Lynx and Liberty Finally Meet For First Time Since 2024 WNBA Finals

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At the end of last season, the Minnesota Lynx and New York Liberty put together one of the most memorable and action-packed WNBA Finals we’ve seen in a while, going neck-and-neck in the championship series while taking it down to the final seconds of a winner-take-all Game 5.

Though the series ended in controversial fashion, the battle between the Lynx and Liberty was razor thin in each of the five games, resulting in New York coming away with its first title and handing Minnesota another heartbreak

ending in the Finals.

With the 2025 season well underway, both teams have put that series behind them as they attempt to run it back and return to the Finals in a few short months. But one thing has been missing so far this year — seeing these two league-leading teams face off in the regular season.

That ends July 30 when Minnesota and New York meet for the first time this year, a game that will be motivating for both sides as they try to fight for the top spot in the WNBA leading up to the postseason.

And over the next few weeks, basketball fans are in for a treat with even more battles between the two title favorites.

All Four Games, All At Once

The first game of the season between these two teams on July 30 at Target Center is getting a bulk of the attention, notably with ESPN bringing a large presence to Minneapolis with a stop in Minnesota as part of SportsCenter’s 50 States in 50 Days tour featuring SportsCenter host Elle Duncan live on location. ESPN will also air the Finals rematch, with Ryan Ruocco, Rebecca Lobo and Holly Rowe on the call.

“I think the standings are significant in these games. As much as it has felt like Minnesota has this insurmountable lead with the No. 1 seed, it’s not to insurmountable because New York is only two games behind them in the loss column,” Ruocco said on the Hitting the Hardwood Podcast with Mitchell Hansen. “If New York was to win three of the four matchups, all of a sudden it would have the tiebreaker and they would be tied in the loss column. ... And as we saw last year, homecourt in that decisive game was really, really significant.”

But fans won’t have to wait long to see these two teams face off again like we have to this point in the season. In fact, all four of the regular season games against each other are taking place over the next few weeks.

After the first contest on July 30, Minnesota will travel to New York on Aug. 10 before returning to Target Center to host the Liberty on Aug. 16 and concluding the season series on Aug. 19 in New York. Yes, that would be four games within three weeks.

“It’s pretty wild when you think about the fact they haven’t played the entire season and now they are going to play four times in three weeks,” Ruocco said. “What is clear is that these are the best two teams in the WNBA, in my opinion. That is clear.”

Top Two Teams in WNBA

Entering the season, many viewed Minnesota and New York as the top two teams in the WNBA and favorites to not only return to the Finals but have a strong chance to win it all. And so far in 2025, that has been the case with the Lynx holding the upper hand as the top seed to this point.

“Based on what happened last year and they way they’ve played this year, I don’t think anybody would quibble that the two best teams are New York and Minnesota,” Ruocco said. “Just like they were last year. And the seeding bears that out as well.”

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The Lynx enter the first game of the year against the Liberty leading the league in offensive rating (108.6), defensive rating (95.2), net rating (13.4), assists (23.6), field goal percentage (46.4%) and blocks (5.1), while coming in at second in points per game (85.9), third in three-point percentage (35.2%) and fourth in steals (8.2).

Minnesota has played well in nearly every aspect of the game, and has stayed healthy for the most part as well, which is even more important.

“For Minnesota, what we’ve seen is continuity and a revenge tour of sorts, a chip on their shoulder,” Ruocco said. “They are one highly dubious call away from being champions last year. ... They bring back their core, they supplement their bench a little bit more and I think they just play a beautiful style of basketball. ... Whatever the difference is between the Liberty and Lynx — it is so close — that maybe the difference will end up being that revenge motivation for Minnesota. Maybe we look back and say ‘that is the reason they won the Finals’.”

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New York, on the other hand, is right behind Minnesota — not just in the standings but in every statistical category as well. The Liberty lead the league in points per game (87.7) and steals (8.6) while ranking second in offensive rating (107.4) and net rating (8.9), and third in defensive rating (98.5). New York also sits second in assists (21.8), three-point percentage (35.4%) and blocks (5.0) to go along with the third-best field goal percentage (45.4%).

And while the Liberty have been impressive, they have done all of that while dealing with injuries to various key pieces at different points in the season.

“When New York has played with their starting five, they have been incredible,” Ruocco said. “They have the most top-tier talent on the roster in the league. ... But, they haven’t had a ton of minutes together this year because of injury. For New York, I’m thinking ‘we’re the best when we’re at our very best’.”

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Minnesota has revenge on its mind, while New York has a repeat as its year-end goal. And though this isn’t a rematch of the Finals — at least just yet — these games will be entertaining and also telling as to which team could be the last one standing in 2025.

“At this point, both teams have shown flashes of being the best team in the league,” Ruocco said. “There’s an outstanding chance these two teams are going to meet in the Finals again.”

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Lynx Add Yvonne Anderson to 7-Day Contract

Minnesota announced Monday ahead of the game against New York that the team signed guard Yvonne Anderson to a seven-day contract that began Monday.

Anderson, a 35-year-old guard, most recently played for Serbia in FIBA Women’s EuroBasket, averaging 14.5 points and 3.5 assists to lead her squad in both categories. Anderson has spent time playing in the Turkish KBSL and EuroLeague with CBK Mersin, the same team Bridget Carleton played for over the offseason. She was also a member of Fenerbahçe in Turkey, which has plenty of Lynx ties.

Photo by FIBA via Getty Images

The two-time Olympian made her WNBA debut back in 2022 with the Connecituct Sun, the last time we saw her step foot on a WNBA floor. In 11 games with the Sun, Anderson averaged 3.2 points, 1.1 assists and 0.8 rebounds in 9.1 minutes per game.