The people who made it happen walked out one by one to slip on their XL-sized championship rings. The seafoam banner emblazoned with “WNBA CHAMPIONS” then headed up on a flight from the court as the music played and the fan appreciation poured inside Barclays Center.

And then the ball rose and dropped on a new year of Liberty basketball.

The Liberty found themselves at another intersection besides Atlantic and Flatbush on Saturday — one last celebration of their first-ever championship in 2024 and the launch of their 2025 run at a possible repeat.

“A year from now,” coach Sandy Brondello said before the ceremony, “hopefully we’re doing it again.”

They know it won’t be so easy to make another ceremony necessary. It wasn’t last year when they needed two clutch free throws from Breanna Stewart to force OT and scale the last step in the deciding Game 5 of the Finals against Minnesota.

And it wasn’t in the opener against the Las Vegas Aces when a 17-point lead late in the second quarter shrunk to two in the fourth. But a player who wasn’t here last year, Natasha Cloud, stepped forward and delivered back-to-back three-point plays, and the Liberty went on to claim a 92-78 victory.

Stewart led them with 25 points. But Cloud, acquired from Connecticut for two first-round picks, could not have made a more impactful debut.

She delivered 22 points, nine assists, six rebounds, three steals and two blocks. The 33-year-old point guard had to make everyone wonder if this team could be even better than last year with her now in the mix.

“She wreaks havoc,” Las Vegas coach Becky Hammon said. “Everywhere she goes, she’s like a tornado, stirs things up. I love her game. Her energy is infectious. She reminds me a little bit of [Teresa Weatherspoon], her tenacity on defense and her competitive spirit. She’s a big strong guard who inflicts pain on your offense.”

Before the rings were handed out and the banner was raised, co-owner Clara Wu Tsai took the mic and addressed the crowd.

“This team represents the best of New York City,” she said. “This is our first championship, but it won’t be our last.”

The majority of the league’s GMs aren’t believers that another is coming this year. In their annual survey, 60% percent voted for the Lynx as the likely champs. The Liberty were second at 20%.

“It’s a new year,” Brondello said. “Last year is last year. It’s totally different. We have new players. So do other teams. The goal doesn’t change, but we just have to be a little more intentional how we get better.

“We’ve lost some key pieces who we’ll miss. But I think we’ve added some nice players that will complement the Big Three [of Stewart, Jonquel Jones and Sabrina Ionescu] and the other players that we have here.”

A’ja Wilson, who had 31 points and 16 rebounds, converted a three-point play to cut the Liberty’s lead to 66-64 with 6:56 left.

Then Cloud drove for a layup, was fouled and made the free throw. Then she drove again for two, was fouled and received a standing ovation before making the free throw — 72-64.

Welcome to Brooklyn.

Stewart took a pass from Jones, who had 17 points and 10 rebounds, and then made it a 10-point game with a layup.

When Dana Evans made a three, the advantage was down to 76-70. But Cloud canned a three, and after a timeout, she made a steal and fed Stewart for a layup and an 81-70 lead with 3:24 to go.

The Liberty had constructed a 47-30 lead, then took their foot off the pedal in the third quarter.

Jackie Young sank her third three of the third to knock the margin down to 55-50, forcing Brondello to call for time.

The lead went up to nine, but Chelsea Gray made a three and Wilson followed with a three-point play to slice it to three. Jones drove to give the Liberty a 63-58 edge to take to the fourth.

The Aces led 20-19 after the first quarter thanks largely to 11 points by Wilson.

As it turned out, the second quarter was pretty much a 10-minute Liberty run. They outscored the Aces 28-13 and took a 47-33 lead into the locker room.