Olivia Miles and Lynx on the wrong side of history with 2026 WNBA playoff elimination at 8th seed Liberty

The Minnesota Lynx made the kind of history no team wants to make on Tuesday.

While Minnesota finished with the best record in the WNBA during the regular season, its playoff run ended quickly with an 87-71 loss to the New York Liberty. New York completed the brief two-game sweep and made the Lynx the first No. 1 seed to lose to a No. 8 seed in league history.

Olivia Miles has been brilliant for much of the season, but struggled with five points on 1-of-8 shooting from the field while she was just 3-of-12 shooting in the Game 1 loss. Napheesa Collier was just 6 of 14 from the field as the star-studded one-two punch couldn’t counter New York’s dominant trio.

Jonquel Jones was unstoppable with a double-double of 21 points and 13 rebounds, while Sabrina Ionescu added 18 points and seven assists. Breanna Stewart also did a little bit of everything with 21 points, five rebounds, four assists, two steals and two blocks.

Those names alone underscore the reality: Liberty is not a typical No. 8 seed.

Even though the regular season was a rollercoaster of inconsistency with injuries and sometimes poor play, this is still a group of champions who can each take charge of any game at any time.

Minnesota learned that the hard way with a quick two-game sweep, but the rest of the playoff teams surely took note as well. The Liberty are not far from their 2024 title and this time have the same group of stars in the lead.

They already made history on Tuesday and will now focus on reaching the top of the WNBA.