2025 WNBA Finals
The 2025 WNBA Finals, officially the WNBA Finals 2025 presented by YouTube TV for sponsorship reasons, was the best-of-seven championship series for the 2025 season of the Women's National Basketball Association. This was the first year that the league used the best-of-seven format, after using a best-of-five format since 2005.
The Finals featured the second-seeded Las Vegas Aces and the fourth-seeded Phoenix Mercury, beginning on October 3 and ending on October 10. This was the first time since the 2021 WNBA Finals that the first-seed did not advance to the Finals. It was Las Vegas' third Finals appearance in four years, and Phoenix's first since 2021. The Aces defeated the Mercury in a sweep to win their third championship in four years and cement themselves as a dynasty. A'ja Wilson was named Finals MVP, winning the award for the second time and becoming the first player to be named Finals MVP, league MVP, and Defensive Player of the Year in the same season.
Summary
The Finals was the first since 2020 where both teams were from the same conference.The Las Vegas Aces qualified for the playoffs as the second-seed after winning a tiebreaker with the Atlanta Dream. They defeated the seventh-seed Seattle Storm in the first round and the Indiana Fever in the semifinals to reach the Finals, with both series going the maximum number of games.
The Phoenix Mercury qualified for the playoffs as the fourth-seed after winning a tiebreaker with the New York Liberty. The two teams faced each other in the first round, and the Mercury defeated the defending champions in three games. They then defeated top-seed Minnesota Lynx in four games to reach the Finals. They are the lowest seed to reach the Finals since the 2021 Chicago Sky reached as a sixth-seed. They are also just the sixth two-seed to qualify for the Finals.
The two Western Conference foes met four times during the regular season, with the Aces winning three of the four games. The most recent meeting was on August 21 where the Aces won 83–61.