The Minnesota Lynx swept the Atlanta Dream Thursday night to
clinch their second WNBA championship in three years, led by several
dominant performances from 31-year-old, eight-months pregnant Rebekkah
Brunson. Brunson, a 6-foot, 2-inch tall, 215-pound power forward who
recently entered her third trimester, averaged 26 points and 14 rebounds
in the series and was by all accounts the Lynx’s biggest threat on both
ends of the floor.
“Rebekkah was really the difference-maker, there’s no
question about that,” said Lynx head coach Cheryl Reeve, adding that
Brunson’s low-post game has drastically improved since putting on 40
pounds over the past few months. “She did it all—blocking shots,
snagging rebounds, and absolutely dominating in the paint. And I don’t
think I’ve ever seen a player just blow through the lane like that. No
one could guard her.”
“When she threw her weight around down low, she was
unstoppable,” Reeve continued. “Rebekkah was boxing out every other
player on the court to get rebounds, and to do that against a team as
good as the Dream was really something special.”
According to Reeve, Brunson’s commanding presence in the key
and 37-centimeter baby bump set the tone for Minnesota’s success against
Atlanta. In addition to converting a host of contested layups, Brunson
frequently set picks on the perimeter, leading to a number of wide-open
three-pointers for her teammates. The 10-year WNBA veteran whose due
date is Nov. 8 also drew nine charges over the course of three games
while on defense.
Furthermore, many analysts said the highlight of the entire
series came when Brunson knifed through three Dream defenders during a
fierce drive to the basket, which the eight-months pregnant forward
finished with an acrobatic teardrop layup.
“You want to leave it all out there during the Finals, and
Rebekkah did that,” said Lynx forward Maya Moore, adding that Brunson
has been incredibly diligent about taking her prenatal vitamins before
and after every game. “They tried to get physical and knock her down
whenever she drove to the basket, but she’s so big that she just
shrugged off the hits like they were nothing. And when she dove for that
loose ball in the third quarter, it just lifted the whole team.”
“She was just on a different level,” added Moore. “No one saw
this coming at the beginning of the season when she was still suffering
from morning sickness every day.”
Brunson did have several obstacles to overcome throughout the
series, having to leave Game 1 for a full quarter due to abdominal
cramping. Team sources said Brunson was also repeatedly forced to sub
out of play in order to run to the locker room and change after
lactating through her jersey.
At one point during Game 2, Brunson reportedly thought she
had gone into preterm labor, but reentered the game several minutes
later after realizing she had only experienced a Braxton Hicks
contraction. She was then rested at the end of the decisive 88-63
victory and watched the final few minutes while lying on her side next
to the bench with a large pillow between her legs.
Brunson’s regular mood swings, however, were said to work
heavily in Minnesota’s favor, with the 31-year-old often bursting into
tears on defense and angrily ripping the ball out of a Dream player’s
hands for an all-time Finals record 67 steals.
“I have to hand it to Rebekkah—she was phenomenal, and we
couldn’t figure out a way to contain her on either side of the ball,”
said Dream coach Fred Williams, adding that Brunson was “simply too
much” for Atlanta’s Angel McCoughtry, who is currently only in her
second trimester. “Rebekkah showed amazing tenacity and heart out there.
Even when she got those random food cravings and had to take a timeout
to get a few hot dogs from a vendor in the stands, she got right back on
the court and stepped up when her team needed her.”
“Honestly, I haven’t seen a performance like that since the
2002 Finals, when Lisa Leslie put up 17 points and 7 rebounds during her
14th hour of labor,” added Williams.
Following the victory, Brunson went on to collect the WNBA
Finals MVP, becoming just the fifth pregnant player in league history to
win the honor.
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