2025 WNBA Finals

Result

Finals MVP: A'ja Wilson

The first WNBA Finals played in the new best-of-seven format (2-2-1-1-1 home-court rotation); Las Vegas swept the series in four games for its third title in four seasons. Wilson became the first player to win regular-season MVP, Defensive Player of the Year, and Finals MVP in the same season.

Games

Finals context

The first WNBA Finals played under the new best-of-seven format matched a Las Vegas Aces team seeking its third title in four seasons against a fourth-seeded Phoenix Mercury squad that had upset both the defending-champion New York Liberty and the top-seeded Minnesota Lynx to reach the championship round — the first time since 2021 that the regular season's top seed had failed to make the Finals. Game 1 in Las Vegas was a genuine battle, featuring 12 lead changes before the Aces prevailed 89-86; A'ja Wilson and Dana Evans each scored 21, Jewell Loyd added 18 off the bench, and Phoenix's Kahleah Copper broke the WNBA record for three-pointers in a half by hitting five in the opening two quarters en route to 21 points, with Satou Sabally (19) and Alyssa Thomas (15 points, 10 rebounds) also contributing — but Las Vegas's bench outscored Phoenix's reserves 41-16, the difference in a tight game. Game 2 saw Jackie Young explode for 32 points, including a Finals-record 21 in the third quarter alone, while Wilson posted a 28-point, 14-assist double-double and Chelsea Gray added a 10-and-10 double-double of her own, as Las Vegas's defense held Phoenix to just 10 second-quarter points in a 91-78 win that pushed the Aces to a 2-0 series lead. Game 3 in Phoenix was the series' most competitive, opening with a wild 17-0 Las Vegas run answered by a 13-0 Phoenix response; Wilson scored 34 points with 14 rebounds for her third straight Finals double-double and hit a turnaround jumper with 0.3 seconds left to clinch a 90-88 win, overcoming a strong 29-point fourth quarter from Phoenix and 25 points and 10 rebounds off Phoenix's bench from DeWanna Bonner. Las Vegas completed the sweep in Game 4, controlling the game from the opening tip with a 30-21 first quarter and 48-32 halftime lead; Wilson, named Finals MVP, scored 31 points on just seven made field goals by going 17-of-19 from the free-throw line, with Young and Gray adding 18 each, closing out a 97-86 win despite 30 points from Phoenix's Kahleah Copper. Wilson's MVP made her the first player in WNBA history to win regular-season MVP, Defensive Player of the Year, and Finals MVP all in the same season, an unprecedented individual sweep of the league's major honors. The championship was Las Vegas's third in four seasons (2022, 2023, 2025), cementing the Aces as the clear dynasty of the format-transition era, while Phoenix's run as a fourth seed — eliminating the two top contenders before falling to Las Vegas — established the retooled Mercury, anchored by Copper, Sabally, and Thomas, as a team to watch heading into the following season.

Sources

• ESPN — Aces sweep Mercury in 4 games to win 2025 WNBA championship
• Wikipedia — 2025 WNBA Finals