The New York Liberty will receive a hero’s welcome if they are able to defeat the Minnesota Lynx in the WNBA Finals.

On Sunday, the Liberty and Lynx will face off in a winner-take-all matchup at Barclays Center, with the winner being crowned champions. New York came just short of securing its first championship in franchise history on Friday, suffering an 82-80 loss at the Target Center to force a pivotal Game 5.

Despite appearing in five previous Finals series, the Liberty have come up empty each time – making them the only original WNBA franchise to still not win a title. Should they successfully break the unflattering streak this weekend, New York City mayor Eric Adams promised that a ticker tape parade would await them.

Speaking to the New York Post at this week’s Columbus Day Parade, Adams revealed that the Liberty would be honored with a parade through the Canyon of Heroes if they manage to win the WNBA finals – marking the first time a New York City women’s sports team would be given such a celebration. As for whether or not he believes New York will emerge victorious, the 64-year-old declared: “They will, you know they will!”

It’s been quite some time since New York City sports fans have been able to cheer their teams on during a ticker tape parade. The last procession happened over a decade ago when the New York Giants defeated the New England Patriots in the 2012 Super Bowl.

That isn’t to say that New York has been completely deprived of championships in recent years, however. The New York City FC won their first Major League Soccer championship back in 2021, but were not given a parade to celebrate their accomplishment – instead being honored at City Hall.

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The Liberty will face off against the Lynx in a winner-take-all game Sunday

The Liberty will face off against the Lynx in a winner-take-all game Sunday ( 

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Getty Images)

Then in 2023, NY/NJ Gotham FC won the championship of the NWSL women’s pro soccer league, though they were only recognized with a White House ceremony in September of this year.

The Liberty could practically taste a ticker tape parade on Friday when they traveled to Minnesota with a 2-1 series lead. But New York failed to close out a back-and-forth Game 4 – which featured 14 lead changes – ultimately falling to the Lynx in the closing seconds of the contest.

Discussing the gut-wrenching loss, Liberty star guard Sabrina Ionescu told reporters: “We missed some shots we normally make there late down the stretch in the paint and on the 3-point line, and it kinda came back to haunt us in the end. You know, we just gotta be better and take accountability on the things we could’ve done better.”

“We knew this wasn’t going to be easy,” she added. “Coming into this arena and having to win two was really tough. But, you know, we’re not done yet. This is part of our story and we didn’t play our best basketball tonight, and we’re excited to go home and potentially win a championship in front of our home crowd.”