played a different role against the Sun. Don’t get confused — the league’s MVP runner-up still averaged 22 points per game in the second-round series. But those points came tougher, were defended tighter. When Collier was held to nine points in the Lynx’s Game 2 win, she still grabbed 12 rebounds and had four blocks, showing why she was named Defensive Player of the Year.

If Phee has a (relatively) quiet shooting night but stays involved, consistent scoring from her teammates is all the Lynx need. And against the Liberty, Collier will likely be preoccupied defensively, helping lock down Breanna Stewart.

Courtney Williams: When point guard Courtney Williams struggled against the Sun, the Lynx struggled, dropping Game 1 as Williams shot 3-for-12. When Williams scored 15 points in the first half of Game 5, the Lynx pulled out to a 21-point lead.

Whether the midrange specialist can sink her signature fadeaway and facilitate from the point will be key. While Natisha Hiedeman can sub in if Williams struggles, the Lynx’s assist-heavy, spread-the-ball offense clicks when Williams clicks.

Kayla McBride: Kayla McBride, an 11-year WNBA veteran, gets her second shot at a WNBA Finals after playing with the Aces in 2020. A guard, she averaged 15 points per game this regular season, shooting 40.7% on three-pointers, but had a quieter series against Connecticut until she dropped 19 in Game 5. Against the Liberty’s league-leading three-point shooting volume, the Lynx will look to McBride to help keep pace from behind the arc.

Ditto with Bridget Carleton. The Lynx’s other long-range threat shot just 23.3% (7-for-30) on three-pointers against Connecticut, but she led Minnesota in scoring in its last two wins over the Liberty. If Carleton and McBride can share the wealth, even better for the Lynx.

NEW YORK

Breanna Stewart: After six seasons and two WNBA championships with the Seattle Storm, the four-time NCAA champion at the University of Connecticut switched back to the East Coast. Now in her second year with the Liberty, the two-time league MVP led New York with 20.4 points per game this regular season. Her 7-foot-1 wingspan helped her grab 8.5 rebounds per game, and she produced 38 points and 18 rebounds the last time Minnesota beat New York in September.

Sabrina Ionescu: Since being drafted by the Liberty in 2020, Sabrina Ionescu has kept the crowd at Barclays Center on its toes with her deep three-point shooting and team-best 6.2 assists per game. In Las Vegas’ only win over New York in the second round of the playoffs, the Aces defended Ionescu tight and held her to four points. Even with that outlier, she’s averaging over 20 points per game this postseason.

Jonquel Jones: The 6-6 forward leads the Liberty in rebounding, with nine per game — plus, she chips in 14.2 points on 53.8% shooting and defense worthy of All-Defensive second-team honors. Like the Lynx, the Liberty have no true centers listed on their roster, instead relying on forwards to play post. A former Connecticut Sun player, Jones has a height advantage over the Lynx bigs, but Minnesota has held her to fewer than 10 points in three of their matchups this year.

More than money on the line, this time

The Lynx and Liberty already met in one final this year: the championship game of the league’s in-season tournament, the Commissioner’s Cup. In June, Minnesota won the Cup — and a $40,000-per-player prize — with a 94-89 victory on the road in New York.

With a different title at stake, a rematch between the No. 1 and No. 2 seeds only makes sense. The Lynx won three of four against the Liberty this season, including the Commissioner’s Cup.

It’s also a matchup of business partners and teammates turned opponents. Collier and Stewart, both UConn alumni and Olympic gold medalists with Team USA, are co-founding an offseason, player-owned 3-on-3 league, Unrivaled, featuring 30 of the league’s best players.

Championship experience

Both the Lynx and the Liberty are no strangers to the WNBA Finals, but only one team has title banners hanging in its arena. The Lynx are four-time league champs and are headed to their seventh WNBA Finals, though their first since 2017 and first as the lower seed.

The Liberty, meanwhile, have been to five WNBA Finals but never lifted the trophy. Last year, New York returned to the Finals for the first time since 2002 but lost to the Aces in four. The Brooklyn-based team is the only one of the league’s eight original franchises left to have never won a title.

From three, please

The Finals will be a matchup of two offenses that shine when they are shooting hot from three-point range. Minnesota leads the league in three-point shooting percentage (38%) and holds opponents to a league-low 30.1% from there. But the Liberty lead the league in threes made, netting 405 this season on 34.9% shooting.

New York is also second in assists per game (22.8) behind Minnesota (23). After a second-round series defined by defense against Connecticut, watch for a more open and fast-swinging shooting matchup in the Finals.

These squads sit near the top of most statistical categories, with the Liberty tending to take the advantage in offensive output and the Lynx defensive. Rebounds are the most lopsided matchup for these squads, with New York tied for first and Minnesota standing seventh in the league.

Category: Lynx; Liberty (with league rating)

Record: 30-10 (2); 32-8 (1)

Points per game: 82.0 (6); 85.6 (2)

Offensive rating: 102.8 (4); 107.0 (1)

Field goal percentage: 44.8% (T-3); 44.8% (T-3)

Three-point percentage: 38.0% (1); 34.9% (5)

Points allowed per game: 75.6 (2); 76.5 (3)

Defensive rating: 94.8 (2); 95.3 (3)

Opponent field goal percentage: 41% (1); 42.5% (2)

Opponent three-point percentage: 30.1% (1); 32.4% (3)

Points off turnovers per game: 18.1 (2); 15.8 (T-4)

Points allowed off turnovers per game: 13.9 (4); 14.4 (5)

Rebounds per game: 34.3 (7); 36.6 (T-1)

Second-chance points per game: 10.0 (8); 10.8 (6)

Both teams are healthy.