Game 4 of the 2025 WNBA Finals between the No. 2-seed Las Vegas Aces and No. 4-seed Phoenix Mercury tips off at 8 p.m. ET (ESPN) on Friday, October 10.
And the Aces, up 3-0 in the series, have the opportunity
to do something they’ve never done.
In 2022, in a best-of-five Finals against the Connecticut Sun, the Aces went up 2-0, lost the potential clinching Game 3 and then captured the franchise’s first championship in Game 4, taking the title with the 3-1 series win. In their best-of-five Finals matchup against the New York Liberty the following season, the Aces again were up 2-0 and lost Game 3 before winning Game 4 to claim back-to-back championships.
Will the third time be a charm? Can Vegas, for the first time, sweep their way to a WNBA title?
That the Aces twice have stumbled when on the precipice of a championship isn’t indicative of some shortcoming. Rather, it underscores how difficult it is to close out a team desperate to avoid the ignominy of a sweep. The Mercury, certainly, will muster their greatest fight, even without Satou Sabally.
Adding to Vegas’ challenge is the fact that this is the first-ever best-of-seven Finals, where four wins are required to secure the trophy. The Aces already have bettered their past selves by advancing to a 3-0 series lead. Can they now put the finishing flair on what once seemed like an improbable championship? Not only can the Aces go from .500 to a 17-game winning streak to a title, but they can stamp it with a sweep. And if they achieve the first 4-0 sweep in WNBA history, they’ll snuff out the dreams of a long, seven-game series with statement of a dominance.
It’s easy to suggest that the Aces should just keep doing what they’ve been doing to make it happen.
A’ja Wilson can keep being a’mazing. Jackie Young can continue to be her ultimate co-star. Chelsea Gray can maintain her Point Gawd form. Jewell Loyd can hit her 3s. Dana Evans can provide another timely jolt. The team can lock in for stretches of top-notch defense. All that would be great.
But they’ll need more to fend off a Mercury team that will be led by Alyssa Thomas and DeWanna Bonner, who were the heads of the Sun team that denied the Aces their sweep in 2022. Back then, Bonner had 18 points, six rebounds, five assists and two steals, while Thomas tallied a triple-double of 16 points, 15 rebounds and 11 assists in a Connecticut rout. Kahleah Copper also owns a Finals MVP for a reason. In the 2021 playoffs, when the Chicago Sky had to win two single-elimination games at the start of their title run, Copper had 39 points on 63 percent shooting across those two do-or-die games.
To shut the door on the Mercury, the Aces need to do something they haven’t done in these Finals: play a full 40 minutes.
Despite their 3-0 series lead, every game has featured stretches of subpar play. In Game 1, the Aces defense allowed the Mercury to douse them for 29 points in the second quarter. In Game 2, the first quarter was the bigger issue. In Game 3, Vegas let Phoenix find their fire in the fourth, nearly resulting in a 17-point comeback win. The Aces are fortunate those lapses haven’t lead to a loss, or losses. The power of their stars, combined with clutch moments from supporting players, have allowed the Aces to escape.
Friday night, however, will demand a full 40, especially on the defensive end.
Title-clinching games tend to not to be track meets but rock fights. The Aces have rung up an average of 90 points per game in the 2025 Finals, far exceeding the 78 points they scored in their 2022 championship-clincher and the 70 they put up in 2023’s title-sealing game. If they are not scoring as prolifically, the Aces must be engaged defensively, demonstrating the attentive, defensive urgency they have shown when necessary.
It might be ugly. But it will be worth it. Four wins for title No. 3 can happen on Friday night.
