The 6 most memorable moments from the Lynx-Sparks 2016 WNBA Finals

The 2016 WNBA Finals capped off a spectacular year in dramatic sports finishes, following in the footsteps of Villanova basketball’s buzzer-beater, the Cubs’ first World Series win in 108 years, the Patriots’ Super Bowl comeback, and the Cavs overcoming a 3-1 deficit.

Los Angeles Sparks MVP Nneka Ogwumike hit a fadeaway shot at the buzzer to upset the defending champion Minnesota Lynx in a decisive Game 5 finish that should go down as one of the greatest finishes ever. It was amazingly the team’s second buzzer-beater in three wins in a back-and-forth series nobody could’ve predicted.

Now the teams are set to rematch in the Finals yet again, in what should be an epic sequel. Game 1 will be Sunday at 3:30 p.m. ET on ABC.

There’s a lot to remember from last season’s historic matchup. It was the product of a revamped playoff system that otherwise wouldn’t have allowed for two Western Conference teams to face each other in the Finals. Thankfully it did, and fans were rewarded with maybe the best Finals in league history.

Here are the top moments from Lynx-Sparks Volume 1:

Maya Moore’s shot with 15 seconds to spare looked like it would do it, but Ogwumike had other thoughts. She grabbed a rebound and nailed a one-footed fadeaway with mere tenths of a second to spare to give the Sparks the title.

This was a action drama-type ending for last year’s MVP, who was unearthly on the court all summer long.

Parker, the Sparks’ franchise player, went through an incredibly emotional season last year, losing her Tennessee head coach Pat Summitt to early onset Alzheimer’s midway through the season. She was also snubbed from the Olympic roster not long after, in a move that had many perplexed.

She came around to prove her doubters wrong, though, and win in the name of her coach in what could only feel like the perfect ending for her season.

This is when the WNBA learned not to air a heated Reeve with a live mic on national television!

Ogwumike’s sister, Chiney, who also plays in the league, was NOT happy.

The Sparks won two of three games in dramatic fashion. The first came from a defensive stalwart’s hands, and that shot pretty much set the tone for the remainder of the series.

The Sparks (up 2-1 in the series) were down two points with less than 30 seconds to go, when Candace Parker missed what would have been the game-tying shot. Off the Lynx rebound, L.A. successfully trapped to hold Minnesota in the backcourt for eight seconds. They should have had another chance to tie the game!

Except a whistle never came, and the Lynx scored a layup that put L.A. out of reach.

The league’s Chief of Basketball Operations and Player Relations later confirmed that the referees got the call wrong.

Had the Sparks lost the series, this call would have been unforgivable.

Before Ogwumike’s game-winner, with just more than a minute to go, she hit a jumper that was released clearly after the shot clock expired. Referees could have reviewed the play, and removed the two points. But they didn’t and the basket counted, and later Ogwumike would hit a shot to win the series.

Reeve was Irate after the game.

“Whether it was the eight-second call in L.A. or the game today, doesn’t matter, OK? The game today, it’s not fair to the players,” Reeve said, according to The New York Times. “It’s not enough just to apologize or send out a memo that they got something wrong, OK? These players are so invested, and something must be done about the officiating in this league because it’s not fair to these great players we have.”

Now it’s time to see if the Lynx can exact revenge.

Get excited for Round 2

Much of the same competitiveness is set to come from these two teams, which took the league by storm again as the clear-cut best in the WNBA. And just like last season, it’s impossible to favor one side over the other.