At the beginning of the 2024 season, New York Liberty forward Jonquel Jones shared a brand new perspective on how she is approaching the upcoming 12 months.

“It’s a marathon, not a sprint,” she said.

While Jones, entering her eighth season within the league, talked concerning the upcoming season, the phrase might be applied to many features of her WNBA profession.

In some ways, Jones’ rise through the league has been a marathon. She went from not making the All-Rookie team to being the league’s Most Improved Player in 2017 and from WNBA Sixth Woman of the Year in 2018 to being the league’s MVP in 2021.

Her goal was also to win the championship.

While Liberty battles for the championship against the Minnesota Lynx, Jones is playing within the fourth WNBA Finals of his profession. The WNBA title is considered one of the most recent awards Jones can add to his trophy case. So far it has been elusive.

This 12 months could also be Jones’ best championship run as a member of a Liberty team that finished the regular season at the highest of the league and eliminated fellow champion Las Vegas Aces en path to the WNBA Finals.

However, Jones and Liberty may have some work to do after running into Ryś while biting his nails 95-93 Overtime thriller in the primary match on Thursday. If her performance within the series opener is any indication, Jones is determined to finish the championship drought for herself and the team.

“This is the last thing JJ needs to check,” Liberty teammate Courtney Vandersloot said.

“It’s a big deal for her.”

According to the Elias Sports Bureau, within the 28-year history of the WNBA, 10 players have lost their first three Finals appearances.

Of those 10 players, guard Katie Douglas won the championship – in 2012 with the Indiana Fever. The list includes players corresponding to forward Angel McCoughtry and former Liberty guards Becky Hammon, Vickie Johnson and Teresa Weatherspoon.

As she prepared for the finals, Jones focused on the opportunities before her.

“I just come to play hard,” Jones said. “I’m really the kind of one who focuses on one thing at a time, whatever a very powerful thing is, I let it’s a very powerful thing. Of course you learn out of your performance within the finals, but you approach it with the mindset to win the match.

Although the teams Jones played for were unsuccessful of their first three attempts at winning the championship, she delivered great play. According to ESPN Research, she is considered one of only six players in WNBA history to record greater than 20 double-doubles within the playoffs.

Jones performed brilliantly in each of his three finals appearances. In 2019, Jones averaged 19.2 points, 11 rebounds and 1.8 assists in her first Finals appearance with the Connecticut Sun against the Washington Mystics, a series that led to the fifth and final game. In 2022, Jones averaged 16 points, 8.3 rebounds and a couple of.3 assists against the Las Vegas Aces, who led the Sun in 4 games. Last season, Jones averaged 18.3 points, 9.8 rebounds and a couple of.8 blocks against the Aces as Las Vegas won its second straight title in 4 games.

On Thursday in the primary game, Jones scored 24 points and 10 rebounds, which is the best in each games.

“Honestly, that’s the story of my career,” Jones said. “If you return and have a look at all of the finals I’ve been in, I’d say I played well in them, we just didn’t win. That’s it.

On a team with many future Hall of Famers, Jones was the team’s top performer within the 2023 playoffs. Ultimately, it would not be enough.

“Winning another championship and losing is always motivating. I think we did a lot of good things last year. We just needed a little bit more,” Jones said.

This season has seen a major difference in Liberty’s consistency on the court. The band used their chemistry to rework from a gaggle of interconnected stars right into a harmonious whole. Combine that with the will to return to the Finals, and the result was a Liberty squad that played as title favorite for a lot of the season.

“Our team had a year to really grow, understand and build,” Jones said. “What now we have in common is the experience of attending to the championship and losing, after which having the hunger to exit on the pitch and make a call about how we approach the match – that (losing in the ultimate) had no impact on happening again.

“We still have a job to do. … We understand it will be a struggle, but together we have been through a lot, we have built each other up and become much stronger.”

For Jones, this season was a return to her old self. Jones spent much of last season recovering from a foot injury.

“What really helped me this year was just playing basketball, getting back on track and being healthy,” Jones said.

“I think he’s just getting comfortable and I think it’s going to take time,” Liberty coach Sandy Brondello said. “She has been injured for six months and it is difficult for her emotionally and physically. It started working towards the end, but then it was about how I could recover and be better from day one. She was huge for us.”

This season, Jones was chosen to her fifth All-Star game. For Liberty, she averaged 14.2 points, 9.0 rebounds, 1.3 blocks and a career-best 3.2 assists.

When asked if she sees a way of urgency in Jones this 12 months and her pursuit of the title, Vandersloot replied that there is no noticeable difference because Jones has at all times carried the identical championship energy along with her.

“I don’t necessarily see anything different because she’s always approached every season like she wants to win a championship for as long as I’ve known her,” said Vandersloot, who played with Jones overseas before they became teammates at Liberty. “Of course, I feel just a little little bit of experience will assist in this case. He knows what it’s prefer to be on this group, but he approaches it the identical.”

Like Jones, forward Breanna Stewart and Vandersloot will make their fourth Finals appearance – a feat achieved by only 29 other players in WNBA history. Stewart won two championships with the Seattle Storm, and Vandersloot won a championship with the Chicago Sky. All three wish to win their first title since joining forces in New York last season to form an excellent team.

Vandersloot said she would like to see Jones fight for her first title.

“Especially the three of us, we colluded to come here and be in this exact situation and make JJ be her first. Stewie and I knew what it was like and of course you always want more,” Vandersloot said. “(JJ) put in the time. She got involved in the work. She became MVP. All her individual career successes. Getting there is huge for her.”

Keenly aware that it is often possible that one other likelihood on the championships won’t ever come, Jones knows that point should never be wasted when she makes it to the finals as a right – whether she wins or not. While Jones said there’s some frustration in reaching the ultimate lap multiple times a season after which ending up wanting it, she knows greater than most what the finish line looks like.

She hopes to perform that this season.

“I understand it’s a marathon, not a sprint,” Jones said again, this time through the shootaround before the primary game. “You go out there and try to do whatever the team needs to win.”

Being a billionaire means that you can enjoy making purchases that small countries cannot afford, and Michael Jordan proves it along with his latest purchase. The NBA Hall of Famer reportedly bought himself a private jet for $65 million.

According to , Jordan now owns a latest private jet, a Gulfstream G650ER worthwhile for about $65 million. The recognizable Jumpman logo is clearly visible on the rear of the jet and depicts the tail number, N236MJ. The plane was last seen in Florida’s Palm Beach International Airport, with people viewing it on the tarmac on social media. The plane is reportedly registered under the company name MJ Air LLC.

@seanpalmbeach Michael Jordan’s latest jet is a Gulfstream G650ER, registered on October 1, 2014 #goat #pj #michaeljordan #fyp ♬ M83 Solitude – Grace

The media outlet detailed that the private jet’s custom paint job totaled around $500,000 and might accommodate as much as 19 people, with the possibility of as much as 10 passengers having the ability to sleep comfortably. It also has a maximum range of 8,630 miles.

reported that Jordan is not alone possession Gulfstream G650ER. Other elite billionaires who own one include Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos and Mark Zuckerberg. Jordan’s newest aircraft is an improvement on his previous model, the Gulfstream G550.

Jordan can actually afford to purchase the plane, nevertheless it recently filed an antitrust lawsuit against NASCAR. He and one other automobile owner, Front Row Motorsports, are suing the sports organization and CEO Jim France, claiming it used anti-competitive practices to stop fair competition in the sport. According to the lawsuit claims that NASCAR and France operate without transparency and in a way that doesn’t profit team owners, drivers, sponsors, partners and fans.

Former Minnesota Timberwolves forward Sam Mitchell is thrilled that Chauncey Billups will enter the Basketball Hall of Fame on Sunday. Mitchell also used strong words for individuals who “nearly ruined this man’s career” before he rose to turn out to be a star and NBA champion.

“When they let you down, they blame you,” Mitchell told Andscape. “In my opinion, every coach until Chauncey got to Minnesota let him down. And then they turned around and as an alternative of saying, “We let him down,” they said, “He can’t play.” Explain to me how someone who’s the third pick in the draft cannot play but is now on the point of enter the Hall of Fame? Explain this to me, because I do know the reality. I was there. I do know what Chauncey told me. I saw what happened in Boston. I saw what happened in Orlando.

“So explain to me how a loser who cannot play the position now finally ends up in the Hall of Fame? … I might love to listen to what they must say because I’m drained of writing about all these great (expletive) coaches who let people down. And then these guys turned out to be good. And nobody says a word. By saying that, they almost ruined this man’s career.

While the Timberwolves can be the springboard, Billups’ Hall of Fame biography is highlighted by his time with the Detroit Pistons. The five-time NBA All-Star was the point guard who, with the assistance of fellow Hall of Famer Ben Wallace, led the team to 5 straight conference finals, two NBA Finals appearances and one championship. The 2004 NBA Finals MVP also earned the nickname “Mr. Big Shot” in Detroit for making clutch shots and have become an all-around defender. The Pistons also retired his No. 1 jersey in 2016.

But before landing in Detroit, Billups went from being the third overall pick in the 1997 NBA draft to being viewed as a failure in just three seasons. The former University of Colorado star was traded during his first three seasons by the Boston Celtics, Toronto Raptors and his hometown Denver Nuggets. He never played for the Orlando Magic as he was traded through the 1999-2000 season as a consequence of a shoulder injury. Billups averaged 11.3 points, 3.8 assists and a pair of.3 rebounds over his first 4 non-playoff seasons, a far cry from what was projected for him when he entered the NBA.

“You come in as a third-round pick with your aspirations,” said Billups, now the top coach of the Portland Trail Blazers. If I play like I’m going to be an All-Star. I’m going to take it to the subsequent level. And then you definitely fall completely, identical to I did. I actually have to prove that I belong in this league…

“I needed one other likelihood to prove that I actually belong in this league. And once I’ve done that, I’ll return to my repeatedly scheduled program. I’m going to point out them. And so after that short time in Orlando, I was a free agent and ended up signing with Minnesota.

In 2000, Billups was an unrestricted free agent with the grieving Timberwolves and several other other teams. The Timberwolves needed a defenseman in 2000 as a consequence of the death of Malik Sealy.

Sealy averaged 10.1 points and three.2 rebounds in the NBA from 1992 to 2000, including his final two seasons in Minnesota. Former star of St. John’s University died tragically in the early morning hours of May 20, 2000, when his SUV was struck by a drunken wrong-way pickup driver.

Mitchell’s plans for an early golf outing immediately modified when Timberwolves coach Flip Saunders called him with the news of Sealy’s death.

“I will never forget this as long as I live,” Mitchell said. “I’ll always remember what a time it was. When Flip called me that morning, I never forgot what I was alleged to do. “I will never forget visiting (Sealy’s) house because I was the one who went to his house and told the police his wife.”

The Timberwolves honored Sealy’s life during their first home game of the 2000–01 season and retired his No. 2 jersey, however the team needed to recruit one other defender. Saunders and Timberwolves vice chairman of basketball operations Kevin McHale strongly considered signing Billups. But Mitchell said Saunders was concerned by rumors he had heard that the free agent was too offensive, couldn’t play the point guard position and lacked work ethic.

Mitchell said Saunders was near signing Billups and sought advice from Timberwolves players similar to Mitchell, point guard Terrell Brandon and All-Star Kevin Garnett. Mitchell, Brandon and Garnett were confident the rookie would do well in Minneapolis, and Billups and Garnett were close friends dating back to their AAU days. The Timberwolves signed Billups to a three-year, salary-cap contract, paying $2.25 million in the primary 12 months.

“Flip replied, ‘They say he’s selfish. They say it’s this one, they are saying it’s that one,” Mitchell recalled. “And I said, ‘Flip, I do not know him. But why don’t you give him a likelihood? So when he came, Chauncey told me that when he was in Boston, Toronto and Denver, they gave up on him as a point guard and principally told him to only come in and take a look at to attain. So that is what he did.

“And then when he came to Minnesota, I said, ‘Man, if you really want to learn how to play this position and if you really want to change how people think about you, you see this guy over there, Terrell Brandon, watch everything he does and talk with him. He’s a pure point guard…” Chauncey told me, “I need to play that position. No one ever taught me this position. “

Andy Miller, who was Billups’ agent on the time, said his client’s top offer was Minnesota. Miller said the 24-year-old Billups was perceived as an inconsistent and injury-plagued player on the time (Billups had played a total of 58 games in the previous two seasons). Miller added that McHale and Saunders were interested in adding Billups as insurance in case Brandon was injured.

“Chauncey obviously jumps,” Miller said. “He showed some flashes before, but not enough. And if he did not have respect in the league because he was such a precious person, he would probably be a minimum player at this point and wander a bit to search out his way. He had a certain level of talent that hadn’t been uncorked yet, and there was a certain level of respect when the Minnesota thing happened. This was actually a conversation that Kevin McHale, Flip and I had while trying to find a comboguard…

“They saw him as a safety valve who could still learn a position that may keep them young. And it wasn’t often because of the connection Garnett had with him. I do not remember there ever being a problem with selfishness or the rest. I believed it had more to do with his erratic play.

In addition to the pressure of joining one other team, Billups felt pressure to switch Sealy. In these difficult circumstances, the Timberwolves needed Billups not only as a player, but additionally as a positive person.

“I always loved Malik’s game, mainly because he was one of those guys that everyone respected,” Billups said. “I knew it could be difficult to switch him on and off the court. So the perfect thing I did was to not try.

“We had a lot going on, man,” Mitchell said, “and when Chauncey joined our team after what happened with Malik and stuff, it was a blessing for us. Malik was such a good dude and such a good teammate. And then when Chauncey got here in, he almost hit the nail on the top, being such a good guy, being funny. KG and all of us in this team needed someone like that. It’s like God sent us Chauncey.”

Billups had a breakout, healthy 2000-01 season with the Timberwolves and credited much of his turnaround to Brandon and Mitchell. He continued to enhance through the 2001-02 season, averaging 12.5 points and 5.5 assists in 54 games while learning to play the point guard position and familiarizing himself with the NBA’s operations on and off the court.

“Those two guys changed my life, man,” Billups said of Brandon and Mitchell. “Simply put, Terrell taught me how to be a quarterback and everything that comes with it. How to learn my opponents, how to learn my teammates, what to do myself, when to shoot, when to make everything easier. And Sam taught me how to be a professional.”

Miller said what fueled Billups as a free agent was his play through the 2001-02 playoffs for the Timberwolves. With Brandon sidelined, Billups averaged 22 points, 5.7 assists, 5.0 rebounds and 1.0 steal in three games against the Dallas Mavericks. The Mavericks defeated the Timberwolves in a best-of-seven series, but Billups proved he was able to be an NBA point guard.

“At that point, he was ready to begin being a real point guard who was going to make an impact in the league. We also couldn’t take half a step back by waiting for Terrell to grow old or be traded,” Miller said.

The Timberwolves, Pistons and Miami Heat were interested in Billups as a free agent. With the Timberwolves committing Brandon at point guard, Billups missed the chance to begin. Detroit was the place when he signed a five-year, $35 million contract with the Pistons on July 17, 2002. Detroit was Billups’ sixth team in six years.

“When my time in Minnesota got here to an end, I never looked back. I went to Detroit and all of it ended,” Billups said.

Wallace and former Pistons coach Larry Brown, each Hall of Famers, will introduce Billups on stage Sunday evening during his induction speech. Given Billups’ success in Detroit, expect a lot of talk concerning the Pistons. Expect the Timberwolves to get some love as well for laying the groundwork for his path to the Hall of Fame.

“Minnesota put him on the right track,” Mitchell said. “I do not think Minnesota made him a Hall of Famer. His years in Detroit made him a member of the Hall of Fame. The years spent in Minnesota were full of development, learning the sport, leading the team and so forth.

“I don’t know if you could cut the pie into pieces,” Miller said, “but I would say Minnesota was a huge piece of Chauncey going into the Hall of Fame because there wasn’t a level of stability up to that point.”