NEW YORK — How is it so many of us forgot about Jonquel Jones?
In New York’s decisive 67-62 overtime win over the Minnesota Lynx in Game 5 of the WNBA Finals, it was the forgotten MVP — and now the Finals MVP — who made sure the Liberty stayed within striking distance when the other members of the Big Three couldn’t throw a basketball in the ocean.
A big body with unbelievable shooting touch in and outside of the paint, Jones scored 17 points Sunday, shooting 50% from the field.
Talking heads like to call the Liberty a “super team,” a roster full of stars built through free agency and trades, with the express goal of winning a title. The biggest parts of that super team were supposed to be Jones, Sabrina Ionescu and Breanna Stewart.
First the Liberty drafted Ionescu No. 1 in 2020. Then Jones arrived via trade. Stewart was the final — and maybe most-coveted — piece, signing via 2023 free agency. But if we’re being honest, it is often Stewart and Ionescu who command the most attention from both media and defenses. Somehow and sometimes, Jones is overlooked.
Jones came to New York after six seasons in Connecticut, where she played for two titles with the Sun, falling to the Washington Mystics in 2019 and Las Vegas in 2022.
But her journey started much earlier than that, when the Bahamian left her native country at 13 to chase a basketball dream. Now 30, Jones was emotional as soon as the buzzer sounded, and again when she was announced as the 2024 Finals MVP after averaging 17.8 points, 7.6 rebounds, 2.2 assists and shooting 32 of 57 (56%) through the five-game series.
As confetti fell from the rafters, Jones and Stewart wrapped each other in a long hug. Jones said afterward she was just “sobbing in (Stewart’s) ear, I didn’t say one word.”
She was overwhelmed, she said, because “we talked about (winning a title) so much, it’s what we envisioned.”
During the trophy presentation, Jones got emotional again, saying, “I could never dream of this. You all know how many times I’ve been denied, but I was delayed, that’s all.”
To win with Stewart was extra special for Jones.
“I’ve watched Stewie be great for so long, in high school and then in college and then in the WNBA,” Jones said. “For a long time, she was that person that I was kind of like chasing in college; I wanted my game to be at her level.”
But Jones wasn’t the only overlooked or forgotten player who helped define Sunday.
When Nyara Sabally, a German native who played college ball at Oregon, was drafted fifth by the Liberty in 2022, New York knew it was a gamble. Hampered by injuries much of her college career, Sabally had to sit out her rookie season as she again rehabbed a hurt knee.
She’s played sparingly the last two seasons, and in the semifinals against Las Vegas this postseason, a total of just 15 minutes, stuck on the bench for the entirety of two of the four games. But she was key in the Finals, and never more so than the second half of Game 5.
At halftime, with the Liberty trailing 34-27, New York coach Sandy Brondello told Sabally to be ready, because she was probably going to go with a big lineup.
The Liberty got a huge lift when Sabally subbed in, as she scored nine points in 10 minutes across the third and fourth quarters. Her layup with 3:07 left gave New York its first lead of the game. Her steal and layup in overtime were crucial, too.
‘Her ability to make one-on-one plays, to rebound the ball, to play great defense, to finish plays,’ Brondello said of why she went with Sabally. “I’m really, really proud of her. I know she’s had a lot of adversity but the biggest game of her career and she really rose to the occasion. For a young player, that says a lot. The future is pretty bright.”
Stewart called Sabally “the X-factor.”
“Listen, we were tired,” Stewart said. “We needed a spark and she was that … we are so proud of Ny.”
Both Jones and Sabally had circuitous, and somewhat unconventional, journeys to a WNBA championship. Asked afterward what can be done to enable more Bahamian players — the next Jonquel Jones, if you will — to find their way to the WNBA, Brondello had a unique suggestion.
“I think we need to have a (victory) parade in the Bahamas,” Brondello said. “Let’s go!”
If the Liberty are taking this celebration international, maybe they should consider a victory parade in Germany, too.
As Brondello said, the future is bright — not just for these two young players but because of them, for the league as a whole. And by shining on the biggest stage, lots of little girls in Jones’ and Sabally’s home countries are going to try to be next.
