Liberty set ticket record after Mike Wilbon wrongly said Barclays Center had 'worst' home-court advantage
The New York Liberty hosted the Las Vegas Aces for Game 3 of the WNBA Finals on Sunday afternoon and it was a historic event.
There were 17,143 tickets collected for the game, according to the Liberty, which is officially the largest gate attendance in league history. That means no other WNBA game has ever brought in more ticket revenue.
After the game, Liberty star Jonquel Jones credited the fanbase for the crucial victory against the Aces (via ESPN):
“We knew that our fans were going to be behind us and New York was going to be watching and supporting and that’s what we wanted to do, go out there and play with a lot of pride and a lot of heart.”
The victory and the gate record came just mere days after recent comments from ESPN veteran Michael Wilbon, who stated that Barclays Center had the “worst” home-court advantage in the NBA and the WNBA.
As noted by Nets Daily writer Lucas Kaplan, you can hear Wilbon’s unusual comments around the 17-minute, 30-second mark of the telecast from Friday (via ESPN):
“You need a rabid, Phillies-like crowd in Brooklyn. Oh wait. They’re barely awake in Brooklyn. It is the worst home-court advantage, home-court situation in terms of spirit in the entire NBA — all 30 teams (maybe Washington) — and the entire WNBA — all whatever it is, twelve teams? It’s the worst. There’s nothing to rally the Liberty. […] Brooklyn’s home court situation? It stinks. It’s dark. It’s quiet. It’s like a library. […] You hipsters better get a real arena because you stink right now.”
Disregarding his momentary uncertainty about how many teams play in the WNBA, as there are indeed twelve franchises before expansion to the Bay Area, these comments were all the way off.
The Liberty had the fourth-highest average attendance in the WNBA this past season, per BeyondWomensSports.com. Meanwhile, New York’s year-over-year average attendance increase (2,450) was good for the second-best in the league.
Claire Fahy recently wrote a more accurate description of attending a Liberty game (via The New York Times):
“The Liberty’s success this year has attracted fans from all over the city. They have packed the stands at Barclays in the team’s signature sea foam green, borrowed from the Statue of Liberty herself. The team sold out 11 games this season on its way to a franchise-best 32-8 record. […] Barclays is a different arena on Liberty game days than it is when the Nets are in town. There are free activities, such as a photo booths and a face-painting station, that set the tone early, getting fans ready for a raucous evening.”
Wilbon clearly hasn’t spent much time in Barclays Center to watch the Liberty. But perhaps that is able to change soon so he can have a more accurate perception.
We’d like to invite @RealMikeWilbon to his first WNBA game on Wednesday at Barclays Center. https://t.co/ORGtwWW5yU
— Joe Tsai (@joetsai1999) October 15, 2023
Joe Tsai, who owns the Nets and the Liberty, invited Wilbon to attend the Barclays Center when New York hosts Las Vegas for Game 4 of the WNBA Finals.
New York trails the series, 2-1, but can even it up to force a Game 5 in Las Vegas with one more victory at 8 p.m. ET on Wednesday.