If you apply the quote living well is the best revenge, no team is living it better than the New York Liberty.

A year after being vanquished in four games by the Las Vegas Aces in the WNBA Finals, losing the deciding game by a point on their home floor, the Liberty spent a year ruminating on the defeat — and learning from it. Those lessons paid off Sunday night, as the Liberty beat the Minnesota Lynx on their home floor to secure the franchise’s first title.

“I’ve been manifesting this moment for a while. There’s no feeling like it,” Breanna Stewart said after Sunday’s 67-62 overtime win.

Rare is the chance in professional sports to make it all the way to the edge of a championship, fall short, then climb back and win on a second try. Across the big four pro leagues (NFL, NBA, MLB and NHL) and the WNBA, a team like the Liberty, who lost the Finals, then came back and won the next year, has become what I’ll call one of those “Return Winners” just 59 times in total.

But rarer still is the “Revenge Winner,” a champion who not only bounces back from losing the previous season’s Finals, but who does it while going through the team that beat it a year earlier. The Liberty did this when they beat the Aces in the semifinals (though any win over Las Vegas en route to the title would have qualified, regardless of the round).

Across the five major leagues, that situation has only played out 30 times in history — including twice in the WNBA specifically, now that the Liberty have pulled off the feat (see chart).

Let’s rank the best of these revenge titlists in each of the five sports leagues, based on their Simple Rating System (SRS) grade from the season in question; then, at the end, we’ll combine them into a single, cross-sport ranking to see where the Liberty stand in the annals of great revenge tales.

WNBA (2 total)

Previous year: Lost WNBA Finals to Los Angeles Sparks, 3-2
Season SRS: +10.22 (1st in WNBA in 2017)
The Revenge: Beat Sparks 3-2 in WNBA Finals

The 2011, 2013 and 2015 champion Lynx were looking to add yet another title to their collection in 2016, but they ran up against a loaded Sparks team led by Candace Parker and breakout star Nneka Ogwumike — the latter of whom capped off a classic five-game Finals with the winning shot to secure a one-point victory and the title.

When the 2017 Finals rolled around, Maya Moore, Sylvia Fowles, Seimone Augustus and Minnesota were waiting for L.A. again, and another epic Finals unfolded across five more games. After surviving elimination in Game 4, Moore and Fowles combined for 35 points and 30 rebounds in the finale as the Lynx prevailed, earning their fourth ring in seven seasons with a side of revenge.

Previous year: Lost WNBA Finals to Las Vegas Aces, 3-1
Season SRS: +8.06 (1st in WNBA in 2024)
The Revenge: Beat Aces 3-1 in WNBA Semifinals

The star-studded Liberty staged a huge breakout in 2023 after adding two-time league MVP Breanna Stewart, and with the franchise’s turnaround came a burgeoning rivalry with the defending champion Aces. Throughout the regular season, it was easy to see the two teams were on a Finals collision course — but once they got there, Las Vegas dominated Games 1 and 2 and hung on to win the deciding Game 4.

The Liberty made it their mission to get back, and they were easily the league’s best regular-season team. Because of how the bracket shaped up, they couldn’t meet the Aces in the Finals, but the Liberty did get to meet them in Round 2 — and dispatched them in relatively convincing fashion, winning Game 4 by 14 to advance. The Finals against Minnesota were hardly a formality (Sabrina Ionescu’s clutch logo 3 in Game 3 completely changed the series), but the Liberty had come too far and worked too hard at dethroning the Aces to lose in the end.

NBA (9 total)

Previous year: Lost NBA Finals to Cleveland Cavaliers, 4-3
Season SRS: +11.35 (1st in NBA in 2017)
The Revenge: Beat Cavs 4-1 in NBA Finals

This is the revenge title to end all revenge titles. After setting a NBA record with 73 regular-season wins in 2016, the Warriors survived the Oklahoma City Thunder in a seven-game West final and appeared poised to cap off the greatest season in league history with a 3-1 lead over the Cavaliers. But we all know what happened next: Draymond Green suspended, LeBron James resurgent, Kyrie Irving clutch, etc.

Following the stunning loss, the Warriors went into Revenge Tour mode: First, signing Kevin Durant (in what remains one of the NBA’s most controversial moves), then laying waste to the league with an even higher SRS than they’d had the season before. Up against the Cavaliers yet again in the Finals after sweeping their way through the West, the Warriors took a 3-0 lead before sealing up the title — and their retribution for the ring that got away — in Game 5.

Previous year: Lost NBA Finals to Miami Heat, 4-3
Season SRS: +8.00 (1st in NBA in 2014)
The Revenge: Beat Heat 4-1 in NBA Finals

By all rights, these Spurs probably shouldn’t be on this list — they had the 2013 Finals all but locked up when they held a 3-2 series lead and forced a LeBron James miss while up 95-92 in the closing seconds of Game 6. But Chris Bosh and Ray Allen teamed up to force an improbable overtime, and Miami won that game en route to the title. Gregg Popovich’s squad was undeterred, however, bouncing back to lead the league in SRS and returning to face the Heat again in the 2014 Finals.

This time around, they left nothing up to chance, winning the last three games of the series by a combined 57 points behind the efforts of breakout Finals MVP Kawhi Leonard. Revenge never tasted so sweet.

NFL (6 total, 0 in Super Bowl era)

Previous year: Lost NFL Championship to Chicago Cardinals, 28-21
Season SRS: +15.45 (2nd in NFL in 1948)
The Revenge: Beat Cardinals 7-0 in NFL Championship

The Eagles had never known a playoff game in their first 14 seasons of existence, but that all changed under coach Earle “Greasy” Neale in 1947. Behind 1,008 yards and 13 TDs from All-Pro halfback Steve Van Buren, Philly made the NFL championship game against the Cardinals, who themselves hadn’t made the playoffs since winning the 1925 title. Neale’s bunch fell behind 14-0 early, though, and never recovered in the loss.

Returning even better in 1948, the Eagles vastly improved their point differential and found themselves in a title-game rematch with Chicago at snowy Shibe Park in Philadelphia. As the first TV audience in NFL championship history watched, Van Buren provided the game’s lone score in the fourth quarter, and Philly got its revenge with the first championship in franchise history.

Previous year: Lost NFL Championship to Washington, 14-6
Season SRS: +12.88 (1st in NFL in 1943)
The Revenge: Beat Washington 41-21 in NFL Championship

The Bears were a dominant NFL power during this era, and the 1942 team — with its perfect 11-0 record and +21.4 SRS (still the highest in league history) during the regular season — might have been the most impressive version of all. But with regular coach George “Papa Bear” Halas away fighting in World War II, Chicago’s reigning two-time champions were upset by Washington in the title game. (The two franchises already had history and bad blood, including the time Chicago beat Washington 73-0 for the 1940 championship.)

While not quite as dominating as a year earlier, the 1943 Bears still led the league in SRS and went 8-1-1 to make the title contest again — and this time, they got their revenge as Sid Luckman outdueled Slingin’ Sammy Baugh, posting 286 yards and 5 TD passes in the victory.

MLB (5 total)

Previous year: Lost World Series to Brooklyn Dodgers, 4-3
Season SRS: +1.1 (2nd in MLB in 1956)
The Revenge: Beat Dodgers 4-3 in World Series

Back in the ’50s, when New York was the center of the baseball universe, the Yankees were coming off a one-year interruption in Fall Classic appearances after winning each of the previous five — beating the Dodgers for three of those, and the other crosstown rival New York Giants for another. Yankees-Dodgers was on the menu yet again in 1955, and the result was a seven-game classic remembered for Brooklyn’s stars (Jackie Robinson, Duke Snider, Roy Campanella, Pee Wee Reese, etc.) finally earning the franchise’s first title.

Fast-forward to the following October, and it was Dodgers-Yankees once more — for the fourth time in five seasons — and they went the distance again. This time, though, the big story was Yankee pitcher Don Larsen, who was named MVP after winning Game 5 with the only perfect game in World Series history.

Previous year: Lost World Series to New York Giants, 4-0-1
Season SRS: +1.2 (1st in MLB in 1923)
The Revenge: Beat Giants 4-2 in World Series

Decades before the ’56 Yankees were led by Mantle, Berra, Larsen and Ford, the Bronx Bombers were in the World Series with Babe Ruth — and still looking for the franchise’s first championship, remarkably enough, in their third consecutive Fall Classic appearance. The Yankees had a shot at revenge already in 1922, having also lost the ’21 Series to John McGraw’s Giants, but the team failed to register a single victory as Ruth went 2-for-17 in the series.

But 1923 was the dawn of a new era for the franchise in every way: First, they moved out of the Polo Grounds and into the new House That Ruth Built, Yankee Stadium. Second, they made the most of the World Series berth, winning three straight to close out the championship — No. 1 of what would eventually become an MLB-best 27 titles (and counting).

NHL (8 total)

Previous year: Lost Stanley Cup Final to New York Islanders, 4-0
Season SRS: +1.50 (1st in NHL in 1984)
The Revenge: Beat Islanders 4-1 in Stanley Cup Final

The story of Wayne Gretzky’s first Stanley Cup victory starts in defeat. After coming over from the WHA, Edmonton built an up-and-coming contender around the Great One, with Gretzky winning MVP in each of his first few NHL seasons — and setting new league records for goals, assists and points in a season along the way. But the 1982 Oilers were upset by the L.A. Kings in Round 1 of the playoffs (after memorably blowing a 5-0 lead in Game 3), and the high-flying 1983 Oilers were swept by the more well-rounded Islanders in the Final.

It was a giant wake-up call for Edmonton about where they needed to improve, and the following spring, Gretzky and the Oilers had a better idea of what it took to win. Facing New York again, Edmonton set the tone with an un-Oiler-like 1-0 shutout in Game 1, and won the Cup in five games — the first of what would end up being four titles in five seasons.

Previous year: Lost Stanley Cup Final to Detroit Red Wings, 4-3
Season SRS: +1.08 (1st in NHL in 1956)
The Revenge: Beat Red Wings 4-1 in Stanley Cup Final

Under coach Dick Irvin, the Canadiens had reloaded from their championship in 1946 around young Maurice Richard, defenseman Doug Harvey and literal slap shot inventor Bernie “Boom Boom” Geoffrion, among others. After winning the 1953 Cup, they were poised to reign for years to come, but Montreal lost the 1954 Final to Gordie Howe and Detroit in seven games. The two teams were on a collision course again the following season, with the Habs looking even stronger on paper, but a late-season incident between Richard and referee Cliff Thompson — in which Richard punched Thompson in the face, knocking him unconscious — resulted in Richard being suspended for the rest of the season, including the playoffs. (This also sparked a riot at the Montreal Forum a few days later.)

Without its star, Montreal again fell to Detroit in seven games, and Irvin left the team afterward. But with Richard back and vowing in a radio address to be more of a leader going forward, the Canadiens exacted their revenge on the Red Wings in 1956, sparking a dynasty by winning the first of five consecutive Cups.

Best of the best

Now that we have gathered all our cases of Liberty-like Revenge Champs, we can rank them across different sports by comparing their SRS scores on equal footing. (Because scoring levels vary a lot between sports, we can’t just compare the raw numbers to each other across leagues.)

To do that, we’ll perform what’s called standardization, which involves calculating how many standard deviations above or below the league average the team’s SRS was in each season. The resulting metric is known as a “z-score,” and it allows us to rank all of our avenging champions fairly.

By this metric, the most dominant revenge title belonged to the 2017 Warriors. (Not really a surprise there.) And this year’s WNBA Finals champion Liberty come in 12th out of 30 teams, with a +1.53 z-score that sits above the group average, sandwiched between the 1923 Yankees and the 1943 Bears: