National League batting champion Luis Arraez of the San Diego Padres said he underwent surgery to repair a torn ligament in his left thumb Wednesday.

Arraez said he played through the injury for the entire second half of the season. He injured it June 25 against the Washington Nationals on a headfirst slide into third base on a triple.

"Today, I underwent surgery on my thumb after pushing through an injured half of the season," Arraez wrote. "Despite the pain, I continued to play, but it became clear that surgery was necessary to fully recover. The procedure went smoothly, and I'm now focused on healing and getting back to full strength."

Today, I underwent surgery on my thumb after pushing through an injured half of the season. Despite the pain, I continued to play, but it became clear that surgery was necessary to fully recover. The procedure went smoothly, and I'm now focused on healing and getting back pic.twitter.com/pd1bP93N2d

Luis Arraez (@Arraez_21) October 16, 2024

A team spokesman, per MLB.com, said Arraez is expected to resume hitting in about eight weeks and should be fully healthy for the start of spring training.

Arraez batted .314 this season while winning his third consecutive batting title. He is the first person to win three straight titles with three different teams -- he won the American League crown in 2022 with the Minnesota Twins and also won the NL title with the Miami Marlins in 2023.

Arraez, 27, had 200 hits this season, his second straight year reaching the milestone. He also had four homers, 24 doubles and 41 RBIs in 150 games between the Padres (117) and Marlins (33).

San Diego acquired Arraez from the Marlins for four minor leaguers in early May.

In 2022, Arraez batted .316 for the Twins and .354 for Miami in 2023.

Overall, Arraez has a .323 average and 28 homers and 247 RBIs in 686 career games over six seasons with the Twins (2019-22), Marlins (2023-24) and Padres.

Information from Field Level Media was used in this report.

FLORHAM PARK, N.J. -- Wide receiver Davante Adams and quarterback Aaron Rodgers sat next to each other in the New York Jets' team meeting Wednesday. At one point, Rodgers turned to Adams and said, "How crazy is this?"

The former Green Bay Packers teammates are thrilled to be reunited, with Adams saying the Jets were his No. 1 choice after he requested a trade from the Las Vegas Raiders after two-plus seasons.

"It's been a roller coaster, for sure," said Adams, who will make his Jets debut Sunday night against the Pittsburgh Steelers. "It's a weird thing to say that I'm happy, but, obviously, it was time for a change.

"This whole thing kind of transpired a little weird, but at the end of the day, we're in a better place. I think that the Raiders are in a better place as well, and everybody can kind of move on."

Adams was traded Tuesday for a conditional 2025 third-round pick. He arrived at the Jets' facility Tuesday morning and is staying at Rodgers' house until he gets settled. They've already watched game film of themselves from a decade ago, and Rodgers is helping Adams with the playbook and updating him on his elaborate hand-signal system.

"Obviously, having him as my quarterback again, he's part of why I am who I am, and why I turned into the player I am," Adams said of Rodgers, his quarterback from 2014 to 2021.

The Jets (2-4), losers of three straight, traded for Adams because they felt the offense needed another playmaker on the perimeter. They believe it will balance the attack and create fewer double-teams for Garrett Wilson. It also likely means a reduced role for Mike Williams, whose future appears uncertain.

Williams didn't practice Wednesday because of a personal reason, according to the team's injury report. Earlier in the day, interim coach Jeff Ulbrich made no mention of Williams' absence. Rodgers called out Williams after Monday's loss to the Buffalo Bills, saying the veteran receiver "wasn't in the right spot" on a game-clinching interception with two minutes left.

Adams, 31, said he wants to be more than an 11-game rental, indicating he'd like to remain with the Jets beyond 2024.

"I mean, I hope so. That's the plan," Adams said. "I mean, I want to be here. I never go somewhere in hopes of having to find a new home, so that's the hope."

Adams is signed through 2026, but his salaries in 2025 and 2026 -- $35.6 million each year -- are prohibitive and non-guaranteed. It means he'd have to renegotiate his contract to avoid being a cap casualty after the season.

For now, the focus is on learning the playbook so he can have a prominent role against the Steelers.

"I expect to be on the same page," Rodgers said. "I'm hoping that we click. He's been out for a few weeks with a [hamstring] injury and we haven't played together since 2021, but we have a lot of memories to call upon. He has an incredible recall."

On-field communication is important to Rodgers, who holds his receivers to a high standard. He has struggled to develop chemistry with Williams (10 receptions for 145 yards), which might explain why he was critical of Williams after the past game.

Rodgers had some connection issues with Wilson earlier in the season, but they seem to have moved past those with 20 receptions in the past two games. The Jets also have Allen Lazard, another ex-Packer who has a team-high five touchdown catches.

Suddenly, the Jets have a lot of mouths to feed.

"It's a really cool problem to have," Ulbrich said. "It's going to give us an opportunity to have more flexibility where we move these guys around. Sometimes it'll be based upon the route concepts, sometimes the matchups, but it gives us a lot of freedom to play around with where these guys line [up]."

Added Rodgers: "It's about winning. Those guys are going to get theirs. The important thing is winning."

Rodgers said players such as Wilson and running back Breece Hall "should be happy" with Adams' presence because he believes the six-time Pro Bowl receiver will create opportunities for those around him.

Adams said his goal is to make an impact every time he's on the field. In Las Vegas, he didn't feel like that was the case.

"[People] see a trade demand and they just think, 'He wants out, he's quitting on the team,' when it's more about just being able to feel like I can -- I don't want that helpless feeling. ... Not every game's going to be a 100-yard game or 150-, 200-yard game, but I want to feel like I can impact the game every time I touch the field."

Ulster back row David McCann says the province's difficult start to the season should stand them in good stead for the remainder of the 2024-25 campaign.

Richie Murphy's side edged out United Rugby Championship champions Glasgow with a late score in their first home game, then lost to the Lions and the Bulls on their two-match tour to South Africa.

Connacht were seen off after a titanic interprovincial contest at the Kingspan Stadium on Saturday to secure a second victory of the new term.

Ulster face Ospreys in Belfast on Friday, followed by an away trip to Cardiff, before a break for the international window.

"We had a really tough start to the season - the champions at home and then two games away in South Africa at altitude, so to get the win over Connacht and five points at home, it was vital for us, and I think we deserved it," said McCann.

I feel like were battle-hardened now a lot of people have got game-time, a lot of people have got experience, so I think its been a success in a lot of ways but we need to keep working for these next two games.

"Its key we get our points at home, but then its what we do away, when its tougher, when we dont have the crowd behind us."

LONDON --United States international Emily Fox scored her first goal for Arsenal in a runaway 4-1 win over Valerenga in the Women's Champions League on Wednesday.

It was only Arsenal's second win of the season and a much-needed boost of positivity just a day after the resignation of Jonas Eidevall. The Swede left his post on Tuesday after a disappointing string of results that included a 5-2 thrashing to Bayern Munich and a home loss to title-rivals Chelsea.

Renée Slegers has been appointed interim manager and she has Mariona Caldentey to thank for a winning start to her tenure. The Spain international sparkled in midfield and joined Fox on the scoresheet along with Caitlin Foord and Alessia Russo

Whatever nerves Slegers may have had going into the game were allayed in the 2nd minute, when Foord's cutback from the left fell kindly for Fox to tap in from close range.

Arsenal didn't let up their intensity and minutes later looked to have doubled their lead through Russo, only for it to be chalked off for offside. Leah Williamson too went close for the hosts, hitting the post from a corner.

Caldentey, deployed in a more central role than usual, set the tempo for Arsenal in midfield. Her dexterity and directness saw her routinely pick apart the Valarenga defence, who were reprieved on more than one occasion by Russo's off-target finishing.

But Caldentey couldn't be contained and sparked the move for Arsenal's second in the 29th minute. She played in Beth Mead on the left, whose deflated shot was fired into the roof of the net by Foord.

It appeared to be game, set and match for Valerenga, but hardly five minutes later they were handed an unlikely lifeline. Laia Codina was harried off the ball near the box by Katrina Savik, who played in Olaug Tvedten for a simple finish. The goal sparked hysteria in the small pocket of Valerenga fans at the Emirates, who didn't relent in their singing through the game.

In a half that saw Arsenal have nearly 80% possession and 10 shots, it was Valerenga that went into the break with greater momentum.

Savik targeted Codina from the get-go in the second half and nearly punished the Spain international for further sloppiness. She brushed off the center-back and darted into the back before unleashing a shot that went inches above the bar.

Valerenga showed greater solidity in the second half, but their legs eventually gave away. Caldentey got on the scoresheet herself with a sharp finish from the box in the 85th minute and in added time, setup Russo to add further gloss to the win.

The National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) expansion team in Boston apologized on Wednesday for a "Too Many Balls" marketing campaign that drew a harsh reaction from the transgender community and others.

A day after unveiling the slogan as part of the rollout of the team name BOS Nation FC, the organization posted on X that "we missed the mark" with an attempt to "create a bold and buzzworthy brand launch campaign."

"We fully acknowledge that the content of the campaign did not reflect the safe and welcoming environment we strive to create for all," the team said, "and we apologize to the LGBTQ+ community and to the trans community in particular for the hurt we caused."

From us to you. pic.twitter.com/ASHFHltb5n

NWSL Boston (@NWSLBoston) October 16, 2024

The new name, an anagram of "Bostonian" that also played upon being a "boss," was announced Tuesday along with a video celebrating the city's professional sports history -- mostly accomplished by men -- with the narrator saying, "Boston loves its balls" and "there are too many balls in this town."

It concluded: "We are BOS nation, where anything is possible. No balls necessary," with the exception, the video noted, of a soccer ball.

"I'm really looking forward to see the community's response," Jennifer Epstein, one of the team's owners, told The Associated Press then. Actress and director Elizabeth Banks and Olympic gold medalist Aly Raisman also are part of the all-woman ownership group.

But what they got wasn't what they expected.

Among the reactions was an Instagram post from Seattle midfielder Quinn, who identifies as transgender and nonbinary, saying, "Feels transphobic. Yikes."

There was also criticism, including from Massachusetts native and former U.S. women's national team player Sam Mewis, for the failure to recognize existing women's sports teams in the city, such as the Boston Fleet of the Professional Women's Hockey League.

The team took the video down from its website, and its TooManyBalls.com website was a dead link on Wednesday. The public relations agency that sent out the news release on the launch forwarded the team's statement to the AP, but more details about the campaign were not immediately available.

"We are proud to be part of the most inclusive sports league in the world and are committed to upholding the unifying values that define the NWSL and our club," the team posted on X. "Thank you to all who have held us accountable by calling for us to do better. We hear you and we will, together."

Information from The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Eric Reibe, the second-best center in the senior class, announced his commitment to UConn on Wednesday, giving Dan Hurley and the Huskies their second top-25 recruit in 2025.

Reibe chose UConn over Kansas, Creighton, Indiana and Oregon. He visited all five schools over the past couple of months, while also hosting frequent visits from coaches in recent weeks -- including when Hurley and two assistant coaches stopped by Reibe's high school after visiting the White House in September.

The Huskies' pitch won out: Come to Storrs and develop into an NBA player while also competing for a national championship.

"The player development stood out to me, especially with [Donovan] Clingan," Reibe told ESPN. "Sending six players to the league in two years and winning two national championships is very special. Coach Hurley's plan with me aligns perfectly and I have a great relationship with all the coaches and players. It was an indescribable feeling that told me UConn is home."

A 7-footer from Bullis School (Maryland), Reibe is No. 23 overall in the ESPN 100 for the 2025 class -- ranking behind only Chris Cenac Jr. at the center position.

He has represented the German national team at international events since he was 15, most recently playing at the Albert Schweitzer Tournament for his country's U18 team. In six games there, Reibe averaged 13.5 points and 7.2 rebounds, while also stepping out and making nearly two 3s per game at a 57.9% clip.

The left-handed Reibe is one of the most skilled post players in the country. What makes him hard to defend is that he can both score and pass with his back to the basket or while facing the basket. As a face-up threat, his touch and range on his midrange and 3-point shots are consistent. In ball-screen scenarios, he can pop and space, short-roll or dive hard to the rim. Playing with his back to the basket, Reibe's instincts, footwork and moves are based on the location of his defender. Right now, his left-handed jump hook and baseline spin are ahead of schedule. He is also valuable in dribble-handoff actions because of his coordination, mobility and hands.

"Eric has always been a force on the offensive end, his ability to shoot and pass will help space the floor," Bullis School coach Bruce Kelley said. "His commitment to improving defensively over the past year has been notable. He can now move his feet well enough to switch pick-and-rolls and keep the ball handler in front of him. He is also very comfortable covering perimeter players as his primary matchup."

Reibe joins top-20 guard Darius Adams (No. 19 in the ESPN 100) in the Huskies' 2025 class. The Huskies are also squarely in the mix for Braylon Mullins (No. 24), who is expected to announce his decision next week between UConn, Indiana and North Carolina.

The Huskies have now landed nine ESPN 100 prospects in the past three classes.

Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark on Wednesday became the league's first rookie since Candace Parker in 2008 to be named to the All-WNBA first team, while Napheesa Collier of the Minnesota Lynx and A'ja Wilson of the Las Vegas Aces were unanimous selections.

Breanna Stewart (New York Liberty) and Alyssa Thomas (Connecticut Sun) were also first-team selections.

Clark, the league's Rookie of the Year, earned 52 first-team votes and was on 66 of the 67 ballots that were submitted by a national media panel.

She's the fifth rookie ever to have that honor, joining Parker, Sue Bird, Tamika Catchings and Diana Taurasi.

She started all 40 regular-season games for the Fever, who went 20-20 and finished sixth in the league. She averaged 19.2 points, a WNBA-best 8.4 assists, 5.7 rebounds and 1.3 steals in 35.4 minutes per game.

Clark also made 122 3-pointers to lead the league and helped the Fever make the playoffs for the first time since 2016.

Wilson, the league's unanimous choice as MVP, earned a spot on the first team for the third consecutive season and fourth time overall. Collier, a three-time All-WNBA selection, was voted to the first team for the second straight year.

The All-WNBA second team is made up of Sabrina Ionescu (Liberty), Kahleah Copper (Phoenix Mercury), Nneka Ogwumike (Seattle Storm), Arike Ogunbowale (Dallas Wngs) and Jonquel Jones (Liberty).

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Rebecca Lobo was at Sunday Mass in a cathedral near Madison Square Garden in 1997, the first season for the WNBA and her New York Liberty. It was time for the Sign of Peace ritual.

"I turn around, I shake this guy's hand and say, 'Peace be with you,'" Lobo told ESPN. "And he says, 'You need to be tougher on the boards.'"

There's devout faith, and then there's the Liberty faithful. Some true believers have been members of the team's congregation for all 28 WNBA seasons. They've seen 19 playoff appearances, Hall of Fame players, celebrity fans courtside, some incredible games. But they haven't seen a WNBA championship.

The Liberty are one of three original WNBA franchises still in the city where they began. The others -- the Los Angeles Sparks and the Phoenix Mercury -- each have won three WNBA titles. Not the Liberty. Five times, they have played for a WNBA title. Five times, they have lost.

New York is hoping this is the year that changes.

After falling short to the Las Vegas Aces last year, the Liberty rolled to a 32-8 regular-season record and No. 1 seed in the 2024 playoffs. Then they avenged last season's WNBA Finals defeat by taking down the Aces in the semifinals.

Yet heartache has always been part of the Liberty legacy: coming close to the ultimate prize, yet never quite getting it. Thursday's opening game of the 2024 WNBA Finals was the latest example of falling short in Liberty lore: A stinging overtime loss on their home court after leading by 15 points with just over five minutes left. New York evened the series Sunday as it shifts to Minneapolis for two games.

The WNBA has drawn unprecedented attendance, viewership and ratings this season, with many new fans tuning in. But the new fans might not know the tortured history of the Torch -- that the Liberty have been the WNBA's most star-crossed franchise. Teresa Weatherspoon's half-court heave to win at the buzzer in Game 2 of the 1999 WNBA Finals is a signature shot for the Liberty and for the league itself. But the next day, New York lost the series.

After losing in the 2002 Finals, New York didn't return to the championship series until last year, after a two-decade gap. ESPN spoke to Weatherspoon, other current and former Liberty players, executives and owners, plus players and coaches around the league about New York's history, and why this season might be different.

Now with a team including two former MVPs in Breanna Stewart and Jonquel Jones; the league's active career assist leader, Courtney Vandersloot; the franchise's most recent No. 1 pick, Sabrina Ionescu; a championship coach in Sandy Brondello; and the WNBA's most glamorous mascot, Ellie the Elephant, the Liberty are again chasing their long-awaited happy ending.

THE NBA LAUNCHED the WNBA in 1997 with eight franchises -- New York, Charlotte, Cleveland, Houston, Los Angeles, Phoenix, Sacramento and Utah -- affiliated with NBA teams. The NBA was a billion-dollar business. The WNBA -- though it had network television contracts, sponsorships and the NBA's backing -- was a startup.

New Jersey native Carol Blazejowski, one of the greats of 1970s college basketball and the short-lived Women's Professional Basketball League, was the Liberty's first general manager. She was hired in January 1997 with an enormous to-do list ahead of the inaugural game in June.

Carol Blazejowski, Liberty GM, 1997-2010: "We had no staff, no players, no uniforms, no name, no logo, no coach. My first office at Madison Square Garden was a closet right off the freight elevator. People would be making deliveries every day, and they'd say, 'Hey, lady, do you know where so-and-so's office is?'"

Rebecca Lobo, Liberty forward, 1997-2001: "Blaze was everywhere. She was at practices. She was at all the games. She would be in the locker room. I'd see her and think, 'There's the boss.'"

Blazejowski: "I was working at the NBA at the time in licensing [when] they said, 'Would you like to be a GM?' And I had no idea what those duties included. While I was getting players, I was juggling a million balls.

"We had multiple names [to consider], but 'Liberty' made the most sense. I was looking at logos and remember not being happy with any of them. A designer was showing me mock-ups and was ready to leave. And one actually fell out of the jacket pocket of one of those big portfolios. It had the color green in it. I picked it up and said, 'How did we miss this one?' It was perfect."

Players who had spent years in professional leagues overseas were thrilled to compete in the United States. Sue Wicks, who was 6 years old when the Knicks won the 1973 NBA title, New York's last pro basketball championship, was a Long Island native. But players from all over the country made up the rest of the roster: Lobo (from Massachusetts, Weatherspoon (Texas), Crystal Robinson (Oklahoma), Vickie Johnson (Louisiana), Kym Hampton (Kentucky) and Becky Hammon (South Dakota). All seven are in the Liberty's Ring of Honor.

Wicks joked that they all quickly became New Yorkers, especially Weatherspoon, a point guard from tiny Pineland, Texas, who had won an NCAA championship at Louisiana Tech.

Sue Wicks, Liberty forward, 1997-2002: "The DNA of the Liberty was Spoon. There are different types of stars. With Spoon, it was about grit, hard work, passion, give everything you have to your teammates and to the fans. Because the audience in New York is part of the whole thing."

Teresa Weatherspoon, Liberty guard, 1997-2003: "We had the opportunity to live in the city then, too, so we got the feel of the city, the grind of it. We wanted our team to be like the city. We wanted New Yorkers to feel we were grinding just as hard as they were."

Crystal Robinson, Liberty forward, 1999-2005: "Spoon pushed you to knock down the wall that kept you from being great."

The Liberty played at Madison Square Garden, and the atmosphere for their home games was a hallmark of the WNBA's early days.

Sandy Brondello, WNBA guard, 1998-2003: "It was just an aura, something about that arena and its history and just the way it looked when you walked in. The fans were really into it and got really loud. And I wasn't used to playing in front of famous people. Especially being from Australia, I thought, 'Wow, this is interesting.'"

Lobo: "Rosie O'Donnell was a season-ticket holder. Tyra Banks would be courtside, Gregory Hines, Joan Jett, Penny Marshall, Billy Baldwin. It felt like a party, like the fans were there to celebrate and have fun."

But the Liberty's on-court identity was also defined by near misses. In the league's inaugural season, Houston beat New York in the championship game on Aug. 30, 1997. Lobo said she and her teammates went out after the game and later returned to their hotel to hear the news that Diana, Princess of Wales, had been killed in a car crash in Paris.

Lobo: "That put things in a different perspective, obviously. But as for the loss itself, none of us at that point had any idea how hard it was going to be to win a championship."

Richie Adubato replaced Nancy Darsch as coach in 1999. That season, Weatherspoon's famed half-court shot won Game 2 of the WNBA Finals, but the Comets won Game 3 to take their third championship. Weatherspoon said that for years she couldn't stand to see footage of The Shot: It reminded her not only of the series loss but also of the death of her nephew in a car crash earlier that year. She had dedicated that season to him.

Houston again beat the Liberty in the 2000 Finals. Then in the 2002 Finals, the Los Angeles Sparks defeated New York. It would be the Liberty's last trip to the Finals until last year.

THE LIBERTY ADVANCED to the Eastern Conference finals in 2004, 2008 and 2010. They lost each time.

Pat Coyle, Liberty coach, 2004-09: "If you looked at pure talent, we maybe didn't have as much as some other teams. We did have terrific chemistry. But the league was good, it was really just so hard to win."

Along with losses on the court, the Liberty experienced personnel misses, too. They traded guard Hammon to San Antonio in 2007, and she subsequently had the best seasons of her career with the Stars.

Becky Hammon, Liberty guard 1999-2006: "They thought I had hit my ceiling. But it ended up being the best thing ever for me personally and professionally, because it connected me to the Spurs and Gregg Popovich, and my path to coaching. I was pissed at the time, because I didn't know it was coming. I was playing in Spain, and I had messages on my phone. I called Blaze, and it was like a 30-second call, 'Thanks for your services.'"

Blazejowski: "You've got to do what you believe is right at the time. It turned out it was a disastrous move on my behalf, but it worked out perfectly for Becky."

New York had the No. 1 pick in the Sacramento Monarchs' dispersal draft in 2009. The Liberty opted for Nicole Powell, who stayed in New York three years. No. 2 selection Rebekkah Brunson, who is now a Lynx assistant coach, spent nine seasons with Minnesota, winning four championships.

Rebekkah Brunson, WNBA forward, 2004-18: "At the time, I remember thinking, 'Well, New York is closer to D.C., where I'm from. That would be pretty cool.' But sometimes things just happen the way they're supposed to."

Blazejowski's last major acquisition, via trade, was guard Cappie Pondexter in 2010. Blazejowski was fired after that season. After 14 seasons with one GM, the Liberty entered an eight-season period with three GMs. Two of them -- John Whisenant and Bill Laimbeer -- also coached the team.

New York traded for another star, center Tina Charles, in 2014. But the Liberty never found the right combination to win it all.

Sue Bird, Seattle Storm guard, 2002-22, and Long Island native: "Later in my career when I was in free agency, it's fair to say I considered New York. I could have finished my career in a Liberty uniform. I wouldn't have gone anywhere else. But I decided to stay in Seattle."

In 2015, Isiah Thomas controversially was appointed Liberty president despite his involvement in a sexual harassment lawsuit the Knicks had lost while he was the team's president. Still, the Liberty had the league's best record and advanced for the eighth time to the East finals. They took a 1-0 lead in the best-of-three series against the Indiana Fever and held an 18-point lead in Game 2. But they lost that game and then scored a season-low 51 points in a Game 3 loss, another crushing end to a season.

Tina Charles, Liberty center, 2015-19: "What happened? Tamika Catchings is what happened. [Catchings scored 16 of her 25 points in the second half to lead Indiana to a 70-64 win.] She dominated, being the experienced player with the killer instinct she had."

Tanisha Wright, Liberty guard, 2015-16, 2019: "I don't know if we were just gassed [for Game 3] or it was just coming off the bad loss and losing momentum. All the things that could go wrong went wrong for us."

IN 2016, THE WNBA went away from splitting the conferences for the playoffs and instead seeded the top eight teams by record, with the first two rounds being single-elimination games. New York lost in the second round in 2016 and 2017. But rumblings about the franchise's future had started even before then.

Kiah Stokes, Liberty center, 2015-21: "My rookie year after being drafted by the Liberty (2015), I heard people saying, 'If we don't do well, they're going to close this franchise.' It was just whisperings, but it was still kind of a shock. I mean, this is New York."

In November 2017, owner James Dolan announced he wanted to sell the Liberty, which he and his family had owned since the WNBA launched. Laimbeer left to coach Las Vegas, which had moved from San Antonio.

During the 2011, 2012 and 2013 seasons, the Liberty were displaced from the Garden while it was being renovated, and played at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey. Then, while waiting for new ownership, the Liberty were exiled in 2018 and 2019 to the Westchester County Center, which was 90 years old and held fewer than 3,000 fans. The Liberty went from averaging nearly 10,000 fans per home game in 2017 to 2,239 in 2019. Stewart, then a visiting player with the Seattle Storm in 2018, called it "a quiet atmosphere, weird for a basketball game."

Lobo: "The 'forgotten' years. I never saw a game in Westchester. It was like, 'What the heck is going on with this franchise?' I could remember when the Liberty were regularly getting 12,000 to 15,000 people a game and the city really, really cared."

Courtney Vandersloot, Liberty guard, 2023-present; then with the Sky: "We were thinking, This is insane. This is s---ty, to be very frank. I understood that, hopefully, it was temporary."

Breanna Stewart, Liberty forward, 2023-present: "My memories of that place were, 'Why do we have to go up three flights of stairs to get to the locker room?' Pregame and also halftime and also postgame."

Brondello, then coach of Phoenix: "I was wearing high heels, and I was like, 'Just leave my flip-flops at the bottom of the stairs. I'm not doing that in heels.'"

Katie Smith, now a Lynx assistant, was a Liberty assistant from 2014 to 2017, and then head coach for the Westchester seasons. The players lived near the Westchester Center in 2018 but in Brooklyn in 2019, which brought its own logistical challenges.

Katie Smith, Liberty head coach, 2018-19: "The commute, all the driving ... just handling business. Not ideal, but everybody understood where we were at that moment [as a franchise.]"

The Liberty's trajectory changed dramatically in January 2019 when the owners of the Brooklyn Nets, Joe and Clara Wu Tsai, bought the team and vowed to upgrade everything about the franchise.

Adam Silver, NBA commissioner: "Joe and Clara Tsai embraced the opportunity to invest in women's basketball in New York City and jumped in with enormous enthusiasm and passion. The results speak for themselves both in terms of the talented rosters they've assembled and their commitment to playing all home games at the Barclays Center."

Clara Wu Tsai, Liberty owner, 2019-present: "We saw the business potential of a professional women's basketball team, especially one in New York City. There was already a passionate Liberty fan base originating from the early days of the league. We believed we could build a championship-caliber team that would bring back the original supporters and attract new, passionate fans."

The Liberty got new ownership, a new general manager (Jonathan Kolb), a new coach (Walt Hopkins) and the No. 1 pick in the 2020 draft (Ionescu).

But things didn't turn around overnight. The 2020 season in the COVID-19 "bubble" in Florida saw New York hit rock bottom, as Ionescu suffered a season-ending ankle injury in her third game and the Liberty finished 2-20.

That is the fewest victories for a team in WNBA history, and it is the second-worst winning percentage behind Tulsa's 3-31 season in 2011.

Sabrina Ionescu. Liberty guard, 2020-present: "It was the expectation and the weight of the world being a 1 pick. Looking back, it really shaped me into who I am. But during that time, it was tough. I didn't even watch a lot of the games. I tried to turn the TV off and hope that the season would go by quicker so I didn't have to feel like I was missing out on so much."

Ionescu is the only player from 2020 still with the Liberty. That was Stokes' last full season in New York; she was waived midway through 2021 and picked up by Las Vegas, where she has won two titles.

Stokes: "I remember talking to Jonathan Kolb, and especially after we drafted Sab, he had all these things he wanted to accomplish and players he wanted to bring to New York. To see him complete that roster a few years later, I'm really impressed. It's unfortunate they had to ship everyone out and basically bring in a new roster. But you have to do what's best for the organization."

With Ionescu back in 2021, the Liberty went 12-20 and lost in the first round of the playoffs. On Dec. 6, 2021, Hopkins was let go by the Liberty and Phoenix parted with Brondello, within a few hours of each other.

Brondello: "I'd known I was leaving Phoenix before that, and had heard through the grapevine New York might be open. I thought, 'This is the job I want -- in the biggest city, with a young team and really great ownership.'"

Things fully came together before the 2023 season in the most explosive free agency in league history. Stewart and Vandersloot signed with the Liberty, and Jones asked for a trade to New York, joining Ionescu and Betnijah Laney-Hamilton to form the most talented starting five the Liberty has ever had. New York now has gone 32-8 in back-to-back seasons and is in its second WNBA Finals in a row.

Jonathan Kolb, Liberty GM, 2019-present: "You put together what you can while knowing a different set [of circumstances] will present themselves in the future. We met with Stewie a year prior, when she was an unrestricted free agent. It didn't work out at that time, but we preserved cap flexibility in the event that we would have another swing to take, which fortunately we did."

Ionescu: "I feel like I've been able to help do here kind of what I did in college at Oregon: turning a team around and building it back from the ground up."

Jonquel Jones, Liberty forward, 2023-present: "With the Liberty, I feel like I've learned a lot about myself. I've really been tested in terms of how much are you willing to sacrifice for a championship?"

Through nearly three decades, the Liberty have chased the championship dream. It's Barclays and Brooklyn now, not Madison Square Garden and Manhattan. Some different celebrities sit courtside these days, such as Spike Lee, Alicia Keys and Jason Sudeikis. But the spirit of the fans and the Liberty's pursuit remain.

Hammon, Aces coach, 2022-present: "As much as I want to beat them when we play them, it's important for the league that New York do well. It just is. It's a huge market, and they need to put a great product on the floor. Which they are."

Lobo: "Being at a Liberty game now, I'm reminded, 'This is what it felt like in the early days at the Garden.' That's how it feels now in Brooklyn. You never know what could happen. But this really could be their year."

It won't be easy. With the Liberty, it never is. After Game 1's gut punch, Vandersloot was blunt.

Vandersloot: "There's no way around it: We come into the locker room, and we feel like it was a missed opportunity for us. That hurts. First thing I say in there is, 'We have to find a way to move on from this. We still have a great opportunity in front of us.'"

Sylvia Fowles went out in style. In her final WNBA game two years ago, the Minnesota Lynx center grabbed her 4,000th rebound and notched her 193rd career double-double. Even the opposing fans in Connecticut rose for a standing ovation.

But as Fowles said goodbye to the league, the Lynx ushered in a new era.

Coach Cheryl Reeve battled her emotions as she took it all in. Fowles was the last of the core stars from Minnesota's dynasty years, when the Lynx won four titles in six WNBA Finals appearances from 2011 to 2017.

Reeve had hoped to send Fowles out with one final postseason appearance. But on that August night in 2022, the Lynx capped a 14-22 regular season. Minnesota, with young standout Napheesa Collier sitting out most of the year on maternity leave, missed the playoffs and had a losing record for the first time since 2010, Reeve's first season with the team.

Questions surrounded the Lynx. How would they reload? What did the future hold? How long would it take for the franchise to return to the top?

In 2024, a season when much of the focus was on how quickly the rookie class would make an impact and whether the Las Vegas Aces could repeat, Minnesota slowly emerged as a title contender. The best team since the league resumed after the Paris Olympics, the Lynx trailed only the New York Liberty in the final standings and entered the playoffs as the No. 2 seed.

Entering Wednesday's Game 3 (8 p.m. ET, ESPN) of the WNBA Finals, Minnesota is tied 1-1 with New York and hosts the next two games of the best-of-five series at Target Center. At 30-10, the Lynx exceeded most preseason projections and could be on the cusp of the franchise's fifth title, which would be the most by a WNBA franchise.

"We felt like after last season that we had a foundation," Reeve said of going 19-21 in 2023 and returning to the playoffs. "With that being said, we only brought five players back. We were sure what needed to change. We weren't good enough."

Reeve, who is also Minnesota's president of basketball operations and was the 2024 WNBA Coach of the Year and Executive of the Year, thinks the team's construction is part of what makes the Lynx so hard to beat. They weren't built from multiple seasons of failure that led to stacked lottery picks. Their free agent acquisitions didn't make big headlines. Yet they are two victories away from another championship.

"There's more than one way to do this," Reeve said of Minnesota's roster build. "And so a superteam we are not. But we're a darn good basketball team."

Minnesota's roster this season stands in contrast to both New York and the legendary Lynx teams of the past.

The Liberty have two No. 1 picks (Breanna Stewart, Sabrina Ionescu) and two MVPs (Stewart and Jonquel Jones). They also have a No. 3 pick, Courtney Vandersloot. All but Ionescu, whom the Liberty drafted in 2020, have come to the team via free agency or trade. The Liberty's construction earned them a superteam moniker along with the Aces last season, when those teams met in the Finals.

The Lynx's 2011-2017 dynasty core consisted of two No. 1 draft picks (Seimone Augustus and Maya Moore) and trades for other players who had been lottery picks (No. 4 Lindsay Whalen and No. 2 Fowles). Plus, the Lynx got Rebekkah Brunson from the Sacramento Monarchs' dispersal draft: She was drafted 10th but played like a lottery pick and finished her WNBA career with five championships.

This year's Minnesota squad currently has one superstar: Collier was MVP runner-up and the league's Defensive Player of the Year this season, averaging 20.4 points and 9.7 rebounds. But she is surrounded by players who have fit like pieces in a mosaic, including guard Courtney Williams and forward Alanna Smith, who came as free agents from the Chicago Sky.

Diamond Miller, who was drafted No. 2 in 2023, is the highest draft pick on the current Lynx roster but is a reserve who has been used sparingly in the playoffs. Minnesota's top two players off the bench this postseason -- Natisha Hiedeman and Myisha Hines-Allen -- were both second-round picks whom the Lynx got via trade this year.

Kayla McBride, the No. 3 draft pick in 2014, is the highest pick among the Lynx starters, who include Bridget Carleton (21st pick in 2019), Williams and Smith (both No. 8 picks, in 2016 and 2019), and Collier, whose way-too-low selection at No. 6 in 2019 has made that draft the easiest to second-guess in WNBA history.

Reeve has been the constant in virtually all of Minnesota's success. The Lynx had won only one playoff game, in 2003, when she took over in 2010 after winning WNBA titles as an assistant in Detroit in 2006 and 2008. She is in her 15th season with Minnesota, the longest tenure with one team of any WNBA coach in history. Only four active coaches in other major U.S. pro sports leagues -- two in the NBA and two in the NFL -- have been with their current teams longer than Reeve.

Reeve said the consistency requires doing everything possible to not compromise on the "personality fit" of players even if they bring on-court skills.

"We needed to right the mistakes we made in some past decision-making," Reeve said. "Because every once in a while, you deviate from what you know you should be doing. You say, 'This player can do this,' and, 'We've got other good people, so we'll be OK.'

"We had a couple tough seasons. [In 2022], we didn't make the playoffs. In 2023, we had a good year and we had a group of players -- but not all players -- that felt chemistry together. We were, for sure, in this offseason committed to how we were doing things."

That meant flooding Williams with calls and texts to let her know she was one of Minnesota's primary free agent targets.

"Cheryl straight up was like, 'We want you to be our point guard. I want you to run the team,'" Williams said. "I was like, 'Wow, why me? I'm not even a point guard.' But she just continued to give me those words of affirmation. And she convinced me I'm a point guard a little bit."

Collier did her part in free agency, too. She thought Smith would be a good fit in the post for Minnesota based on her impressions of playing against the former Stanford standout. While both were competing in Turkey during the WNBA offseason, Collier and Smith had a three-hour dinner of pasta and wine in Istanbul. They discovered a lot of common ground, and Smith said she was impressed that Collier was "really down to earth, super humble and just stands for the right things."

With their time together for the Sky in 2023, Williams and Smith already had a bond. It didn't take long for them to mesh with everyone else in Minnesota. The talent of the players Reeve and Minnesota general manager Clare Duwelius brought together has stood out, too.

Carleton had her best regular season, averaging career bests in scoring (9.6) and rebounding (3.8). Smith also set a career high in scoring average (10.1), while McBride averaged a career-best 2.7 3-pointers per game.

When you talk to the Lynx about their individual successes, they point to what the whole group has done that has allowed each to excel.

"I think it's noted when teams watch us, they always talk about the Lynx chemistry," Reeve said. "We didn't get it right every year. We certainly have had our challenges, but we knocked it out of the park this year."

ESPN's Alexa Philippou contributed to this story.