NY Liberty vs. Minnesota Lynx preview: Finals rematch!

Atlanta Dream v Minnesota Lynx — Photo by Steven Garcia/Getty Images

The road trip continues, and tonight we have a Finals rematch in Minneapolis.

That was not the team’s finest hour. The New York Liberty got off to a truly horrendous start on Monday night against the Dallas Wings and never truly got all the way back in it as they lost 92-82.

The opponent tonight is someone we know really well. The Minnesota Lynx have bounced back from their WNBA Finals defeat and been the best team in the league thus far in 2025. They suffered their first home loss of the season after the Atlanta Dream held on to pull off the upset on Sunday night.

Where to watch the game

ESPN is the place to be. Tip after 8 PM.

Injuries

No Breanna Stewart or Nyara Sabally. Kennedy Burke was diagnosed with a low grade strain in her right calf and will be out at least two to four weeks. Earlier today, Natasha Cloud was downgraded to questionable as she is dealing with an illness. Tough, tough going right now for New York.

Alanna Smith left Sunday’s game with a lower leg injury. She’s not on the injury report. Karlie Samuelson is out for the season with a foot injury.

The game

Cheryl Reeve is a hysterical individual

At the end of her practice media availability today, Lynx coach Cheryl Reeve was asked again about her thoughts on Belgian forward Emma Meesseman’s commitment to the New York Liberty.

“She made the wrong choice,” Reeve said.

The Lynx and Liberty play tomorrow at 7 p.m. pic.twitter.com/FN9uguEJYE

— Shelby Swanson (she/they) (@shelbymswanson) July 29, 2025

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Outstanding.

The Liberty went double bigs on Monday, and it did not go well at all. After halftime, they started Marine Johannès, and things started to turn around. After their team meeting on Monday night, it’ll be fascinating to see how they start this game off. The Liberty have recently had a bad habit of starting games off slowly and battling their way back into it. If they do that tonight, they’ll find themselves down double digits early and the Lynx are not a team that’s likely to give a big lead back.

If the Lynx don’t have an answer for Jonquel Jones, they won’t win. That was the story of last year’s Finals, and will be the story if these teams see each other in the playoffs again. JJ proved to be too much for Alanna Smith and the Lynx frontcourt last October and now that she’s back and finding her rhythm, look for the Liberty to feature her heavily throughout this one.

Guard play will be critical tonight. When Courtney Williams is at her best, she has the perfect blend of scoring and playmaking that can lift the offense. When she’s at her worst, the shot quality is questionable at best and actively harmful at worst. It helps that the Lynx have a great two guard in Kayla McBride that can take over games. For the Liberty, their two guard picked up another accolade. Sabrina Ionescu was named Eastern Conference Player of the Week for the second straight week and Sab has really scaled up on offense. She started slow (who didn’t) on Monday but got into a bit of a groove after halftime. New York will need a big game out of her if they want to pull off the upset tonight. If Sab can get into the paint and force the issue, she’ll keep the Liberty within range of the Lynx. And if the game is close late, Minnesota fans know all too well what she can do…

Player to watch: Napheesa Collier

Phee is dealing with a bit of a shoulder issue, but that certainly hasn’t slowed her down on the court. She leads the WNBA in scoring at 23 points a night on .531/.352/.922 shooting splits. When she gets the ball on the block, it’s practically automatic and two points on the board for Minnesota. Not to mention she’s an all-world defender and the perfect frontcourt partner to Alanna Smith in the middle.

I think it’s safe to assume Leonie Fiebich will slide up to the four position tonight. The Liberty are going to need a lot more from Leo if they want to hang in there while Stewart and Burke are out, but she’s up for the challenge. When she sits, Stephanie Talbot will get her fair share of minutes. Talbot might’ve been the only Liberty player that had a game worth remembering on Monday as she had her best performance in quite some time. New York is going to need that level of play every night when she steps on the court. It’s a big ask, but it’s something Sandy Brondello and the team is going to need in the worst way.