The No. 4 Phoenix Mercury land in Las Vegas to tip off the first best-of-seven finals in league history on Friday night, leaning into a new-look roster as they take on the No. 2 Aces in Game 1 of the 2025 WNBA Finals — the Mercury's first championship series since 2021.
"This is what it's all about," said Phoenix forward Alyssa Thomas ahead of the matchup. "We play the whole season for playoffs and moments like this. I want to win. I've been chasing a championship for a long time, and I think this is our time."
The Mercury found almost immediate success this year after picking up top free agents like Thomas and fellow forward Satou Sabally during a productive offseason.
"I'm really happy with the strides that we've made, how we're trying to build this team moving forward, because there were some players that took chances on us and you want it to go well," second-year Phoenix head coach Nate Tibbetts told JWS last month.
"It speaks volumes about the team and how we stay composed, how we can go on runs and ride the wave," Thomas said. "You don't know what each game is going to bring, but the biggest thing is us staying composed."
Phoenix will have their work cut out for them on Friday night, facing a Las Vegas home unit armed with significant postseason experience as Aces mainstays A'ja Wilson, Jackie Young, and Chelsea Gray shoot for their third title in four years.
"We've been here before, we have a team full of vets, but they do, too. I don't think you can take that for granted," said Young.
How to watch Game 1 of the 2025 WNBA Finals
The No. 4 Phoenix Mercury and No. 2 Las Vegas Aces will tip off the 2025 WNBA Finals at 8 PM ET on Friday, with Game 1 airing live on ESPN.
Game 2 will follow at 3 PM ET on Sunday, with live coverage airing on ABC.
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.
The basketball world didn't hold back on Tuesday, with many of the sport's biggest names voicing support for Napheesa Collier after the Lynx star publicly criticized WNBA leadership in a now-viral press conference.
"I'm grateful to have those type of people to be able to continue to speak up for us," four-time WNBA MVP A'ja Wilson told reporters after her Las Vegas Aces' Game 5 semifinal win. "I'm going to ride with Phee always…. Moving forward, we've gotta continue to stand on business as we talk about this CBA negotiation."
"I agree with everything," said Indiana Fever guard Lexie Hull prior to Tuesday's playoff decider. "We're at a really important time in the league and changes need to be made… really proud of [Collier] for making that statement today."
"It's the care for the human part for me. I'm still not sure if [WNBA commissioner] Cathy [Engelbert] knows I retired. Heard from everyone but her," two-time league MVP Elena Delle Donne wrote on Instagram.
"10/10. No notes!" tweeted Chicago Sky forward Angel Reese, while 2025 Rookie of the Year Paige Bueckers posted a photo of her and Collier to Instagram marked with the caption "Queen Phee."
The WNBA Players Association also spoke out, releasing a statement backing Collier as a longtime union leader.
"When Phee speaks, people listen," the WNBPA wrote. "The leaders of the league and its teams would benefit from listening to her powerful statement. The players know their value even if the league does not."
"They are fighting for their legacy and the future of basketball."
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.
With one half of the WNBA Finals locked up, the No. 2 Las Vegas Aces will host the No. 6 Indiana Fever in a winner-take-all Game 5 semifinals battle on Tuesday night, as each team hopes to join the No. 4 Phoenix Mercury in the league's 2025 championship series.
"Our players understand what we have to do," said Indiana head coach Stephanie White. "We have to leave it all out on the floor."
"Honestly, you just do your work," Aces star A'ja Wilson said prior to Tuesday's decider. "You gotta do your work early and make it different."
Up and down performances on both sides led to the win-or-go-home Game 5, with Indiana opening the series by stealing a road victory before Las Vegas roared back with double-digit wins in Games 2 and 3.
However, the injury-riddled Fever don't know when to quit, scraping together a Game 4 victory on Sunday behind stellar play from guard Kelsey Mitchell plus 34 trips to the free-throw line — more than three times the Aces' tally.
"We didn't get a lot of stops. They shot a lot of free throws. We didn't," Las Vegas head coach Becky Hammon said after Sunday's loss. "That all affects the flow of the game, but it was us on the defensive end."
How to watch Indiana vs. Las Vegas in Game 5 of the semifinals
The No. 2 Aces and No. 6 Fever will close out the 2025 WNBA semifinals with a high-stakes Game 5 clash in Las Vegas on Tuesday.
The action tips off at 9:30 PM ET, with live coverage airing on ESPN2.
The championship dreams of the injury-plagued Indiana Fever are still alive after the No. 6 seed held off the No. 2 Las Vegas Aces 90-83 in Sunday's Game 4, forcing a winner-take-all decider in the 2025 WNBA semifinals.
Following an 84-72 Game 3 loss that saw Indiana fall behind 2-1 in the best-of-five series last Friday, Fever center Aliyah Boston and guard Kelsey Mitchell stepped up on Sunday, putting up a combined 49 of Indiana's 90 points.
"The desperation and the urgency that we play with when we're in those positions has been exactly what we need," Fever head coach Stephanie White said postgame.
As for Las Vegas, the fired-up Aces expressed frustration after Sunday's upset loss, with officiating issues continuing to take center stage throughout the 2025 WNBA postseason.
"[Indiana] shot 34 free throws, and we shot 11," Aces head coach Becky Hammon told reporters, with game-leading scorer A'ja Wilson adding that Boston alone shot 13 free throws — more than Las Vegas's entire team.
"I did appreciate it was a little tighter call, but tighter on both ends would have been nice," continued Hammon.
How to watch Indiana vs. Las Vegas in Game 5 of the semifinals
The No. 2 Aces and No. 6 Fever will close out the 2025 WNBA semifinals with a high-stakes Game 5 clash in Las Vegas on Tuesday.
The action tips off at 9:30 PM ET, with live coverage airing on ESPN2.
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.