WNBA Finals 2025: Las Vegas Aces-Phoenix Mercury preview
LAS VEGAS — Call it the duel in the desert. The Las Vegas Aces and Phoenix Mercury will meet in the 2025 WNBA Finals.
The franchises, located roughly 300 miles apart, have both won multiple titles but have never met in the championship series before.
The No. 2 seed Aces outlasted the No. 6 seed Indiana Fever 107-98 in overtime Tuesday in Game 5 of their semifinal series. Now they host the Mercury on Friday in Game 1 (8 p.m. ET, ESPN). Phoenix, the No. 4 seed, eliminated the No. 1 seed Minnesota Lynx 3-1 on Sunday.
The Aces, led by four-time MVP A’ja Wilson, won WNBA titles in 2022 and 2023. The Mercury’s championships were in 2007, 2009 and 2014, all with Diana Taurasi as the team’s star. She retired after last season, and a retooled roster — led by triple-double standout Alyssa Thomas — has Phoenix back in the Finals for the first time since 2021.
The WNBA Finals will be a best-of-seven format for the first time, so this could be a history-making series. Here is a breakdown of how the teams match up.
Regular-season series: Las Vegas went 3-1 against Phoenix
June 15: Mercury 76, Aces 70 (at Las Vegas)
June 29: Aces 84, Mercury 81 (at Phoenix)
Aug. 15: Aces 86, Mercury 83 (at Phoenix)
Aug. 21: Aces 83, Mercury 61 (at Las Vegas)
How Phoenix got here
The Mercury lost Game 1 at home in the best-of-three first round and on the road in the best-of-five semifinals, so they’ve proved their mettle away from home and in elimination games.
After a 13-point loss in Game 1 of the semifinals against Minnesota, Phoenix won each of the next three games by single digits, dominating in the fourth quarter in each. In Game 2, the Mercury overcame a 20-point deficit to tie the record for largest road comeback in WNBA playoff history. The Game 3 win at home will most likely be remembered for the controversial final 22 seconds, but also featured another big Mercury finish. In Game 4, Phoenix started cold, trailing by 14 in the first quarter and by 13 entering the final…
