The champion New York Liberty celebrated their first-ever WNBA Championship as only the Big Apple could with a ticker tape parade down the Canyon of Heroes in Lower Manhattan on Thursday.
The festivities kicked off just before 10 a.m. with Liberty team members, marching bands and other dignitaries heading north along Broadway from Battery Park to City Hall. Tens of thousands of New Yorkers lined the streets to greet them while the champs were showered from above with a ton of confetti and shredded paper from the nearby office buildings.
Members of the team were split between different floats, each with its own confetti cannon. Jonquel Jones, the WNBA Finals MVP, rode in her own float with family and carried the championship trophy. Breanna Stewart and her family were also on a Puma truck with her “Stew York City” slogan.
“No matter who scored or who shined, we just wanted to get the win,” said Stewart.
The parade also brought out former Liberty members such as Teresa Witherspoon, one of the members of the first-ever Liberty team in 1997.
“It’s just a level of pride, you know, we’re just super proud of what our people have done, our young ladies have done,” she said. “We’re just super excited for what they’ve done. It’s been great. It’s been just amazing.”
City Hall celebration
At the parade’s conclusion, the Liberty were feted with a City Hall celebration. There, fans and lawmakers alike were over the moon to celebrate these hometown heroines.
“I remember just being so excited the first time I saw Teresa Weatherspoon and Rebecca Lobo out on the court. I had my mom take you to an open practice back in 1998 and the last memory I’ll share with you is I begged also for Rebecca Lobo jersey for Christmas that first year, and got one, and I just like, I would not take it off,” said Queens City Council Member Tiffany Cabán, a self proclaimed die-hard Liberty fan. “So this is a very, very cool moment, not just for my child self, but to see the way that women’s sports and women athlete have transcended the sport, and they’re out there being political on the front lines. They’re out there being brave. They’re showing leadership. It’s a very, very cool moment.”
“It’s very exciting for me. I have to say I was also involved in getting Mayor de Blasio to support the Women’s Soccer. I believe this might be the second women [championship win] and so from that perspective, it’s really exciting,” added Manhattan City Council Member Gale Brewer.
In defeating the Minnesota Lynx on Sunday night, the Liberty brought home not only their first WNBA crown in their 28-year history, but also the first professional basketball championship New York has had since the 1973 Knicks won the NBA Championship 51 years ago.
“It was phenomenal, fabulous. The best game. It was the best final series ever,” said Debra Clay, a Liberty fan and five-year season ticket holder who was at the Championship game. “You know, when you fight hard and you work hard and you have the right character, then you deserve to win, and we deserve to win. So I’m very happy that we won.”
“When they won the championship, I heard flares and bells and bones and bumps all over New York, because that’s what was all about,” said Renee Banks, a Liberty fan from the Bronx. “I’m happy to see them get that championship, it’s just wonderful and then all the fans and members are here, happy to see them, so it’s just great.”
Outside of City Hall, Gov. Kathy Hochul called the Liberty’s season “a magical ride.”
Mayor Eric Adams lauded the team for their hard work, and said the win exemplifies what makes living in the Big Apple so special.
“There are only two types of Americans: those who live New York and those who wish they could,” he told the crowd. “This team is amazing because they fought hard. Congratulations Liberty. Let’s win it again next year.”
The mayor — who received jeers during the ceremony, which coincided about a month after his indictment on federal corruption charges — nonetheless gave each Liberty member a ceremonial key to the city for their championship achievement. Ellie the Elephant, the team’s mascot, perked up the mood with a dance on the City Hall podium.
Team owner Clara Wu Tsai called the win “overwhelming,” and lauded the franchise’s commitment to empowering the players when they moved back to Brooklyn.
“The original vision was to invest in these players and create an environment for them to excel,” she said.
“We’re not done yet,” added Liberty CEO Keia Clarke. “We’re just getting started.”
Jones concluded the ceremony at City Hall by saying the victory was the result of many small steps.
“We have something that can never be taken away from us,” she said, before leading the crowd in her signature chant, “We all we got, we all we need.”
The fun, however, doesn’t end with the parade. The Liberty will cross the bridge back to Brooklyn later on Thursday night for a party at their Barclays Center home court.
