The facts
Angel Reese scored a team‑high 22 points as the Atlanta Dream clinched a 85‑83 victory over the New York Liberty, completing a three‑game sweep and advancing to the WNBA finals for the first time since 2013. Rhyne Howard added 21 points and Jordin Canada contributed 19 points and 11 assists. The Dream held a 25‑18 lead after the first quarter and led 44‑39 at halftime. New York’s Breanna Stewart and Jonquel Jones each finished with 26 points, but the Liberty were limited to just 15 points in the final quarter. DeWanna Bonner (13 points, 13 rebounds) and Isobel Borlase (10 points) also scored for Atlanta. The series win gives the Dream their fourth championship series appearance, and they will meet either the Golden State Valkyries or the Las Vegas Aces when the finals open on October 17.
Our take
The New York Liberty, a team with two players who each scored 26 points, managed to lose a close-out game by letting the Atlanta Dream hold them to 15 points in the final quarter. Fifteen. That’s not a defensive masterclass from Atlanta, that’s a full-system offensive failure from a team that supposedly had championship aspirations. It’s the basketball equivalent of a luxury cruise liner running aground in a kiddie pool.
Breanna Stewart and Jonquel Jones dropping 26 apiece should be a winning ticket, but the rest of the Liberty roster apparently decided the semi-finals were a good time to take a collective shit on the court. They got outscored by a 39-year-old DeWanna Bonner grabbing a double-double and an Australian named Isobel Borlase, which sounds less like a WNBA player and more like a character you’d create in a video game when you’ve run out of ideas.
The Dream didn’t win this series because they’re some transcendent powerhouse. They won because the Liberty are a top-heavy clown car of an operation that collapses the moment someone asks the third-best player to do something besides cheerlead. Atlanta’s strategy was basically ‘give the ball to Angel Reese and Rhyne Howard, and let Jordin Canada pass it to them.’ It’s not rocket science, it’s not even advanced algebra. It’s ‘have your best players play well while the other team’s supporting cast forgets which sport they’re playing.’
Now the Dream get to go to the finals for the first time since 2013, which is a nice story for them but also a monument to how fucking pathetic the Eastern Conference has been for over a decade. Their reward is getting to face either the Valkyries or the Aces, who will likely use Atlanta as a mop for the actual championship parade. Enjoy the sweep, you absolute bastards. Your trophy is getting your asses handed to you on national TV in a couple weeks.
