WNBA Finals rematch finally here for Liberty, but Lynx see ‘big miss’ in long wait

MINNEAPOLIS — It’s been 282 days since the Liberty beat the Lynx in Game 5 of the WNBA Finals to clinch the franchise’s first title.

A little more than 40 weeks have passed since Lynx coach Cheryl Reeve blasted the officials and said the title was “stolen” from them, and commissioner Cathy Engelbert wore her infamous New York skyline dress.

This WNBA season has passed the midway point, and the Liberty have had their glitzy championship rings for close to 2 ½ months.

And yet, a 2024 WNBA Finals rematch has yet to take place.

That’ll change Wednesday, when the Liberty return to Target Center to face the Lynx for the first time this season.

But the drama from last year’s thrilling and, at times, controversial series has seemingly dissipated.

“It doesn’t feel like a Finals rematch anymore honestly,” Lynx star Napheesa Collier said. “It’s a new year for us. And it’s been so long, it’s almost August, so it’s just the two top teams going against each other. We prepare for them, like they’re a really great team, which they are. So it doesn’t really feel like retribution for last year. It just feels like we’re about to play a really good team.”

Collier and Reeve questioned the WNBA schedule makers for putting off this match up until so late into the season.

Collier suggested the Lynx should’ve played the Liberty in the first game of the season, which would’ve given Minnesota a chance to play spoiler to New York’s ring ceremony.

Reeve said the Lynx and Liberty not playing until now is a “big miss” for the league and fans.

“I think common sense would say that those two teams probably should have played earlier in the season,” Reeve said.

Nonetheless, the time has come for the top two teams in the league to square off, and both teams are looking to bounce back from frustrating losses.

The Lynx (22-5) suffered their first home loss of the season to the Dream on Sunday, and the Liberty (17-8) got embarrassed by the Wings a night later.

But this game has the makings to bring out the best in both teams.

“That’s what you expect,” Reeve said. “Obviously we have high aspirations. They do, we do — playing each other, right? We’ll bring it out of one another, and so should be the intense battle that we all anticipate.”