Liberty takes a ride up the Canyon of Heroes as New York celebrates with the WNBA champs

Manhattan’s fabled Canyon of Heroes erstwhile again hosted a radical of New York champions.

Fans lined up hours earlier the commencement of Thursday’s Liberty parade celebrating the franchise’s precise archetypal WNBA title.

And they were successful for a treat.

Liberty fable Teresa Weatherspoon linked up with the mascot from the team’s Madison Square Garden days: Maddie the Mascot.

New York Liberty guardant Jonquel Jones, center, waves arsenic she rides connected a interval holding the MVP trophy to observe the team’s WNBA hoops title implicit the Minnesota Lynx, Thursday, Oct. 24, 2024, successful New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)

Superstar Breanna Stewart popped bottles of  Ace of Spade champagne connected her idiosyncratic Puma interval — 1 earlier the parade adjacent began.

“I’ve lived present for 14 years. They merit it,” said a subordinate of the Timeless Torches, the creation radical featured astatine each Barclays Center location game.

Finals MVP Jonquel Jones hoisted her trophy connected a interval with Caribbean euphony blaring — fitting for the 6-6 Bahamian star.

Classic New York anthems were besides heard done the way up Broadway from Jay Z and Alicia Keys’ Empire State of Mind, Jay-Z & Cam’Ron’s Welcome to New York City, Dipset’s I Really Mean It to 50 Cent’s I Get Money.

And of course: Ellie the Elephant was contiguous to bargain the show.

New York Liberty fans respond portion watching players parade down the Canyon of Heroes connected Broadway celebrating the team’s WNBA hoops championship, Thursday, Oct. 24, 2024, successful New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)

It was a due solemnisation for a Liberty squad that bushed the Minnesota Lynx successful 5 thrilling games successful the WNBA Finals to bring New York City its archetypal hoops rubric since the Knicks won the NBA crown successful 1973. The WNBA rubric was New York’s archetypal Big 5 sports rubric since NYCFC won the MLS Cup successful 2021.

The past squad honored with this classical New York contented was the U.S. women’s nationalist shot squad aft winning the World Cup successful 2019.

The Yankees, who statesman the World Series against the Dodgers connected Friday successful L.A., person a accidental astatine bringing fans backmost to the Canyon of Heroes successful a fewer weeks. They past paraded up the Canyon of Heroes aft beating the Phillies successful the 2009 World Series.

But for present it’s the Liberty who received each the emotion riding down Broadway to City Hall. Those that couldn’t get a spot adjacent a barricade were seen watching from the windows of their apartments.

Constructions workers took clip disconnected to ticker atop a fewer of the galore scaffolds acceptable up downtown. And kids were hanging disconnected autobus stops on the parade route.

Once festivities ended astatine the Canyon of Heroes, the amusive continued astatine City Hall, wherever Liberty players and unit proceed to revel successful the amusive pursuing a WNBA title.