Aces to take on Liberty for title
LAS VEGAS » The Las Vegas Aces and New York Liberty are poised to tip off their highly anticipated WNBA Finals showdown, a matchup of the preseason favorites projected to battle for the title.
Both teams feature lineups comprised of MVPs, AllStars and future Hall-ofFamers that dominated the regular season. With the title on the line, games are expected to be more competitive than the regular season blowouts — the closest outcome was nine points when they met.
“This is kind of like our March Madness and anything goes,” Las Vegas forward A'ja Wilson said. “I don't think you'll see a lot of lopsided games because both teams are great and we're playing at the right time. When we saw each other, some (players) were revving up, some were getting close to it, some were figuring it out. But I think now we're all on the same page of where we are as a team.”
History will be made no matter which team wins.
The reigning champion Aces could become the first team to repeat since the Sparks did it 21 years ago. A championship also would further validate one of the top regular seasons in league history, putting them record books along with those Sparks teams, the Houston Comets who won four titles in a row and the Detroit Shock who won three times in six years. Las Vegas set an WNBA record with 34 regular-season victories this season.
WNBA FINALS
(Best-of-5) x-if necessary
No. 1 Las Vegas vs. No. 2 New York Today: at New York, noon
Wednesday: at New York, 6 p.m
Sunday, Oct. 15:
Vegas, noon
x-Wednesday, Oct. 18: Las Vegas, TBD
x-Friday, Oct. 20:
York, TBD at Las at at New
A Liberty championship would be their first, and fulfill the hopes of the several blockbuster offseason moves. New York — which won 32 games — and Las Vegas split the four regular-season meetings, but the Liberty crushed the Aces 82-63 in the Commissioner's Cup championship.
“They're a handful,” Aces coach Becky Hammon said. “You're not going to stop them with just one person.”
Liberty coach Sandy Brondello said only so much can be gleaned from the regular-season meetings.
“The playoffs go to another level,” Brondello said. “This is for the championship. We'll have to have a little bit more urgency and little bit more desperation in everything that we do. Every moment matters, and that's our focus.”
Liberty forward Breanna Stewart agrees with her coach.
“You can feel the weight from the fans and the excitement around the city,” said Stewart, the AP Player of the Year and the WNBA
MVP. “When you're playing basketball at the highest level, there's pressure for everything. We just want to continue to embrace that.”
MAJOR MATCHUP » The individual matchup to watch will be between Wilson and Stewart, both 6-foot-4 forwards.
Wilson won the MVP award in 2020 and 2022 and believed she played well enough to win again this year. The honor instead went to Stewart, her second one.
They also were opposing captains at this year's AllStar Game in Las Vegas, with Team Stewart winning by 16 points.
“That's the marquee matchup that everybody wants to look at,” Wilson said. “I'm glad to be a part of it because it helps our game. But at the same time, I think it's not going to be about us.”
PERFECT RECORD » Stewart has gone undefeated in her college and WNBA careers with the championship on the line.
She was 4 for 4 in NCAA championship runs at UConn, and when she reached the WNBA Finals in 2018 and 2020 with Seattle, the Storm won it all those years as well.
Stewart said she doesn't take championships for granted.
“It's hard to get here,” she said. “Sometimes when you're going, you're like, `I want to go every year.' Then you realize that's not possible, so understanding all the work we put in April and May is for this moment right here.”