Jonquel Jones, Breanna Stewart, Walnut Creek’s Sabrina Ionescu and their New York teammates were showered with confetti as the Liberty celebrated winning the WNBA title in the Canyon of Heroes in downtown Manhattan.

New York Sen. Chuck Schumer, Gov. Kathy Hochul and New York City Mayor Eric Adams joined the thousands who lined the streets on Thursday.

The Liberty won the franchise’s first championship, defeating the Minnesota Lynx in overtime in a decisive Game 5 of the WNBA Finals on Sunday at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn.

“(To) see how many people were in the crowd, smiling, celebrating the Liberty,” Ionescu said, “it really puts into perspective what it means to bring a championship to this city and how it really takes everyone.”

Jones carried her Finals MVP trophy atop her float, while Stewart and Ionescu went into the crowd, giving high-fives and taking selfies with fans.

There’ve been over 200 ticker-tape and confetti parades in New York. The most recent for a women’s sports team was in 2019 after the U.S. soccer team won the World Cup.

College basketball

South Florida coach Abdur-Rahim dies >> South Florida coach Amir Abdur-Rahim, who led the Bulls to the American Athletic Conference’s regular-season championship a year ago, has died, the school announced. The younger brother of ex-Cal and NBA standout Shareef Abdur-Rahim was 43.

The school said he died from complications during a procedure at a Tampa-area hospital.

NHL

Theodore now Vegas’ highest-paid player >> The Vegas Golden Knights made defenseman Shea Theodore their highest-paid player, signing him to a seven-year contract worth an average of $7.425 million per year.

Theodore’s deal is valued just above fellow blueliner Noah Hanifin’s $7.35 million.

The 29-year-old Theodore is in his eighth season with the Golden Knights. He is the franchise’s all-time leading scorer among defenseman (296 points).

Golf

Moore takes PGA lead >> Taylor Moore shot a 7-under 63 to lead by one shot after the first round of the Zozo Championship, the only PGA Tour event in Japan. Max Greyserman, Nico Echavarria and Eric Cole were a shot behind.

Rookie Saigo leads in MAlaysia >> LPGA Tour rookie Mao Saigo birdied six of her first nine holes for a 9-under 63 and a one-stroke lead after the first round of the Maybank Championship in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Haeran Ryu of South Korea was a stroke behind.

Women’s golf

Cal golf pioneer McDaniel dies >> Nancy McDaniel, who founded California’s women’s golf program in 1995 and served as head coach for 29 years before retiring in May, passed away Wednesday after a long battle with breast cancer. She was 57.

McDaniel turned Cal into a perennial national power, leading the Golden Bears to 23 NCAA regionals in 29 years as coach – including 10 trips to the NCAA Championships.

MLS

Messi an MVP finalist >> No surprise here: Lionel Messi is among the finalists for Major League Soccer’s MVP award for this season.

In addition to Messi, Inter Miami teammate Luis Suarez is among five finalists for the Landon Donovan MLS MVP. The others include Evander from the Portland Timbers, Cucho Hernandez of the Columbus Crew and D.C. United’s Christian Benteke, who also won this season’s Golden Boot for most goals.

Messi led Miami with 20 goals and 16 assists in 19 appearances.