The defending champion New York Liberty blew out the Chicago Sky last week, 99-74. 57 of those 99 points were three-pointers – 19 in total – which set a new WNBA record for the most threes made in one game.

The previous record, 18, had been reached six separate times, most recently by the Liberty against the Phoenix Mercury last season.

Early in the season, the primary story about the Liberty has been their depth. Five separate players were in the double digits against Chicago, with three more contributing six or more points. And eight separate players contributed to the record with at least one three-pointer, as Natasha Cloud and Kennedy Burke led the way with four each.

The flip side of the story, of course, is the Sky, who drop to 0-2. They’ve also made history this season, albeit the much less desirable side: through the first two games of the season, they’ve been blown out twice, with a total point differential of -60. That’s the worst through two games in WNBA history.

The Las Vegas Aces edged past the New York Liberty 70-69 Wednesday night to win the WNBA Finals in four games. Aces star A’ja Wilson was named Finals MVP after averaging 21 points and 12.5 rebounds over the course of the series.

“This is a moment that we need to celebrate,” Wilson said. “Not a lot of people get a chance to do it, and for us to do it short-handed is truly amazing. It just makes this win that much better. I’m going to get choked up … this s— wasn’t easy.”

The matchup between the Aces and Liberty was one of the most highly anticipated in the history of the WNBA, a series contested between a budding dynasty and the league’s newest super team. The Aces, champions in 2022, were led by Wilson, with Kelsey Plum, Jackie Young and Chelsea Gray playing key roles alongside her. The Liberty made headlines during the offseason when the team assembled a big three of Sabrina Ionescu, Breanna Stewart and Courtney Vandersloot. New York lived up to the hype, breezing through the Eastern Conference on the way to the Finals.

The Liberty fell behind in the best-of-five series 2-0 but won Game 3 to get back into contention. In Game 4, Ionescu was seen throwing up behind the bench but later re-entered the game and went on to score 13 points. As the game came to a close, however, New York had a chance to win and extend the series when Stewart, the league’s MVP, got the ball in the corner just before the buzzer. She did not hit the rim, wrapping up a quiet 10-point night that likely cost the team the game.

“I put the ball in the hands of the MVP because we trust her. And it just didn’t work out today,” Liberty head coach Sandy Brondello said after the game. “It ended up with Breanna at the end, so it was just her trying to make a play from there. So, I [would] still do it again. That’s the right call.”

Because the Aces got to celebrate their win on the Liberty’s home court, Aces guard Plum got the opportunity to embrace her husband, New York Giants star tight end Darren Waller, after the game. Waller is not the Aces’ only connection to the NFL, as Tom Brady was officially named a minority owner in the team earlier this month.

Because both teams are expected to maintain much of their cores going forward, it’s likely that the Aces and Liberty will remain forces in the WNBA for years to come. Both teams boast stars that have come to define the league at an important point in its history. With women’s basketball gaining more attention in recent years and young stars like Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese soon arriving from college, this could be the beginning of a new high-profile era for the sport.

New York Knicks owner James Dolan recently put the WNBA’s New York Liberty up for sale and said the Knicks could potentially face the same fate soon — if an adequate offer presents itself.

James Dolan Hints At Selling Knicks For $5B

In an interview released Monday, Dolan — who also owns the New York Rangers — told ESPN’s Ian O’Connor that offers of $5 billion and up have recently been made for the Knicks, although there has yet to be a “bona fide offer” for the franchise.

“You hear numbers all the time,” Dolan told ESPN. “… I think people have sent feelers out, but never any that were pursued. Yeah, [the feelers are] around that number [$5 billion], but those things, it’s like a stock price. It’s only important if you’re going to buy or sell.”

The 63-year-old chairman of Madison Square Garden also noted that he has shareholders to think of.

“You have a responsibility as the guy who runs the place to deliver on that for them, that’s being open and transparent. And so in that position, I could never say that I wouldn’t consider selling the Knicks,” Dolan added. “Now, my family is not in that position, and they are the majority shareholders. They hold the majority of the vote.”

He continued: “As a majority owner, I don’t want to sell, either. As the head of the public company, you can’t say you can’t sell, because then you’re telling your shareholders that your own personal feelings about your assets are more important than their money. And they won’t invest with you if you do that.”

30 SPORTS FIGURES WHO DIED IN 2018 – TRIBUTE SLIDESHOW

The Knicks have severely struggled in recent years, and haven’t reached the NBA Finals since 1999, Dolan’s first year as MSG chairman. New York’s last NBA championship came in 1973.

The franchise has also undergone severe turnover at the top coaching and executive levels over the last few years: the team has had 12 head coaches and seven presidents. Only two Knicks coaches — Mike Woodson and Jeff Van Gundy — have enjoyed winning records.

In May, the Knicks hired David Fizdale as head coach to replace Jeff Hornacek. Fizdale, a former Memphis Grizzlies head coach, also worked as an assistant for the Miami Heat, Golden State Warriors and Atlanta Hawks.

In his latest two-hour interview, Dolan also discussed his legal disputes, his 25 years of sobriety and his relationship with disgraced Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein.

Attention, all WNBA fans: tickets for the New York Liberty’s first playoff home game are now on sale at Ticketmaster.com!

New York Liberty 2017 Playoffs Game 1 Tickets

The Liberty are in the playoffs for the third straight year after losing to Phoenix in the second round in 2016.

This year, the eight WNBA teams that will duke it out in the postseason are the Minnesota Lynx, Los Angeles Sparks, Connecticut Sun, Washington Mystics, Phoenix Mercury, Dallas Wings, New York Liberty, and the Seattle Storm.

The new format put in place for last year’s playoffs will be used again this year. The first two rounds are single-elimination, which means the top two seeds — Minnesota and Los Angeles — will enjoy two straight bye weeks.

No. 4 seed Connecticut and No. 3 seed New York will get one bye, although both teams won’t play until the second single-elimination round.

On Sunday, Sept. 10 at 5pm EST, the Liberty will play their first playoff game of 2017 at Madison Square Garden. In this second-round matchup, New York will face the winner of the first-round Wings/Mystics contest, which is scheduled for Wednesday at 8 pm EST.

The Liberty finished the regular season 22-12 and first in the Eastern Conference, and are on a ten-game winning streak. New York most recently beat the Wings 82-81 in Dallas on Sunday.

Standard admission tickets for the Liberty’s first playoff game begin at $29 on Ticketmaster. There is an eight-ticket limit for the event.

PHOENIX, AZ – AUGUST 23: Plenette Pierson #33 of the New York Liberty handles the ball during the WNBA game against the Phoenix Mercury at US Airways Center on August 23, 2011 in Phoenix, Arizona. The Liberty defeated the Mercury 74-70. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)