The Minnesota Lynx kept their season alive in thrilling fashion on Friday with an 82-80 win over the New York Liberty in Game 4 of the 2024 WNBA Finals. Now, the series shifts back to Brooklyn on Sunday night for a winner-take-all Game 5.
This is the first decisive Game 5 in the Finals since 2019 and the eighth overall since the league introduced best-of-five formats in 2005. It will also be the last such game, as the league announced prior to the Finals that the championship series will shift to a best-of-seven format.
Ahead of Sunday's historic showdown, here's a look back at every winner-take-all Game 5 in the WNBA Finals:
2006: Detroit Shock defeat Sacramento Monarchs
It took just two seasons for the best-of-five format to produce a one-game series decider. The first was between the Detroit Shock (now the Dallas Wings) and the now-defunct Sacramento Monarchs, who were the defending league champions.
The Monarchs took an eight-point lead into halftime, but the Shock, playing at home, came storming out of the break. They held the Monarchs to just nine points in the third quarter to take the lead and went up by double digits early in the fourth quarter. The Monarchs managed to cut the deficit to three points in the final 30 seconds, but Katie Smith buried a mid-range jumper with 17 seconds left to seal an 80-75 win for the Shock.
Deanna Nolan, who had 24 points in the Game 5 win, was named Finals MVP as the Shock won the second of their three titles in the span of six seasons.
2007: Phoenix Mercury defeat Detroit Shock
The next season, the Finals again went a full five games. Once again, the Shock were one of the teams involved. This time, they faced an upstart Phoenix Mercury team led by rising stars Diana Taurasi and Cappie Pondexter.
After the Mercury kept their season alive with a one-point win in Game 4, the series returned to Detroit, where the Shock had been a league-best 12-5 at home in the regular season. That homecourt advantage wasn't for the defending champions, as the Mercury ran them out of the gym en route to a 108-92 win.
Pondexter, who had at least 25 points in three of the five games in the series, including the Mercury's Game 4 and 5 wins, was named Finals MVP. This was the first title in franchise history for the Mercury.
2009: Phoenix Mercury defeat Indiana Fever
In 2009, the Phoenix Mercury were again back in the Finals, this time against the Indiana Fever. They were the two best teams in the league all season, and the Finals lived up to expectations.
The Mercury won Game 1 in overtime, but the Fever bounced back to take a 2-1 lead with a one-point victory in Game 3. With their season on the line in Game 4, the Mercury played a terrific 40 minutes to set up Game 5 back in Phoenix.
Led by Tammy Sutton-Brown, who nearly outscored the Mercury by herself in the first quarter, the Fever jumped out to an early lead, but the Mercury surged back with a stunning 35-19 second quarter to go in front at the break. The Mercury led by double digits late in the third, but the Fever then embarked on their own comeback to tie the game with just over four minutes to play.
Eventually, the Fever ran out of gas and the Mercury iced the game from the free throw line for a 94-86 victory and the second title in franchise history. Diana Taurasi, who had 26 points, six rebounds and four assists in Game 5, was named Finals MVP.
2015: Minnesota Lynx defeat Indiana Fever
There would not be another five-game Finals until 2015. That one featured the Minnesota Lynx and Indiana Fever in a rematch of the 2012 Finals, which the Fever won in four games for the first, and still only, title in franchise history.
The first four games of the series were all decided by six points or fewer, including Game 3, which Maya Moore won for the Lynx at the buzzer with one of the most iconic shots in league history -- a pull-up 3-pointer from the top of the key on the road. The Fever then stayed alive with a narrow Game 4 win and sent the series back to Minneapolis.
Unfortunately, Game 5 was anti-climactic. The Fever had the lead at the end of the first quarter, but they managed just 12 total points in the second and third, as the Lynx rode their superb defense to a 69-52 victory in a rather ugly game.
Sylvia Fowles, who anchored the Lynx's defense and put up 20 points and 11 rebounds in Game 5, was named Finals MVP as the Lynx won their third of four titles during their 2010s dynasty.
2016: Los Angeles Sparks defeat Minnesota Lynx
In 2016, the league changed the playoff format to make conference affiliation irrelevant. That decision turned out to be prescient, as it allowed the Minnesota Lynx and Los Angeles Sparks, by far the two best teams in the league, to meet in the Finals.
The matchup immediately lived up to the billing, as Alana Beard hit a buzzer beater to give the Sparks Game 1. The two teams traded wins through the first four games, which set up Game 5 in Minneapolis. What ensued remains arguably the best game in league history.
Neither team led by more than eight points, and there were 11 ties and a staggering 23 lead changes over the 40 minutes. Three of them came in the final 19 seconds.
First, Candace Parker cut to the basket for a layup to put the Sparks up, 75-74. Down on the other end, Maya Moore drained a tough turnaround jumper at the 15.4-second mark to put the Lynx in front, 76-75. Then, Chelsea Gray missed a jumper, but Nneka Ogwumike got the offensive rebound. Her initial attempt was blocked by Sylvia Fowles, but she regathered and put in a fadeaway with 3.1 seconds left to win it for the Sparks, 76-75.
Ogwumike's shot remains the only game winner to decide a winner-take-all Finals game. Parker, who had 28 points, 12 rebounds and three steals in Game 5, was named Finals MVP as the Sparks won their third title.
2017: Minnesota Lynx defeat Los Angeles Sparks
The Minnesota Lynx and Los Angeles Sparks remained the class of the league in 2017, and all roads led to a Finals rematch. This was the first time the same two teams had played in the Finals two seasons in a row since the Houston Comets defeated the New York Liberty in both 1999 and 2000.
Game 1 picked up where Game 5 of the 2016 clash left off, as Chelsea Gray hit a pull-up jumper with two seconds remaining to give the Sparks a one-point win. The Lynx then held on for a two-point win in Game 2 after forcing a turnover on Gray in the closing seconds.
The rest of the series was not so compelling. The teams traded 11-point wins in Games 3 and 4 to set up another winner-take-all Game 5. This time, the Lynx wouldn't let a title slip away at home. They cruised to a wire-to-wire win, 85-76, to win their fourth title in seven seasons.
Sylvia Fowles, who put up a huge 17-point, 20-rebound, four-assist, two-steal, three-block performance in Game 5, was named Finals MVP for the second time in her career.
2019: Washington Mystics defeat Connecticut Sun
For the fourth time in five seasons, the Finals went the distance. The Washington Mystics were back in the Finals for a second consecutive season after a defeat to the Seattle Storm in 2018, while the Connecticut Sun reached the Finals for the first time since 2005. Both teams were in search of their first championship.
While the series went all five games, there wasn't much drama. Only one contest, Game 4, was decided by fewer than nine points. Game 5 was competitive for the first 35 minutes, but the Mystics closed on a 17-6 run to clinch their first and only championship.
With Elena Delle Donne hobbled by a back injury, Emma Meesseman stepped up to lead the Mystics and was named Finals MVP, becoming the first player to win that award as a bench player.
