Sunday was a measuring stick opportunity for the Liberty.
New York welcomed the Lynx to Barclays Center for the first time since Game 5 of the 2025 WNBA Finals.
But this time, the Lynx left Brooklyn as the victors, handing the Liberty a 83-71 loss as part of the WNBA’s inaugural rivalry week.
The Liberty led by two at halftime but couldn’t match the Lynx’s aggressiveness in the second half in a game that was missing Napheesa Collier (ankle) and Breanna Stewart (bone bruise.)
The Liberty have yet to beat last year’s runners-up, who are pulling away in the standings for the top seed in the playoffs.
With the Liberty sitting six games behind the Lynx in the WNBA standings, it seems like at this point, if the trend of the season continues, that New York won’t catch up to Minnesota for the top seed in the playoffs.
The Liberty and Lynx have both denied that the two teams are rivals, despite exchanging blows in a 2024 WNBA Finals that was marred with controversy.
Both have noted that there’s simply not enough history between the two franchises to consider this a legitimate feud between these two teams.
But while the players and coaches have downplayed this matchup, fans have seemingly leaned into it.
At Minnesota last month, some Lynx fans wore T-shirts that read, “Everyone watched Minnesota get robbed” — alluding to controversial officiating during the WNBA Finals series.
Meanwhile, Liberty fans haven’t been too fond of Lynx coach Cheryl Reeve’s recent quips.
Reeve set social media ablaze two weeks ago when she said Emma Meesseman “made the wrong choice” by signing with the Liberty over the Lynx.
After the Lynx signed former Liberty guard Jaylyn Sherrod Saturday, Reeve, again, fanned the flames when she was asked what the former Liberty guard might bring to Minnesota.
“Don’t know yet. Maybe some corporate knowledge,” Reeve sarcastically responded.
Sherrod’s former team was happy to see she landed on another team — even if it was Minnesota.
In fact, Liberty general manager Jonathan Kolb had called around the league on Sherrod’s behalf after the team waived her to sign Meesseman.
But while the Liberty-Lynx matchup might not quite be a pervading rivalry in the WNBA, it’s safe to say that these two teams bring the best out of each other and each side has played with an extra edge in the first two meetings of this regular season.
The Liberty and Lynx are scheduled to meet two more times in the next nine days.
[Notigroup Newsroom in collaboration with other media outlets, with information from the following sources]
