A championship game can turn a casual viewer into a fan. The recent WNBA Game 7 discussion on X is a good reason to look beyond the latest score and discover the earlier games that made the Finals worth following.
This is an editorial watchlist, not a statistical ranking of the ten greatest games ever. We chose ten distinct Finals games for their memorable finishes, championship significance or contrasting styles, then arranged them chronologically. Results are included, so expect spoilers. The focus is historical games through 2024—not a verdict on the latest Finals.
1. Houston Comets vs. New York Liberty — 1997 championship
Choose this for: the beginning of the championship story. Houston won the inaugural championship game 65–51, with Cynthia Cooper scoring 25 points. Unlike the later multi-game Finals, this title was settled in one game.
Start here if you want context before the famous highlights. The attraction is not a last-second escape: it is seeing the foundation of Houston’s early dominance and a championship format very different from today's longer series. WNBA championship history
2. New York Liberty at Houston Comets — 1999, Game 2
Choose this for: an ending that refuses to stay over. Teresa Weatherspoon’s half-court buzzer-beater kept New York alive and forced a deciding third game. Houston still won the championship, an important distinction when revisiting a shot that can overshadow the series result.
The useful viewing question is how little time a basketball team needs to change a game. Seek the closing sequence rather than only a still image of the celebration; the distance and urgency are the point. WNBA’s account of The Shot, official WNBA clip
3. Los Angeles Sparks at Detroit Shock — 2003, Game 3
Choose this for: a champion being displaced. Detroit beat Los Angeles 83–78 in the deciding game, with Ruth Riley scoring 27 points and taking Finals MVP honors. The Sparks had won the previous two championships; Detroit stopped their attempt at a third.
This is a good counterweight to a watchlist made entirely of long-range buzzer-beaters. Follow Riley’s role in the game and the pressure of a final contest in a best-of-three series. A Game 3 could carry all the championship stakes. Riley’s university recap, WNBA history
4. Sacramento Monarchs vs. Detroit Shock — 2006, Game 5
Choose this for: a lead becoming uncomfortable very late. Detroit won 80–75, but Sacramento cut the gap to three points with 33 seconds left. Katie Smith’s jumper with 14.8 seconds remaining supplied the final margin.
Watch the possessions around that jumper, not just the make. This selection rewards attention to how a team responds after its control of a game suddenly weakens. It was also the first deciding Game 5 in the Finals’ best-of-five era. WNBA Game 5 history
5. Indiana Fever at Phoenix Mercury — 2009, Game 1
Choose this for: offensive fireworks rather than a slow championship grind. Phoenix won 120–116 in overtime. The league’s retrospective records 19 lead changes and 13 ties, with 11 players reaching double figures.
That spread of scoring makes it worth following players away from the headline stars. It also demonstrates why an opening game belongs on a Finals watchlist: a championship does not have to be awarded that night for the basketball to be compelling. WNBA’s comparison of memorable Finals games
6. Minnesota Lynx at Indiana Fever — 2015, Game 3
Choose this for: a tiny window and a composed finish. With 1.7 seconds remaining, Maya Moore received the inbound pass and made a three-pointer at the buzzer to give Minnesota an 80–77 win. She finished with 24 points.
Look at the preparation and the space she creates rather than treating the shot as a random miracle. The win put Minnesota ahead 2–1; it did not clinch the championship. Indiana forced a fifth game before the Lynx ultimately won the series. Official 2015 playoff archive
7. Los Angeles Sparks at Minnesota Lynx — 2016, Game 5
Choose this for: a championship decided by the next effort. Los Angeles won 77–76 after Nneka Ogwumike’s decisive basket with 3.1 seconds remaining. Candace Parker contributed 28 points and 12 rebounds.
The finish is especially rewarding if you follow the rebounds and recoveries instead of waiting for the final shot. Also note the clock: the winning basket was not a buzzer-beater. Minnesota still had a final attempt. That distinction makes the ending more tense, not less. WNBA Game 5 history, final-possession account
8. Los Angeles Sparks at Minnesota Lynx — 2017, Game 5
Choose this for: the other ending to the rivalry. Minnesota won this rematch 85–76. Sylvia Fowles collected 20 rebounds and finished the Finals with a double-double in every game.
Watch it after the 2016 decider rather than treating the two as interchangeable. Fowles’s rebounding provides a different viewing focus from Ogwumike’s late winning shot: possessions can be shaped repeatedly over a game, not only in its final seconds. Official postgame notes
9. Connecticut Sun at Washington Mystics — 2019, Game 5
Choose this for: a close contest transformed in the fourth quarter. Washington won 89–78 for its first championship. The game had 15 ties and nine lead changes; a 13–2 Mystics run midway through the final quarter proved decisive. Emma Meesseman scored a team-high 22 points.
The final margin does not tell you how competitive this was. For European viewers, Belgium’s Meesseman is an especially useful player to follow—but the broader attraction is how several possessions, rather than one spectacular heave, can settle a title. WNBA Game 5 analysis
10. Minnesota Lynx at New York Liberty — 2024, Game 5
Choose this for: a long wait ending in overtime. New York won its first WNBA championship in a five-game series whose opener and decider both required overtime. Jonquel Jones earned Finals MVP honors.
Pair this with the 1997 championship and the 1999 Weatherspoon game. The contrast gives New York’s eventual breakthrough context without pretending that the same roster carried the whole journey. It is a satisfying final stop for a watchlist that starts with the Liberty falling short in the league’s first season. Official championship history
Finding footage without guessing availability
Use the year, both teams and game number when searching the WNBA’s official video hub. Check whether a result is a full replay, condensed game or short highlight before settling in. The league’s replay guidance distinguishes freely available highlights from subscription full-game and classic-game access. Catalogs and regional availability can change; this list does not promise that every selected game is currently available in full or free.