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the New York Liberty earned its first WNBA championship title, but all eyes were not on power forward Breanna Stewart or Sabrina Ionescu. Instead, packed crowds at Brooklyn's Barclays Center have been captivated all season by a five-foot, 10-inch anthropomorphic elephant in the stands.
Meet Ellie the Elephant, the official mascot of the New York Liberty. She is often seen strutting around the sand, swinging her single braid and asking a security guard to hold her Telfar bag for her. Death then falls onto the court and proceeds to do the worm, before deciding to twerk with the lucky spectator sitting on the court. If a referee dares to penalize her team, Ellie will take off her large gold earrings and shake her fists, sometimes chasing the referee.
On Sunday night, the New York Liberty were victorious in the 2024 WNBA Finals, beating the Minnesota Lynx 67-62 in game five. Before this year, Liberty had reached the WNBA Finals five times, but the team never won a championship title.
In fact, this moment marked a high point for both the Liberty and the WNBA as a whole. This season was the most-watched WNBA season in history, with a 170 percent increase in viewership compared to the 2023 season. Players like Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese have dramatically increased the sport's popularity.
The championship matchup between Liberty and Lynx averaged 1.24 million viewers over the first two games, representing an 82 percent increase in the number of viewers who watched Liberty play the Aces last year.
Ellie was a crucial part of the team's rebranding when Joe and Clara Wu Tsai, co-owners of the NBA's Brooklyn Nets, acquired Liberty in 2019. Liberty's original mascot was a golden retriever named Maddie, after Madison Square Garden , before the team was moved to the Barclays Center.
According to Liberty Chief Brand Officer Shana Stephenson, when they were first brainstorming ideas for a new team mascot, the team's CEO told the staff a story about PT Barnum. The founder of Ringling Bros and Barnum and Bailey Circus had 21 elephants cross the Brooklyn Bridge to prove that the structure was stable. Thus the mascot was born and was given the name Ellie, as a nod to the iconic Ellis Island in New York Harbor.
When it came time to imagine Ellie's game-day personality, the goal was to move away from stereotypical mascots who dunk or ride some type of motorcycle. Instead, Ellie had to reflect the femininity of the athletes she encouraged.
On Ellie's TikTok and Instagram accounts, where she has amassed more than 300,000 followers on both platforms, fans can even hear a modulated version of Ellie's voice. The mascot, or rather, the voice behind the elephant, constantly channels black queer slang like “sister” and “kill” into its natural vernacular.
In terms of her fashion, Ellie is not like other pets. Although he sports his black and foam green T-shirt, basketball shorts, and a Statue of Liberty crown, he often struts through the tunnel wearing couture. At one point during the WNBA Finals, Ellie even wore a custom-made Joseph McRae quilted jacket and skirt, and was dressed by celebrity stylist Harrison Thomas Crite.
“In the first game of the finals, you know, the trend was Ellie-vate,” the mascot said in a TikTok video.
Her fashion game has come so far that fans are now rooting for the mascot to be invited to the 2025 Met Gala. It wouldn't be too out of character for Ellie to attend one of the biggest fashion events of the year, as she already was invited to walk the red carpet in glamor Women of the Year Awards earlier this month.
According to Ellie's team members, who call themselves her “aunts,” the mascot specifically collaborates with Black, Brooklyn-based designers, which they believe is key to her large fan base. In addition to the nickname “Auntie,” which has its roots in Black culture, the mascot is best known for its popularity within the Black and queer communities, indicating that 60 percent of WNBA players are Black and 25 percent who are openly queer.
Not only does he have a pretty face, the mascot also has spectacular choreography, including his signature “Ellie Stomp” and “Ellie Wave.” Both dances invite the crowd to participate during the final quarter, as Ellie walks with her Stompahz, a group of dancers. The sound of thunder echoes throughout the Barclays Center every time Ellie dramatically stomps her foot on the floor, as the Stompahz fall dramatically around her.
In addition to her fourth quarter dances, the elephant has paid tribute to iconic singers, such as Beyoncé and Missy Elliot. “The tail swing!!!!!!!” one fan commented on a video of her dancing to Tyla’s “Water,” while another said, “That right leg was doing all the work!”
“OMG Ellie can DANCE,” someone else wrote.
The elephant's impressive moves are nothing but high energy, with splits and headstands, hip shakes and other hip-hop moves representing the genre that New York City is best known for.
And with the Liberty finally WNBA champions, Ellie's infectious energy is sure to keep fans rooting for New York all year long until the next (hopefully victorious) women's basketball season.
