Liberty celebrates WNBA title with parade at Canyon of Heroes

NEW YORK – Jonquel Jones, Breanna Stewart, Sabrina Ionescu and their New York teammates were showered with ticker tape as the Liberty celebrated winning the WNBA title at the Canyon of Heroes in downtown Manhattan.

New York Senator Chuck Schumer, Governor Kathy Hochul and New York Mayor Eric Adams joined the thousands who lined the streets on Thursday.

The Liberty won the franchise's first championship by defeating the Minnesota Lynx in overtime in a decisive Game 5 of the WNBA Finals on Sunday at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn.

Some senior first-team Liberty players, including Teresa Weatherspoon, Vickie Johnson and Kym Hampton, took part in the parade.

There were over 200 ticker parades in New York. The last honor for a women's sports team came in 2019, when the U.S. soccer team won the World Cup. Two years later, there was a parade honoring essential workers and first responders for their efforts during the coronavirus pandemic.

Not all New York sports champions have been given the honor of a ticker parade. New York City FC won its first Major League Soccer championship in 2021, but it was only celebrated at City Hall. Last year, NJ/NY Gotham FC won the National Women's Soccer League championship, but also didn't get a ticker parade.