Congrats to the New York Liberty. One year after suffering the taste of defeat on the biggest stage of the season, they completed the tall task of winning a WNBA championship with Sunday’s Game 5 win over the Minnesota Lynx.
The title is New York’s first in six trips to the finals, and it comes just two years after the team landed former league MVPs Breanna Stewart and Jonquel Jones in one offseason. They came together with Sabrina Ionescu with one goal in mind, and they didn’t stop battling until they completed it. Now that the job is done, they’ll find it much harder to manufacture that type of motivation again.
The Liberty (+175) are early favorites to win the title again in 2025, but they aren’t the best bet.
If New York showed us anything this year, it’s how far the sting of defeat can carry a team. The Las Vegas Aces entered the season as favorites after winning last year’s title, but it was the runner-up Liberty who dominated as the best team all season and eventually avenged their 2023 loss to Vegas.
That chip now belongs to Minnesota, which is why the Lynx at +350 are the best bet going into next season. The Lynx are in the position New York was a year ago, and they take up that mantle after playing a much closer finals than the Liberty did against Las Vegas. Minnesota very easily could have won this year if not for some questionable officiating.
Of course, the Aces (+400) will be back in the mix, with the best player in the game, A’ja Wilson, and some new motivation after falling short this year. And New York won’t just roll over as a newly-minted champion. But after seeing the way Minnesota fought this year, and knowing how much young talent they have — led by MVP runner-up Napheesa Collier — and much they’ll want to get back and finish the job, the Lynx hold the best value looking ahead to next season.
This article originally appeared on For The Win: The Liberty are early favorites to repeat as 2025 WNBA champions. The Lynx are a better bet.
