This was Liberty’s reward for her ambition.

It was covered in sterling silver by Tiffany’s as confetti flew and streamers covered the court at Barclays Center as the 18,090 jubilant witnesses to a basketball breakthrough provided a celebration that bridged Brooklyn and everyone who followed women’s sports around the world: the WNBA trophy.

It was passed down by the owners who brought this whole triumphant show to Brooklyn, it was mentored by the head coach hired to give her the league title, and finally it was held high by the players who won a historic 67-62 on Sunday. The Lynx scored an overtime victory over the Minnesota in Game 5 of the finals.

Now the capital of women’s basketball is finally no longer in Storrs, Connecticut, Columbia, SC or Las Vegas. It’s here, in New York City, to the delight of a constituency in every trace of sea foam.

“It’s an incredible feeling to be able to bring a championship to New York, the first in franchise history,” said Breanna Stewart. “And I can’t wait to continue celebrating with the city.”

It wasn’t easy. It wasn’t cheap. It wasn’t pretty. This wasn’t an advertisement for the product’s aesthetics, as previous portions of the finals had been.

The Liberty had to rally from a 12-point deficit in the first half. Stewart (4 of 15) and Sabrina Ionescu (a shocking 1 of 19) had miserable shooting nights. The team didn’t hit a three-point shot until late in the fourth quarter, scoring a total of 2-for-23 from distance.

That night it was simply championship contention, in all its glory with blood and loose teeth on the asphalt, the kind that would make the Knicks of the ’90s blush. They went to a faceoff ball lineup and held the Lynx to 28 points in the final 25 minutes.

The Liberty are a fitting champion to cap off a year of remarkable growth for their league, a team in the emerging image of the modern WNBA. They have investments from Joe and Clara Wu Tsai, who took the torch five years ago and set out to build a world-class organization.

“Look what can happen when you have an intention and you put care and resources into it,” Wu Tsai said during the ceremony.

They’ve created an electrifying hometown atmosphere at Barclays, blaring with the heightened decibels of a passionate fanbase and matching the trunk-lifting stylings of Ellie the Elephant.

“I knew the city would definitely be behind us,” Stewart said afterwards. “And they came, they came, and they continued to be there for us when we needed them.”

They brought in a walking free agent in Stewart, who reversed her foul line miss after the collapse of Game 1 with two crucial free throws, tying the game with five seconds left in regulation.

They produced a homegrown star in Ionescu, who scored the legendary game-winning goal in Game 3.

Over the course of more than four years, they patiently completed a squad (signing Betnijah Laney-Hamilton, moving for Jonquel Jones, importing Leonie Fiebich) with no apparent gaps.

Jones and Stewart, the two pillars of the Liberty’s 2022-23 offseason, hugged at the buzzer.

“We talked about it so much — about coming together and what we envisioned and what we wanted to do in New York and what we could do,” said Jones, who was named Finals MVP. “And to do it and achieve your dream, and that’s so damn hard, it just means a lot.”

And it’s a testament to the organization that it still had Nyara Sabally up its sleeve. The second-year pro player, drafted in 2022 and taking a year to get healthy, turned the game around with her 13 points, seven rebounds and 17 minutes of energy off the bench.

It was a highlight.

The Liberty were here at the beginning, a WNBA original, waiting 28 seasons to call themselves champions.

They came from the bottom – from the 2019 home games at the minor league Westchester County Center, from a 2-20 mark in the 2020 “bubble” season.

They were put together to reach the top and were called a super team. Without a banner it wouldn’t have meant anything. The project was confirmed on an evening of champagne and celebration in Brooklyn.

“Let’s not stop at just one,” said head coach Sandy Brondello. “Let’s go together.”