Reigning WNBA MVP A'ja Wilson had herself a weekend, adding 2025 All-WNBA First Team honors to her stacked resume mere hours before winning her third league title on Friday.
Joining the Las Vegas Aces star was fellow unanimous First Team selectee Napheesa Collier (Minnesota Lynx), as the pair logged their fourth and third straight years, respectively, on the list.
Phoenix Mercury forward Alyssa Thomas, Atlanta Dream guard Allisha Gray, and Indiana Fever guard Kelsey Mitchell also earned spots on the elite roster.
Headlining the 2025 Second Team is Seattle Storm forward and eight-time All-WNBA selectee Nneka Ogwumike alongside Indiana Fever center Aliyah Boston and a trio of standout guards: the Aces' Jackie Young, the New York Liberty's Sabrina Ionescu, and the Dallas Wings' Paige Bueckers.
The 2025 WNBA Rookie of the Year isn't the only All-WNBA debutant, with Gray, Mitchell, and Boston joining Bueckers in earning their first-ever league-wide nods.
All WNBA athletes, regardless of their position, are eligible for All-WNBA selection, and voting media members determine the honorary squads.
Players earn five points for each First Team vote and three for every Second Team tally, with the league's top five players via points snagging the First roster and the next five featuring as the Second squad.
Along with the All-WNBA titles, this year's honorees are also cashing in, with each member of the 2025 First Team snagging a $10,300 bonus while the Second Team players take home checks for $5,150 each.
The WNBA released its 2025 All-Defensive Teams on Wednesday, delaying the announcement more than a week amid the fallout from the viral takedown of league leadership by Minnesota Lynx star Napheesa Collier.
Collier herself headlines the First Team, with Lynx teammate Alanna Smith, Phoenix Mercury standout Alyssa Thomas, Seattle Storm star Gabby Williams, and the Las Vegas Aces' four-time WNBA MVP A'ja Wilson joining the Minnesota star on the 2025 WNBA All-Defensive roster.
Second Team honors went to Indiana Fever center Aliyah Boston, the Golden State Valkyries' 2025 WNBA Most Improved Player Veronica Burton, Atlanta Dream guard Rhyne Howard, Seattle Storm forward Ezi Magbegor, and New York Liberty star Breanna Stewart.
The WNBA's first-ever co-Defensive Player of the Year award-winners Wilson and Smith put up leading individual stats throughout the 2025 season, with Wilson averaging a league-high 2.3 blocks along with 7.9 defensive rebounds per game while Smith averaged a team-high 1.3 steals and 1.9 blocks per game.
Collier averaged 1.6 steals and 1.5 blocks per game, contributing to Minnesota's league-best 97.5 defensive rating, while Williams tied for the second-most single-season steals with 99 — just one short of WNBA legend Teresa Weatherspoon's 1998 record.
In her debut year with the Mercury, Thomas became the first-ever WNBA player to average 15+ points, 8+ rebounds, 9+ assists, and 1+ steals per game while shooting over 50% from the field.
This year's Second Team featured three first-ever selections, with Boston, Burton, and Howard all making their All-Defensive Team debuts.
The No. 2 Las Vegas Aces are closing in on their third title in four years, taking down the No. 4 Phoenix Mercury 90-88 in Wednesday's Game 3 to push their 2025 WNBA Finals lead to 3-0.
A late surge kept the Mercury's do-or-die Game 3 dreams alive before 2025 WNBA MVP A'ja Wilson scored the game-winner with just 2.2 seconds left on the clock, capping an impressive 34-point, 14-rebound performance en route to becoming the most prolific scorer in a single postseason in league history.
"Get the ball to A'ja, and get out of the way," Las Vegas head coach Becky Hammon said afterwards, joking about calling her team's final play.
"We all had 100% confidence in A'ja," said guard Jewell Loyd. "Everyone on that bench was saying, 'We're winning this game.'"
As for Phoenix, the Mercury's likelihood of bouncing back in the league's first-ever best-of-seven series is hard to predict — but basketball history is not on their side.
On the men's court, no NBA team has ever won a championship series after being down 3-0, and only four teams in the league's 159 total seven-game playoff series have ever forced a decisive Game 7.
"I'm not going to sugarcoat — we've got a tough road ahead," Mercury head coach Nate Tibbetts said. "But we've got to take it one game at a time."
How to watch Game 4 of the 2025 WNBA Finals
The No. 4 Phoenix Mercury will get one last crack at survival in the 2025 WNBA Finals as they look to halt the No. 2 Las Vegas Aces' momentum in Game 4 on Friday.
The matchup will tip off live at 8 PM ET on ESPN.
The No. 2 Las Vegas Aces raced to a 2-0 series lead in the 2025 WNBA Finals over the weekend, opening with a close 89-86 Game 1 victory over the No. 4 Phoenix Mercury on Friday before pulling off a more dominant 91-78 Game 2 win on Sunday.
The Aces' offense ruled the court, with guards Dana Evans and Jewell Loyd putting up a momentum-shifting combined 39 points off the bench in Game 1 before Game 2 saw guard Jackie Young post 32 points — setting a WNBA Finals record with the most points by a player in a single quarter (21).
Young and 2025 WNBA MVP A'ja Wilson — who is averaging 24.5 points per game through the first two Finals matchups — also became the second-most prolific duo in a single Finals game in WNBA history by combining for 60 of Las Vegas's 91 points on Sunday.
"I am so proud of Jackie," Wilson said after Sunday's win. "I'm a pain in the ass sometimes when she's not doing her job, because I know that [potential] is there."
Hunting their third title in four years, Las Vegas veterans Wilson, Young, and guard Chelsea Gray are combining with new signings Evans and Loyd to make things difficult for the new-look Mercury.
"We have weapons," Las Vegas head coach Becky Hammon said. "We want to use them all, because we're harder to guard that way."
"What gives me confidence is we've been down before," countered Phoenix head coach Nate Tibbetts. "We've been overlooked."
While no WNBA Finals team has ever bounced back from a 0-2 start, the league's new best-of-seven format gives the Mercury a little extra cushioning as the series travels to Phoenix for Game 3 on Wednesday.
How to watch Game 3 of the 2025 WNBA Finals
The No. 4 Phoenix Mercury will hunt their first victory in the 2025 WNBA Finals on home court when they host the No. 2 Las Vegas Aces for Game 3 at 8 PM ET on Wednesday.
Live coverage will air on ESPN.
The No. 2 Las Vegas Aces are headed to the 2025 WNBA Finals, surviving the No. 6 Indiana Fever's Game 5 upset bid with a 107-98 overtime win to close out the semifinal series 3-2 on Tuesday night.
Reigning WNBA MVP A'ja Wilson and two-time league champion Jackie Young combined for 67 points in the victory, with Young and point guard Chelsea Gray additionally swapping clutch buckets to seal the deal as the clock ticked down.
"It's not just one person, it's not just five people, it's everybody. Everybody you see contributed to this game," Wilson said after leading the Aces to their third WNBA Finals in four years.
With six players already sidelined with injury, the Fever took another big hit in the third quarter, when leading scorer Kelsey Mitchell exited the game with lower-body cramps.
Short-staffed Indiana never let up, however, with former hardship signing Odyssey Sims contributing 27 points as the Fever pushed the home team to the brink of elimination.
"They're a great example to everybody of what it means to just put one foot in front of the other," Fever head coach Stephanie White said afterwards. "To persevere, to welcome people into the fold, to not give in to circumstance."
How to watch the 2025 WNBA Finals
The 2025 WNBA Finals are officially a battle in the desert, with the No. 2 Las Vegas Aces hosting the No. 4 Phoenix Mercury for Game 1 of the best-of-seven series on Friday.
The first clash of the championship series will tip off live at 8 PM ET on ESPN.
Las Vegas Aces star A'ja Wilson is hitting the small screen, teaming up with apparel sponsor Nike and LEGO to host the Danish toymaker's new YouTube Shorts series Clicked In.
According to a Saturday announcement for the series, "Wilson is getting together her closest LEGO Minifigure friends to talk sport, style, and tell unbelievable stories from her real life."
The 2025 WNBA MVP first joined the two brands' new multi-year partnership in May, teaming up to help "inspire kids everywhere to play both on and off the court."
"I have loved playing with LEGO bricks since I was a kid, and know that my creativity and play helped me not only in sports but also at school and in life," Wilson said in a press release last May. "I'm thrilled to be part of this partnership with Nike and the LEGO Group and know we can help to make a positive impact with kids and adults alike."
With new episodes dropping every Sunday through mid-November, LEGO is calling Wilson's upcoming YouTube Shorts series "the biggest mini sports show ever."
In addition to the streaming series, Nike and LEGO will also release the third installment of their kids' clothing and accessories line in less than two weeks, with the full collection set to drop on October 11th.
The No. 2 Las Vegas Aces reclaimed their contender status in Game 2 on Tuesday night, taking down the No. 6 Indiana Fever in a 90-68 blowout victory to tie their best-of-five 2025 WNBA semifinals at 1-1.
Reigning WNBA MVP A'ja Wilson fueled the Aces' bounce-back performance with 25 points and nine rebounds, backed by 10 points apiece from reserves Jewell Loyd and Dana Evans.
"I just think we came to work," Wilson said following the win. "We didn't come to work in Game 1, and that's on all of us. I think Game 2, we just decided to come to work."
Physicality on the court — as well as the referees' response to it — has played a major role in the Aces vs. Fever series, with Las Vegas clearly upping the intensity to keep Indiana at bay on Tuesday.
"It's playoffs — very physical games," said Aces forward NaLyssa Smith afterwards. "I feel like we've got to match the energy, day in and day out."
"It's hard for us to find flow when there's a foul called every 10 seconds," Fever head coach Stephanie White lamented. "When they're at the free throw line, we can't get up and down the floor, and that's a challenge."
How to watch the Las Vegas Aces vs. Indiana Fever in Game 3
The 2025 WNBA semifinals next travels to Indiana for Game 3, with the No. 6 Fever hosting the No. 2 Aces at 7:30 PM ET on Friday, with live coverage airing on ESPN2.
With their 17-game winning streak fading in the review, the No. 2 Las Vegas Aces enter Tuesday's Game 2 clash with the No. 6 Indiana Fever vying to dig themselves out of a 0-1 hole in the 2025 WNBA semifinals.
"We didn't really have a pep to us, the pace that they were playing at, the pep that they had in their step, we just didn't have that," Aces guard Jackie Young said following Sunday's Game 1 loss. "It's on us to change that next game."
"I thought it was really poor, really poor," echoed Las Vegas head coach Becky Hammon, putting her team's recent defensive effort on blast.
Additionally, the Aces will be must-win mode on Tuesday night, as no WNBA team has ever bounced back from dropping the two opening games of a best-of-five series.
The Aces will likely try to avoid over-relying on star forward A'ja Wilson this time, after the Fever held the four-time WNBA MVP to just 16 points in Game 1.
"I know we're capable, but not when we play like that," said Hammon after Sunday's loss. "God forbid A'ja doesn't drop 40 [points] for us. We had 12 assists in 40 minutes tonight."
Las Vegas will also focus on stopping Indiana star guard Kelsey Mitchell after the first-time MVP finalist set records with her game-high 34 points on Sunday.
"You can't ask any one person to guard her," explained Hammon in respect to Mitchell's game. "It takes multiple actions and multiple bodies."
How to watch Indiana Fever vs. Las Vegas Aces in WNBA semifinals Game 2
The No. 2 Las Vegas Aces will host the No. 6 Indiana Fever again in Game 2 of the 2025 WNBA semifinals on Tuesday.
The action will tip off at 9:30 PM ET, with live coverage on ESPN.
Las Vegas star A'ja Wilson is the 2025 WNBA MVP, with the league announcing Sunday that the Aces forward earned her fourth career MVP award to set a new WNBA record.
Wilson received 51 of the media panel's 72 first-place votes, beating out fellow 2025 MVP finalists Napheesa Collier (Minnesota Lynx), Alyssa Thomas (Phoenix Mercury), Allisha Gray (Atlanta Dream), and Kelsey Mitchell (Indiana Fever).
"These are the moments that I'm like, 'No, this is why you wake up every morning and do what you do,'" Wilson said upon receiving the award.
Previously named MVP in 2020, 2022, and 2024, Wilson's new 2025 trophy officially puts her ahead of retired WNBA legends and three-time winners Sheryl Swoopes, Lauren Jackson, and Lisa Leslie on the career MVP list.
Meanwhile, this year's win has Wilson joining former WNBA icon Cynthia Cooper as the league's second-ever back-to-back MVP.
En route to making history, the 29-year-old led the league in average points (23.4) and blocks per game (2.3) on the year, finishing second in rebounds per game (10.2) while playing much of the season's second half out of position as the the Aces' starting center.
"There's no Mt. Rushmore," Las Vegas head coach Becky Hammon told Wilson. "You are the only one — you're Everest."
The underdog run of the No. 6 Indiana Fever continued on Sunday, as the unlikely 2025 WNBA Playoffs contender took down the No. 2 Las Vegas Aces 89-73 to grab an early 1-0 lead in the pair's best-of-five semifinals.
Fever guard Kelsey Mitchell scored a game-high 34 points — the second-highest in franchise postseason history and the most by any WNBA player in their career semifinals debut — as the Aces suffered their worst home playoff loss since 2021.
"They played with a greater sense of urgency," Las Vegas head coach Becky Hammon said afterwards. "We couldn't catch up with their pace."
Indiana is now on a three-game winning streak, barreling through the postseason despite losing five stars to season-ending injuries — including guard Caitlin Clark.
The Fever's defense proved key in Sunday's win, holding newly minted 2025 WNBA MVP A'ja Wilson to just 16 points off six made shots.
"We wanted to come in and be the aggressor right away, to make sure that we were dictating on the defensive end, and we were dictating from a pace standpoint," said Indiana head coach Stephanie White.
How to watch the Indiana Fever vs. Las Vegas Aces in Game 2
The No. 2 Las Vegas Aces will host the No. 6 Indiana Fever again in Game 2 of the 2025 WNBA semifinals on Tuesday.
The action will tip off at 9:30 PM ET, with live coverage on ESPN.