Because as popular as professional sport is in the USA, there wasn’t too much parity at the top of the big leagues in the past. This is why it is so easy to identify the leading franchises in most sports. The New York Yankees dominated baseball for almost a century. The Los Angeles Lakers and Boston Celtics own nearly half of the NBA championships. The New England Patriots have won the most Super Bowl titles in NFL history, and have won them all since 2000.
It’s hard enough to compete in a championship in a major sport, but some lucky cities have seen greater success by witnessing several local franchises compete for the title in the same year. A couple of recent examples that come to mind are the Lakers and Dodgers title wins in 2020. That same year, the Tampa Bay Rays fell to the Dodgers, while the Tampa Bay Lightning and Tampa Bay Buccaneers won titles.
ALSO READ: 3 stars from Phoenix Mercury will play for Team USA in the Olympics
Even so, it doesn’t happen often. In fact, this has happened only four times in the WNBA’s 25-year history, and three of them in the early days when teams were limited and there was only one streak to determine the champion. Things have certainly changed since then, and for the first time in 20 years, two franchises from the same city made the NBA and WNBA finals in the same season.
Phoenix Mercury reaches the 5th WNBA final
These incredible championship runs come in two very different forms for these two franchises. On one side, you have the Phoenix Mercury, some of the most elite WNBA franchises in league history. The Mercury have won three WNBA titles and currently feature two of the greatest players of all time. First, you have Diana Taurasi, who was recently voted GOAT by fans. She is the all-time top scorer in WNBA history and has won multiple MVP awards. Then you have Britney Griner, one of the most intimidating presences in WNBA history and arguably the greatest defender of all time. Although the Mercury entered the playoffs five-string, winning two play-in games and a highly competitive series against the Las Vegas Aces, the Mercury made it to the WNBA final for the fifth time, beating Candace Parker and the Chicago made heaven. What makes this feat even more remarkable is that the Mercury played four players (Taurasi, Griner, Skylar Diggins-Smith, Kia Nurse) in that summer’s Summer Olympics, which took place during the regular season.
The Mercury will face the Las Vegas Aces in Game 2 of the WNBA Finals at the Footprint Center on Wednesday. Get tickets here.
Phoenix Suns reach the first NBA final in 28 years
The downside of this rare achievement are the Phoenix Suns. The Suns were a surprising contender last season after future Hall of Famer Chris Paul joined the first ballot in the off-season. In contrast to Mercury, the suns have not had much lasting success over the years. In fact, 2021 was only the third time the franchise reached the NBA finals. Their first appearance came in 1976 before waiting another 17 years to do another championship run on the back of 1993 MVP Charles Barkley. Unfortunately, it would be another 28 years before Phoenix fans would see their NBA team in a ring again and they fell short again.
While the Mercury have a WNBA Finals pedigree, the Suns are still looking for their first NBA title. Nonetheless, raising a city like these two professional sports franchises did in 2021 is quite an accomplishment.
The other two cities that accomplish this feat are New York and Los Angeles. In 1999, the New York Liberty and the New York Knicks both reached the finals. And the Los Angeles Sparks joined the Los Angeles Lakers in the finals twice (2001, 2002) during the days of Shaquille O’Neal and Lisa Leslie.
[ad_2]
