Game 1 of the 2025 WNBA Playoffs is in the books, with the top two seeds putting up more than 100 points each in blowout wins when the postseason tipped off on Sunday.
The No. 1 Minnesota Lynx opened the playoffs' eight-team first round with a 101-72 drubbing of the No. 8 Golden State Valkyries, as MVP frontrunner Napheesa Collier led scoring with 20 points while guard Natisha Hiedeman added 18 off the bench.
Elsewhere, the No. 2 Las Vegas Aces' 102-77 victory over the No. 7 Seattle Storm capped Sunday's slate, with reigning MVP A'ja Wilson leading the way with 29 points alongside double-digit performances off the bench from guards Jewell Loyd and Dana Evans.
The lower seeds walked away less unscathed, as Valkyries boss and Coach of the Year favorite Natalie Nakase picked up a technical foul for arguing a call in the game's second half.
"I want a fair fight, I really do. I want a clean fight, but I love the fact that both teams are playing their hearts out," she said afterwards, criticizing Sunday's officiating. "They're fighting. But I would like it to be fair."
"I understand it, but it's the playoffs," Lynx head coach Cheryl Reeve said in response. "Obviously, we fouled a lot at the end. But I didn't think that was a factor in the game."
How to watch the top seeds in Game 2 of the 2025 WNBA Playoffs
Both Minnesota and Las Vegas are now one win away from advancing to the 2025 WNBA Playoffs semifinals.
The No. 2 Aces will look to sweep the No. 7 Storm at 9:30 PM ET on Tuesday, airing live on ESPN.
Then on Wednesday, the No. 1 Lynx will try to silence the No. 8 Valkyries at 10 PM ET, with live coverage also on ESPN.
The best and brightest of the 2025 WNBA season have just one week left to pad their resumes ahead of the league's end-of-year awards — and the MVP race is tighter than ever.
Unanimous 2024 MVP A'ja Wilson has emerged as the season's hottest hand post-All-Star break, with the No. 3 Las Vegas Aces powerhouse facing competition from No. 1 Minnesota Lynx standout Napheesa Collier and No. 4 Phoenix Mercury star Alyssa Thomas.
Posting a near-50-40-90 efficiency through the first half of 2025, Collier appeared to be the consensus WNBA MVP frontrunner, but Wilson gained speed in the race after the Lynx leader suffered an early-August ankle injury.
With Collier on the bench, Wilson outpaced the Lynx star to top the WNBA in both points (23.8) and blocks per game (2.2) while sitting second in average rebounds (10.1).
Wilson also owns this season's head-to-head advantage, scoring 31 points to Collier's 12 in Las Vegas' 97-87 victory over Minnesota last week.
Thomas is also making history this year, leading the WNBA in assists per game (9.2) while extending her league-record career triple-double tally to 18 by posting a single-season record of seven on the season so far.
"She's going to rebound, she's going to dish, she's going to score, she's going to defend. I think that's the definition of MVP," Phoenix veteran DeWanna Bonner said about Thomas this week.
How to watch the 2025 WNBA MVP frontrunners on Tuesday
Wilson, Collier, and Thomas will all put a stamp on their seasons this week, hitting Tuesday's court before wrapping up the 2025 WNBA regular-season on Thursday.
Collier and the No. 1 Lynx will contend with the No. 7 Indiana Fever at 7:30 PM ET on Tuesday, with live coverage airing on ESPN.
Both Wilson's No. 3 Aces and Thomas's No. 4 Mercury will be in action at 10 PM ET, as Las Vegas takes on the No. 12 Chicago Sky on WNBA League Pass while Phoenix faces the No. 9 LA Sparks, airing live on NBA TV.
The No. 1 Minnesota Lynx and No. 3 Las Vegas Aces have spots in the 2025 WNBA Playoffs on lock, but the league's top-tier teams still have plenty to play for as MVP frontrunners Napheesa Collier and A'ja Wilson gear up for their final regular-season clash.
Collier's 23.5 points per game this season is nearly identical to Wilson's 23.4 average, plus the Lynx standout ranks third in steals per game and fourth in block rate on the year.
Wilson, however, has the edge as the WNBA's blocks leader and the league's second-best rebounder on the season.
This is far from the first time the two titans have squared off in a WNBA awards race, with 2024 voters splitting honors by naming Collier the Defensive Player of the Year while Wilson earned a third MVP title.
History will be made should either emerge as the 2025 MVP, as Collier is still hunting her first title as the league's top player while a Wilson win would mint the Las Vegas star as the WNBA's first-ever four-time honoree.
MVP race aside, Collier's Lynx and Wilson's Aces have a lot on the line in their Thursday matchup, with Minnesota aiming to snap Las Vegas's 12-game winning streak — a stretch dating back to the Aces's 53-point blowout loss to the Lynx on August 2nd.
Meanwhile, Las Vegas will be looking to dish out some revenge and claim their first win of the season over Minnesota, all while continuing to fight their way up the WNBA table in order to snag the postseason's coveted No. 2 seed.
How to watch Minnesota Lynx vs. Las Vegas Aces in Thursday's WNBA lineup
Coming off an eight-day rest, No. 3 Las Vegas will host No. 1 Minnesota on Thursday.
The top-tier matchup will tip off live at 10 PM ET on Prime.
The Minnesota Lynx are back on the prowl, after the return of MVP frontrunner Napheesa Collier from injury fueled the WNBA-leaders to two straight weekend wins.
Minnesota first outlasted the No. 4 Atlanta Dream 96-92 in overtime on Friday before thumping the last-place Connecticut Sun 102-63 on Sunday, with Collier racking up 49 points over the two-game span.
Collier's bounce-back couldn't have come at a better time, as the WNBA announced Sunday that the Lynx forward will captain the 2025 All-Star Game alongside Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark.
"It's really cool," Collier said of the news. "I went from never being a starter to captain."
Both Collier and Clark will have an early chance to test their leadership skills in Tuesday's 2025 WNBA Commissioner's Cup championship game, when the defending champs Minnesota Lynx will take on first-time finalists Indiana.
With a second straight title on the line, red-hot Minnesota hold the advantage coming into the Commissioner's Cup final, but a healthy Clark could make all the difference for up-and-down No. 8 Indiana.
Meanwhile in the WNBA standings, as the Lynx continue to hold court at the top, this weekend saw the Mercury overtake the Liberty at No. 2, thanks in large part to Phoenix's 106-91 Friday victory over New York.
Along with Sunday's 90-81 loss to the Dream, the reigning champs have dropped five of their last seven games, as now-No. 3 New York struggles without injured center Jonquel Jones.
How to watch the 2025 WNBA Commissioner's Cup final
While the other 11 league teams rest until Thursday, the Minnesota Lynx and Indiana Fever will take Tuesday's court in a battle for the 2025 WNBA Commissioner's Cup.
The in-season tournament's grand finale will tip off at 8 PM ET, with live coverage on Prime.