The 2025 WNBA playoff finals are upon us after a record high 44-game-long regular season of play has come to an end. The 29th season of the league is soon to culminate and crown this year's world champions. There were 13 teams participating in the battle this year, and the top eight of those made the playoffs. The league is divided into an Eastern Conference and a Western Conference, but this division is irrelevant to the playoffs, where the bracket is made solely based on team record.
The first round of playoffs was formatted as a best-of-three series. Earlier this September, the #1 Minnesota Lynx defeated the #8 Golden State Valkyries 2 games to 0. The #4 Phoenix Mercury defeated the #5 New York Liberty (who won the championship last year), the #2 Las Vegas Aces defeated the #7 Seattle Storm and the #6 Indiana Fever upset the #3 Atlanta Dream. All of the three latter pairings claimed the win in 2 games to 1. The Indiana Fever rallied from behind to upset their opponent.
The semifinals increased from a best-of-three format to a best-of-five. Both series showcased intense gameplay, and many back-and-forth leads. I was on the edge of my seat watching Game 4 of the Mercury vs. Lynx. In the first half, I thought the score would swing in the opposite direction and the win would go to the Lynx. However, a strong pushback in the fourth quarter saw the Mercury dominate, and they scored 31 points to the Lynx’s 13. While this sounds like a huge margin, the final score differed by only five points. Scoring the win, the Mercury reached their goal of defeating the Lynx in the majority of the games.
If you thought the Lynx/Mercury game was down to the wire, then all five games of the Aces/Fever matchup would have caused you to sweat and be jittery in your seat. The Fever won Game 1, the Aces took Game 2 and Game 3 then the Fever rallied to win Game 4 and stay alive. The Fever are down their best player Caitlin Clark due to injury, but the underdogs didn’t let this ruin the postseason for them. In the last game of the semis, the Aces were up by a meager 2 points at halftime. The nail-biter continued into overtime, where the Aces finally demonstrated their shooting superiority and won 107–98.
Now, for the reason you all clicked on this article: The playoff finals are finally here. The Mercury will face the Aces in a best-of-seven round. The first game occurs this Friday the 3rd at 8 p.m. The games will be aired on ESPN and ABC. Both teams belong to the Western Conference and frequently matchup during the season.
The Aces have seen a rocky season, sitting below a .500 record until nearly a month ago. A run of wins locked them into the #2 seed of the division and thus a playoff spot. This year's finals will be the team's third appearance in the past four years. They took home the crown in both 2022 and 2023. Four time MVP A’ja Wilson is trying to lead the team to victory.
The Mercury haven’t brought home the coveted title since 2014. While the team may be less decorated in recent years, they have three titles to the Aces’ two. Don’t count them out. Additionally, two separate times this postseason they overcame a double digit points deficit. Only two players from the previous squad returned to the Mercury’s roster this year, but the newly formed team has become learned to work as a unit and become strong at comebacks.
This year’s WNBA finals is bound to be an exciting spectacle. Tune in to the action, root for the team that you connect most with or just relax on the couch and appreciate the skill of women in sports.
