New York Liberty basketball team honored with ticker-tape parade in Canyon of Heroes

NEW YORK (AP) — Jonquel Jones, Breanna Stewart, Sabrina Ionescu and their New York teammates were showered with confetti as the Liberty celebrated winning the WNBA title in the Canyon of Heroes in downtown Manhattan.

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

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

“(To) see how many people were in the crowd, smiling, celebrating the Liberty,” Ionescu said. “It really puts into perspective what it means to bring a championship to this city and how it really takes everyone.”

Veteran Liberty players from the early teams, including Teresa Weatherspoon, Vickie Johnson, Kym Hampton and Crystal Robinson, along with current coach Sandy Brondello. attended the parade and ceremony afterward at City Hall. The Liberty even brought out former mascot Maddie.

The parade route was full of fans of all ages, with many of the kids wearing jerseys of their favorite players. Jones carried her Finals MVP trophy atop her float, while Stewart and Ionescu went into the crowd, giving high-fives and taking selfies with fans.

The Liberty also had a celebration at Barclays Center on Thursday night to cap off the festivities, highlighted by a performance from the team’s incredibly popular mascot, Ellie the Elephant, with rapper Lil Mama.

There have been over 200 ticker-tape and confetti parades in New York. The most recent to honor 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 to honor essential workers and first responders for their service during the coronavirus pandemic.

“On behalf of 20 million incredibly proud New Yorkers, I say welcome home to our champion women,” said Hochul, who thanked Liberty owners Joe Tsai and Clara Wu Tsai for investing in the team. “Let’s do it again next year.”