The matchup has been dissected, the picks and predictions made. Come Thursday (8 p.m. ET, ESPN), the 2024 WNBA Finals between the No. 1 seed New York Liberty and the No. 2 seed Minnesota Lynx will tip off.
And there’s no shortage of star power and underdog stories. Five players who earned MVP votes will play in the WNBA Finals, most prominently 2024 MVP runner-up Napheesa Collier, two-time MVP Breanna Stewart and former No. 1 pick Sabrina Ionescu.
Both teams have also thrived behind some key second-round (or later) draft picks, including three starters in Minnesota’s Bridget Carleton and New York’s Betnijah Laney-Hamilton and Leonie Fiebich.
Heading into Game 1, ESPN’s Michael Voepel, Alexa Philippou and Charlie Creme debut their WNBA Finals player impact rankings. All of the players on the list are expected to help decide the championship series. Some will continue to lead their teams in scoring or defense, and any of them could have a pivotal performance.
We rank the top 15 based on their play so far in the 2024 postseason.
2024 playoff stats: 27.1 PPG, 9.6 RPG, 3.9 APG
Collier is the leading scorer in the 2024 playoffs and has been very efficient, shooting 54.6% from the field and 45% from beyond the arc. In the four previous meetings this season with New York, including the Commissioner’s Cup final, Collier averaged 17.3 points and 10.3 rebounds. The WNBA defensive player of the year, Collier has been equally strong on that end of the court. She is a calm and respected leader for the Lynx, and even if this is her first trip to the Finals, nothing rattles her. — Voepel
2024 playoff stats: 20.0 PPG, 8.2 RPG, 3.8 APG
Stewart told the Barclays Center crowd after Game 1 of the semifinals that she wanted to make up for her uncharacteristic performance in last year’s Finals, when she went 3-for-17 as the Liberty lost Game 4 in Brooklyn. That version of Stewart — who was anticipating the birth of her second child and grieving the recent death of her father-in-law — has been nowhere to be found this year. Stewart rattled off 34 points on 63% efficiency in Game 1 against the Aces and is coming off a 19-point, 14-rebound, 5-assist and 4-block outing, her fingerprints all over the Liberty’s closeout win Sunday. — Philippou
2024 playoff stats: 20.7 PPG, 5.2 RPG, 5.2 APG
Ionescu’s 2024 playoff scoring has been the best of her career by a lot: Her previous best average in the postseason was 14.3 PPG in three games in 2022. In 10 playoff games last year, Ionescu averaged 13.7 PPG. She has complimented the Lynx defense as being particularly tough to face. In the four previous meetings this season, Ionescu averaged 16.5 points but shot 34.2% from the field and 17.9% from beyond the arc. That’s something she hopes to improve in the Finals. — Voepel
2024 playoff stats: 14.2 PPG, 9.0 RPG, 1.3 BPG, 53.9% FG
The 2021 MVP has been solid but not spectacular this postseason. Her best game was a 20-point, 13-rebound performance in Game 2 against the Atlanta Dream. She hasn’t scored more than 14 in any other game. At 6-foot-6 with the ability to shoot from deep — she made three 3-pointers in Game 4 against the Las Vegas Aces — Jones could be a difficult matchup for the Lynx. She has looked more comfortable in New York this season, and despite being the Liberty’s third option is good enough to take over a series at both ends of the court. — Creme
2024 playoff stats: 13.7 PPG, 3.6 RPG, 5.9 APG
In her first season with the Lynx, Williams has been exactly what they needed: an energetic point guard who can score and defend. She played in the WNBA Finals previously with the Connecticut Sun in 2019 and 2022. Williams said around midseason that she let the grind of the schedule get to her a bit. But she remedied that and has been a key part of the Lynx, including 24 points, 5 rebounds and 7 assists in Game 5 of the semifinals. — Voepel
2024 playoff stats: 13.6 PPG, 2.1 RPG, 4.1 APG, 33.3% 3FG
A foundational piece of the franchise for four seasons since moving to Minnesota from Las Vegas, McBride had her best season since 2019. Her scoring and 3-point shooting have fallen off slightly in the postseason, but McBride remains Minnesota’s top scoring option after Collier. Unafraid and willing to have the ball in crunch time, McBride is the kind of deep shooter who can carry a team when she’s hot. — Creme
2024 playoff stats: 10.5 PPG, 59.1% 3FG, 1.8 APG
Fiebich, the Liberty’s 24-year-old rookie from Germany and runner-up for 2024 Sixth Player of the Year, was inserted into the starting lineup beginning in the postseason, which wasn’t entirely a surprise: New York boasted a league-best 23.8 net rating in the regular season with the starters plus Fiebich instead of Courtney Vandersloot (minimum 100 minutes). Fiebich’s increased role has paid dividends for New York: She is 13-for-22 on 3-pointers in the playoffs and adds greater length on the defensive end as a 6-4 wing. — Philippou
2024 playoff stats: 9.0 PPG, 4.4 RPG, 2.9 APG
Smith started her WNBA career as the No. 8 pick by the Phoenix Mercury in 2019. But the past two seasons have been pivotal — last year in Chicago and this year in Minnesota — and she averaged a career-best 10.1 points and 3.2 assists in the regular season. As much as she has been a reliable option on offense, Smith also has been a very effective defender. She was sixth in defensive win shares (2.9) during the regular season. — Voepel
2024 playoff stats: 10.0 PPG, 3.4 RPG, 1.5 APG
This is the best of Carleton’s six seasons in the WNBA, with career highs in scoring (9.6), rebounding (3.8) and 3-pointers per game (2.3). Carleton’s 91 3-pointers in the regular season are three times as many as her previous best season total (30). Her play stood out in the Commissioner’s Cup final, when she had a team-high 23 points, going 8-of-10 from the field and 6-of-8 from beyond the arc in beating the Liberty. — Voepel
2024 playoff stats: 6.0 PPG, 2.8 APG, 1.0 SPG
Laney-Hamilton’s season has been rocky because of injury: She sat out earlier this summer dealing with a knee issue for which she underwent a minor procedure. Then, after her return, she experienced a scare when she collided with Jones in their final regular-season game. Laney-Hamilton hasn’t had a breakout game in these playoffs, but coach Sandy Brondello has said the team wants her to keep shooting. And even if she’s not getting going offensively, Laney-Hamilton’s defensive presence is key for New York to lock things down on the perimeter. — Philippou
2024 playoff stats: 6.7 PPG, 3.3 APG, 2.5 RPG
One of two players on New York who has won a WNBA championship, Vandersloot has adjusted seamlessly to coming off the bench, adding another punch to the Liberty’s reserve corps as a playmaker who’s also capable of getting downhill. But in playing the entire decisive fourth quarter of Game 4 against Las Vegas, she also showed she can still have an impact and be called upon to make winning contributions, regardless of whether she starts. — Philippou
2024 playoff stats: 6.4 PPG, 1.4 RPG, 2.7 APG, 50.0% FG
Coming over from the Sun in the offseason, Hiedeman saw her playing time and all of her numbers dip with the Lynx. But her playoff experience has been valuable and Hiedeman played particularly well in Minnesota’s two series-clinching games. Her high-energy, attacking style pairs well with Williams when the Lynx want to increase the pace or get more aggressive on defense. — Creme
2024 playoff stats: 4.4 PPG, 3.3 RPG, 50.0% FG
It was an under-the-radar trade-deadline deal, but Minnesota’s acquisition of Hines-Allen paid dividends immediately. She hasn’t been as productive in the playoffs as she was during the stretch run of the regular season, but Hines-Allen gives the Lynx more flexibility in the frontcourt. She’s a physical presence who offers an alternative to the finesse Smith and Carleton bring, and gives coach Cheryl Reeve one more interior defender to use against Jones. — Creme
2024 playoff stats: 2.3 PPG, 2.0 RPG, 13.4 MPG
In Game 2 against the Aces, Thornton’s productivity off the bench — she tied a career high for scoring in a single postseason quarter with nine points in the second — helped New York build a six-point halftime lead on its way to a four-point victory. A strong Finals series from Thornton, whether it’s scoring or bringing her trademark grit and toughness, could help tip things in the Liberty’s favor. — Philippou
2024 playoff stats: 2.5 PPG, 1.0 RPG, 33.3% 3FG
After five seasons away from the WNBA, Zandalasini rejoined the Lynx this season and has played spot minutes in all 47 games. She was also a member of the Lynx in 2017 and 2018, making her the last player link to Minnesota’s previous title team in 2017. She played 11 minutes in five playoff games that year and scored two points. The 6-2 Zandalasini has scored 15 points in these playoffs, 12 of which have come on 3-pointers. — Creme