New York Liberty co-owner Joe Tsai isn't worried about his team's post-season ranking, or that of their next opponent, the Atlanta Dream. After the Liberty swept the top-seeded Minnesota Lynx in the first round of the 2026 WNBA playoffs, Tsai took to social media to share his confidence in his championship-winning squad.
"Seeding doesn't matter. We're the best team in the playoffs," Tsai tweeted. And the numbers New York has been posting recently make it hard to argue that statement.
New York Liberty Turn It on for WNBA Playoffs Run
Across both playoffs games, the Liberty stifled coach Cheryl Reeve's high-scoring squad.
They limited the Minnesota Lynx to just 75 points in Game 1 and 71 in Game 2. Breanna Stewart powered that first outing with 34 points, 12 rebounds, and six assists. Then, Jonquel Jones took control in the clincher.
The wins came after a lackluster regular season, one plagued by injuries to stars like Sabrina Ionescu and Satou Sabally. At one point, Liberty fans questioned whether the 2024 WNBA Champions would even qualify for a playoffs run. Those low expectations have only fueled New York's locker room in the post-season though.
"We are an 8 seed even though we don't feel like it," Stewart said. "We need to be that... to have that chip on our shoulder."
New York Liberty Look Ahead to Atlanta Dream Series
Up next is a best-of-five semifinal with the fourth-seeded Atlanta Dream, tipping off October 4th.
The Dream swept the Washington Mystics to comfortably punch its ticket to the second round of the WNBA playoffs this week. In the regular season, Atlanta owned the head-to-head against New York, taking the series 2-1. Even more impressive, they won both games in Brooklyn.
Still, first-year coach Chris DeMarco has his New York team riding a high after becoming the first eighth-seed to knock out a No. 1 seed in WNBA playoff history.
