New viewers have been magnetized into the WNBA’s expanding orbit this year, for a rather wide range of reasons. Some folks are captivated by the game’s new wave of stars (such as Caitlin Clark, Angel Reese and Paige Bueckers). Others are digging the W’s faster pace and perimeter evolution. Fans are also popping into the party due to increased media coverage and broadcast accessibility — and the layers of offseason freneticism that come with it. The 2025 WNBA Finals matchup between the Las Vegas
The 2025 WNBA Finals matchup between the Las Vegas Aces and Phoenix Mercury has a lot to offer, for both nightly W heads and well-intentioned late arrivals. A’ja Wilson is a galactic force of silk and swagger, anchoring Vegas as the league’s Most Valuable Player (for the fourth time in six seasons). Alyssa Thomas is a triple-double machine, pacing a Mercury offense that’s fluid yet aggressive. Both sides have unique narrative arcs to seal closed, as well as likable fan bases. Here’s a brief overview of what to know and what to expect on screen, plus championship odds and MVP probabilities.
2025 WNBA Finals viewing guide
Dates: Oct. 3-10, with extra games through Oct. 17 if needed
Venues: Michelob Ultra Arena — Paradise, Nev. / PHX Arena — Phoenix
Watching in person?Get tickets on StubHub.
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All ESPN and ABC broadcasts stream on ESPN Unlimited, the network’s new direct-to-consumer subscription service.
The WNBA Finals format
The opening round of the WNBA playoffs was a compressed best-of-three format, and the second-round semifinals bumped up to best-of-five action. Fittingly, these finals get a full seven-game layout, and the team to earn four wins lifts the trophy (then sprays the trophy with sparkling wine).
Previous finals were held to just five games, like the semifinals. The 2024 championship came down to the waning seconds of Game 5, and the New York Liberty outlasted the Minnesota Lynx in overtime.
The 2025 series has a 2-2-1-1-1 travel structure, so Las Vegas (better record and higher seeding) hosts the first two games, which are set for Friday and Sunday. Phoenix has the next two in the desert. The home team then alternates on the last three potential duels. If these finals indeed go the distance, Game 7 would be in the Aces’ gym … which is in a casino, because, well, it’s Vegas.
The players on the floor
Las Vegas
Wilson adorns the marquee. She has four MVPs and three Defensive Player of the Year nods. Her inside game is close to unstoppable, supplemented with a one-legged midrange fadeaway and an improved set shot beyond the arc. The 6-foot-4 lefty racks up blocks at the rim, but she’s also deceptively nice with steals, and collapses passing lanes with pogo-stick athleticism. She’s the face of the league, full stop.
Wilson is surrounded by self-assured and time-tested talents. The guard rotation includes Jackie Young, Chelsea Gray and Jewell Loyd, who combine for 16 All-Star appearances and seven championships. The veteran Gray helped lift her teammates in Tuesday night’s semifinal elimination game against the Indiana Fever, finishing with 17 points, six assists and five stocks (steals + blocks) despite a second-half injury scare. The ascending Young was even better with 32 points, 10 dimes and zero turnovers.
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Through two rounds, these Aces have the playoff field’s best shooting percentage (48.5) and its second-best 3-point clip (39.2). They also lead in postseason blocks and steals per game.
Phoenix
Like their opponents, the Mercury deploy a versatile big three. Everything starts with Thomas, aka “The Engine,” who just put up the second-most assists per game (9.2) in WNBA history. It’s remarkable that Thomas is still adding to her game in her 12th pro season (excluding her taxing overseas minutes in the WNBA offseason). It’s extra remarkable that she adjusted so coolly in her first year with a new franchise (she spent 11 years with the Connecticut Sun). And it’s extra extra remarkable that she’s showing out like this with limited arm mobility (partial labrum tears in her shoulders, plural). Her signature spin move and sleight-of-hand dribbling are slow-motion mood boosters.
The rest of the core comprises Satou Sabally, a three-time All-Star forward with 3-point range, and Kahleah Copper, a rangy wing and four-time All-Star who won the 2021 WNBA Finals MVP with the Chicago Sky. The bench mob is spearheaded by DeWanna Bonner, who is seeking her third WNBA ring at age 38. She is Thomas’ partner off the court, and serves as a defensive stabilizer when Phoenix’s lineup shuffles.
Phoenix emphasizes sharp passing and constant motion. The Merc are averaging the fewest turnovers per game in the playoffs at 12.3, as well as the best assist-to-turnover ratio (1.7).
The vibes in each arena
The Aces’ home building is ensconced within the Mandalay Bay resort, which makes it something of a summer destination for women’s hoops revelry. The franchise’s four-way color scheme of black, silver, gold and red connotes a certain sleekness, and it’s perhaps a bit understated given the Vegas Strip gaudiness. The mascot is Bucket$, a good-luck jackrabbit known to real ball-knowers as “Hare Jordan.” Wilson regularly riles up her home crowd, and she fully erupts like no one else in the sport after an and-1 call.
Viewers will hear a sing-song refrain in Phoenix after key buckets. That’s “Mighty Mercury,” the fight song (phonetically, it’s “miiiiiighty Murrrrrr-creeeeee“). Unlike Vegas, the Phoenix franchise has been rooted in place since the WNBA’s inception, so there’s been more space for traditions to bloom. The purple-and-orange colorway has been a hit for almost three decades now. The mascot, Scorch, is an alien-dinosaur hybrid in Converse high-tops.
The paths to this series
The perennial competitors were struggling to stay above .500 through the month of July. It was awkward and confusing and … it didn’t last, because the Aces caught otherworldly momentum and won 16 games to close out of the regular season. Vegas was favored in each of the first two rounds; it survived a one-score elimination game against the Seattle Storm, then an overtime Game 5 against the Fever in the semis.
What would a maximum-difficulty gauntlet look like for this 2025 bracket? Probably a first-round matchup against the Liberty (who were at full strength for the first time in months), then a semifinal series versus the Lynx (No. 1 in offensive, defensive and net ratings). The Mercury came out with superior energy to topple the defending champs, then stunned the top seed with a desperation heave from Sami Whitcomb.
— Phoenix Mercury (@PhoenixMercury) September 24, 2025
The legacies at stake
The Aces won it all in 2022 and then defended their title in ’23. With another triumph atop the mountain, Wilson would bolster her growing claim for the WNBA’s G.O.A.T. status, and she’s still in the thick of her prime. Four more wins would give Gray her fourth WNBA championship, just one shy of Rebekkah Brunson’s league record. Young would get her third ring at just 28 years old, too. And head coach Becky Hammon would be the chief strategist behind an all-out dynasty … one that stood tall against expanded talent, lengthened postseason formats and nascent superteams.
In the peak of Diana Taurasi’s dominance, the Mercury won three titles between 2007-14. This would be the coronation of a new era for the franchise, and it would solidify second-year head coach Nate Tibbetts as a program architect. Above all, it would be a shining moment for Thomas. She’s led the league in assists, steals and rebounds on separate occasions, and she’s made six All-Defensive teams. All that’s left is a trophy lift.
Aces vs. Mercury odds
Sportsbooks predict a well-matched and competitive series, as Las Vegas opened at -125 moneyline favorites on BetMGM. Vegas appears to scoop up the slightest of edges from its home-court advantage and prior championship experience. Entering Friday, a $10 bet on the Aces yields $8 of winnings, while $10 on the Mercury brings in $10.50.
Both aspiring champs have a big three, but oddsmakers see a two-way MVP race between the generational star Wilson and the do-it-all generator Thomas. Of note here: Wilson has a pair of rings but only one WNBA Finals MVP honor, because Gray balled all the way out for the 2022 award. Before Game 1 tips off, an MVP slip for Wilson (-110 favorite) wins $9.09, and one for Thomas (+130) wins $13.00. Now, for the longer shots: Sabally is currently listed at 12-to-1, Copper at 17-to-1 and Young at 28-to-1.
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