The Las Vegas Aces dominated the first-ever best-of-seven WNBA Finals, sweeping the Phoenix Mercury 4-0 to secure their third championship in four years. From start to finish, the Aces’ defense set the tone, frustrating the Mercury and shutting down their rhythm.
A sweep wasn’t expected early on, especially with the Mercury riding momentum after upsetting the No. 1 seed Minnesota Lynx in the semifinals. But when a team has the kind of star power and chemistry Las Vegas does, anything can happen.
Aces’ head coach Becky Hammon, now 10-2 all-time in the WNBA Finals, joins an elite group of just four coaches with three or more titles. Her strategy was simple but lethal — run the offense through MVP A’ja Wilson, find forward Chelsea Gray on the perimeter and pressure the Mercury into foul trouble.
Despite the sweep, Phoenix refused to go down quietly. Every game except for Game 2 was decided by three points or fewer, a testament to the Mercury’s resilience against a powerhouse.
Officiating takes some heat
Mercury head coach Nate Tibbetts didn’t hold back when addressing the officiating. Late in the third quarter of Game 4, he became the first coach in WNBA history to get ejected from a Finals game after receiving two technical fouls for arguing a call.
“I think it’s one of the weakest double technicals ever,” Tibbetts said in the postgame press conference, criticizing the inconsistency of officiating throughout the series and season.
Several Phoenix players were also given technical fouls. Forward DeWanna Bonner drew one for a “heat-of-the-moment reaction” after protesting a missed call and throwing “air punches” toward the referee. Guard Kahleah Copper was given a technical for using profanity and aggressively confronting an official.
Players across both teams and around the league continue to call for improved and consistent officiating standards, especially with the heightened physicality of the WNBA compared to the NBA.
A dominant performance
“If A’ja Wilson is locked in, Las Vegas is hard to stop.”
That sums up the Finals perfectly. Wilson averaged 28.5 points, 11.8 rebounds, 4.0 assists and 2.0 blocks per game on her way to another Finals MVP. The Aces’ offense flowed through her, and she delivered, including a buzzer-beater in Game 3 that sealed a 90-88 win after a late Mercury surge.
Wilson became the first player since 2018 to win both the regular-season MVP and Finals MVP in the same year and the first player in either the NBA or WNBA to earn Defensive Player of the Year honors in that same season. With this series, she moved into third all-time in postseason scoring, passing Candace Parker.
There was no stopping this Aces team. They came to win, and from start to finish, they outplayed, outlasted and outworked the Mercury. The dynasty is alive and well in Las Vegas.