The Aces made history on Wednesday, signing four-time WNBA MVP A’ja Wilson to the largest supermax deal on record— worth some $5 million over three years.
Las Vegas is reportedly set to allot Wilson 20% of its $7 million salary cap over the contract’s lifetime, with future flexibility should the cap soften.
“A’ja is truly one of one, who has led this franchise to where it is today,” Aces president and GM Nikki Fargas said in a team statement.
“Not only has she catapulted into the history books and surpassed almost every record in existence, but she does so with the utmost confidence, authenticity and grace. We look forward to continuing to see her thrive in an Aces uniform.”
“YKWTFGO,” Wilson said in a team statement, quoting rapper Stunna Girl as as she gears up to lead the reigning WNBA champion into 2026.
Las Vegas Aces Build Roster Around Re-Signed Star A'ja Wilson
Las Vegas has officially secured its veteran core, after re-signing guards Jackie Young, Chelsea Gray, and Jewell Loyd.
The Aces can now focus on roster support, welcoming back 2025 champs NaLyssa Smith, Cheyenne Parker-Tyus, Kierstan Bell, and Dana Evans while bringing on veteran free agents Stephanie Talbot and Brianna Turner.
The Aces also signed former Chicago guard Chennedy Carter to a training camp contract, after reported locker room issues saw the Sky fail to re-sign the 27-year-old in 2025.
Teams are stepping up under the new CBA, as the Aces crowned Jackie Young the WNBA’s first $1 million signing in an effort to keep the guard in Las Vegas.
"Breaking: The Las Vegas Aces are finalizing an agreement for Jackie Young to return to Vegas, sources told ESPN. Expected to be a one-year deal at the regular max ($1.19 million)," ESPN reporter Alexa Philippou posted to X on Thursday. "One step closer toward the Aces retaining their Big Three."
Young is the first player in league history to sign a contract worth over $1 million, with the one-year deal reaching the $1.19 million standard maximum. Per ESPN, the unrestricted free agent chose not to take meetings with other teams, remaining focused on the 2025 WNBA champions.
Las Vegas retained Young without tapping into its core mechanism, an option that provides teams an exclusive negotiating window to either re-sign — or sign and trade — top talent.
The core designation — similar to the franchise tag in other leagues — gives teams control over a top player's free agency. It also comes with a one-year supermax framework under the WNBA CBA.
The Fever’s Kelsey Mitchell, New York’s Sabrina Ionescu, Minnesota’s Napheesa Collier, LA’s Kelsey Plum, Dallas’s Arike Ogubowale, and others have already been cored by their respective teams.
The Sky cored veteran Ariel Atkins, though Front Office Sports reported Chicago might trade Atkins to LA in exchange for third-year forward Rickea Jackson.
The league's free agency period officially began on Monday, with teams issuing qualifying offers and core designations before the official signing window opens on Saturday.
As Unrivaled 3×3 Basketball gears up for Season 2, broadcast partner TNT unveiled additional 2026 coverage plans last week while the offseason league crowned its team captains across the expanded field.
Unrivaled co-founders Napheesa Collier and Breanna Stewart will captain the Lunar Owls and Mist BC, respectively, while Season 1 veterans Jackie Young (Laces BC), Kahleah Copper (Rose BC), and Dearica Hamby (Vinyl BC) will also resume their boss roles next month.
Earning first-time captain status for the 2026 campaign are three league newcomers, with Kelsey Plum helming Phantom BC while 2025 WNBA rookies Sonia Citron and Paige Bueckers lead incoming Unrivaled expansion teams Hive BC and Breeze BC, respectively.
Stocked with eight clubs and an extra night of weekly programming, TNT is doubling down on Unrivaled this winter, tapping three-time WNBA champion Candace Parker to lead the network's coverage in the hot seat.
Joining Parker will be fellow WNBA retiree and All-Star Renee Montgomery as well as host Lauren Jbara, with special appearances throughout the season by basketball legend Lisa Leslie.
Each week will now feature four nights of Unrivaled basketball, with TNT airing Friday and Monday games while truTV broadcasts the 3x3 league's action on Saturdays and Sundays.
How to watch Unrivaled Season 2
The second season of Unrivaled Basketball will tip off with all eight teams in action across a pair of doubleheaders — one in the afternoon and one in the evening — beginning at 1 PM ET on Monday, January 5th, with live coverage airing on truTV and TNT.
USA Basketball dropped its 18-player December roster on Monday, selecting both standout vets and fresh faces for the national team's final training camp of 2025.
Taking place at Duke University from December 12th until the 14th, five 2024 Paris Olympic gold medalists — Kahleah Copper, Chelsea Gray, Brittney Griner, Kelsey Plum, and Jackie Young — will anchor the Team USA lineup.
Notably, a full 10 players will join the senior team for the first time next month, as young WNBA superstars like Caitlin Clark, Angel Reese, Paige Bueckers, and Cameron Brink earn their first call-ups.
A pair of NCAA stars will also attend the December camp, with the national governing body tapping both UCLA senior center Lauren Betts and USC junior guard JuJu Watkins on the roster — though Watkins will not participate in on-court activities as she continues to rehab an ACL tear.
Along with the full camp roster, USA Basketball also dropped its December sideline leaders, with current WNBA head coaches Nate Tibbetts (Phoenix Mercury), Natalie Nakase (Golden State Valkyries), and Stephanie White (Indiana Fever) comprising the assistant coaching staff for the previously announced senior national team head coach Kara Lawson.
December's camp is the team's first step toward the World Cup qualifiers in March, when the US will compete despite having already qualified for the 2026 FIBA World Cup by winning the 2025 FIBA AmeriCup in July.
Overall, the clock starts now for USA women's basketball managing director Sue Bird, who is in charge of cultivating the best team for the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles.
The USA Basketball December Training Camp Roster
- Lauren Betts (UCLA)
- Aliyah Boston (Indiana Fever)
- Cameron Brink (LA Sparks)
- Paige Bueckers (Dallas Wings)
- Veronica Burton (Golden State Valkyries)
- Sonia Citron (Washington Mystics)
- Caitlin Clark (Indiana Fever)
- Kahleah Copper (Phoenix Mercury)
- Chelsea Gray (Las Vegas Aces)
- Brittney Griner (Atlanta Dream)
- Dearica Hamby (LA Sparks)
- Kiki Iriafen (Washington Mystics)
- Rickea Jackson (LA Sparks)
- Brionna Jones (Atlanta Dream)
- Kelsey Plum (LA Sparks)
- Angel Reese (Chicago Sky)
- JuJu Watkins (USC)
- Jackie Young (Las Vegas Aces)
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 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. 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.
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.
The Las Vegas Aces are silencing the competition, shooting to No. 2 in the WNBA standings following an 81-75 take-down of the now-No. 3 Atlanta Dream on Wednesday night.
Defending WNBA MVP A'ja Wilson led Las Vegas with 34 points, while guard Jackie Young posted a triple-double.
The Aces have now won 12 straight games, claiming a meteoric rise from No. 8 to No. 2 in under a month as Wilson sits Top-5 league-wide in points, rebounds, and blocks per game.
"Don't call me 'Curry,'" Wilson joked, referencing all-time NBA three-point leader Steph Curry after tying her season-high of two made-threes in Wednesday's matchup.
Las Vegas's unbeaten streak dates back to August 2nd's 53-point blowout loss to the No. 1 Minnesota Lynx, with Wednesday's statement win over a fellow postseason favorite cementing the 2023 WNBA champions' newfound effectiveness.
"This is our eighth game in 15 days. I was very concerned with our legs coming into this game," said Aces head coach Becky Hammon. "When you talk about gears and that ability to kick it up an extra notch, we really have been able to do that on the defensive end — and it's winning us games."
While Las Vegas already clinched a playoff berth, the path to a third franchise title won't be easy, as the Aces will look to avenge their 0-3 head-to-head record against the Lynx in the pair's final 2025 regular-season meeting next week.
How to watch the Las Vegas Aces in this week's WNBA slate
After a successful but jam-packed August, the No. 2 Aces are now on an eight-day rest, returning to the court to tangle with the No. 1 Lynx next Thursday, September 4th.
The top-table clash will tip off at 10 PM ET, with live coverage airing on Prime.