From the Strip to the Sun - A WNBA Finals clash for the ages

How we’ve stumbled across one of the most mouthwatering WNBA Finals Series of all time

“We can do this. We have the pieces to do it. It’s just a matter of getting the job done, and it gets harder and harder because that’s the game that we play. I’m grateful to be in the locker room with these phenomenal, elite women that are ready to work. I love being in unfamiliar territory.”

A'ja Wilson has had to put the Las Vegas Aces on her back in 2025 to help get them into the WNBA Finals Series.

A’ja Wilson was full of optimism when I had the opportunity to interview her pre-game at T-Mobile Arena back on June 23^rd. It was 90 minutes prior to the Aces match-up with the Fever, a fixture that had to be moved from the Aces regular home court at Michelob Arena just down the strip.

The new ‘it’ girl Caitlin Clark was coming to town, and there was excitement in the air for not just the Indiana fans who had travelled to Vegas, but also the locals who had bought their tickets in the masses to catch a glimpse of Clark.

The atmosphere at T-Mobile Arena was electric as the Aces prepared to take on the Fever.

I should be thanking Caitlin actually. She’s the reason I had one of the most amazing opportunities of my life to chat face to face outside the Aces locker room with arguably the best women’s basketball player in the world. I say arguably, but I suggest it would be hard for most to argue now, with a fourth WNBA League MVP trophy to her name.

With my media accreditation (big thanks to basketball.com.au), there were two choices less than two hours before game time. A chance to sit in on Caitlin Clark’s press-conference (which 99% of the media chose to do), or to interview A’ja Wilson. It was a no brainer, and a moment I will never forget.

It had been a rough patch for the Aces leading up to that game. They were 6-7 at the time, and it was clear that A’ja, and coach Becky Hammon were frustrated. But what was apparent as soon as the interview began was that her belief in the team and in would not waver.

“We grow as we go through changes, as we go through adversity. I think we can utilise this time to change, to be different. It’s not the end of the world, I’m not pushing the panic button. But there is a certain way I want things to be, and I’m going to make sure that me and my teammates get there.”

Wilson didn't shy away from her want to 'live in the pressure'. It's just what she does.

And get there they did.

Sitting under .500 nearing the end of July, and then dealt a savage blow when the Lynx defeated them by 53 points, the Aces flipped the script with one of the greatest comebacks in WNBA history.

They went on a 17-game win streak, winning 16 straight regular season games after their Lynx defeat, and then adding a 17^th with a win over the Storm in round one of the finals. Ultimately, they finished the regular season in 2^nd place.

“Sometimes you need to be humbled to remember what you’re capable of. That Lynx loss lit a fire under us.”

The now 4-time MVP Wilson was again the difference. Just when we though we’d seen the best of Wilson, she proved us all wrong. Her brilliance early in the season when her team were on the receiving end of a number of poor results, through to her domination across the 17-game win streak, were really something to behold.

She put the team on her back, and with Jackie Young and Chelsea Gray acting in support roles, the Aces found themselves back in big games, and back making big shots when it counted.

There was a game where Wilson outscored the rest of her team. She broke a new league record for the most 30-point games in a single season, doing it on 13 occasions. She was, often, unstoppable.

And then there was the Mercury…

“It’s a combination of a lot of things. Kahlea Copper came back, AT and Satou. A staff that knows how to use them, how to make the team be great. They’ve done their homework. We’ve gone under the radar because some of the players we’ve bought in are rookies to the league, but they’ve been playing professionally for a long time.”

US born Aussie and Mercury superstar Sami Whitcomb was my second WNBA player interview for the season. This time I was warm and cosy in a quiet Melbourne podcast studio (thanks to The Crumbs podcast), but what a thrill it was to talk all things basketball and life with Sami.

In The Crumbs studio chatting with Phoenix Mercury superstar and all around great human Sami Whitcomb.

She was under no illusion that the Mercury weren’t in playoff conversations, and that they weren’t in any proper conversations when it came to teams to lookout for in 2025. She took time out of her busy schedule, the night before a road game against the Atlanta Dream, to join a very new and small podcast with minimal followers. She’s a star.

Whitcomb has been clutch when it counts in 2025 for the Mercury.

After almost a complete overhaul in the off-season that saw the GOAT Diana Taurasi retire, and the departure of Brittney Griner via free agency, only two members of the 2024 Mercury squad remained.

Phoenix entered the year as less than a quiet contender. Overshadowed by preseason hype around other franchises, it was the Liberty, Lynx and the interest in how Vegas would respond that busied the headlines.

The Mercury didn’t just defy expectations, they shattered them. Alyssa Thomas starred, entering the League MVP conversation, only to be overrun by A’ja Wilson’s record-breaking season. But make no mistake, AT was the Mercury’s MVP, by a long way.

Thomas has to be up there as one of the WNBA’s recruits of the off-season. A free agent at the end of 2024, Thomas left the Connecticut Sun where she’d spent 10 seasons. She has been nothing short of extraordinary for the Mercury. She was one of five finalists for league MVP, averaging 15.4 points per game plus 8.8 rebounds. With Satou Sabally, Kahleah Copper and Sami Whitcomb among others by her side, Thomas and the Mercury just kept on winning.

They built momentum through cohesion, hustle, and belief. Whitcomb’s leadership and clutch shooting were central to their rise, and during our chat back on August 1^st, it was clear she never bought into the underdog narrative.

“We've created such great chemistry in a short amount of time. This group is something special."

The 2025 WNBA season has been nothing short of electric.

From buzzer-beaters to breakout stars, the league has delivered drama, grit, and brilliance at every turn. With an at times uncomfortable CBA conversation shadowing much of the season, a Caitlin Clark injury that saw last year’s breakout star manage only 13 games, and the reigning Champs the New York Liberty bundled out of the playoffs in round one, it’s had a bit of everything.

Now, as the dust settles, two teams remain.

The Phoenix Mercury and the Las Vegas Aces. It’s a matchup few predicted, but one that basketball fans can’t wait to begin.

It really has been a tail of two opposites. No expectation, a completely new group out in the desert, and then a franchise led by Wilson who were expected to rise to the top once again after an early playoff exit last season.

It’s a Finals series we never really thought was on the cards, but one that is a mouthwatering as they get. Can Phoenix rise from out of nowhere, or will Vegas once again lift the trophy and win their third Finals campaign in just four years?

Both teams have shown they can win when it matters most, but who will step up when it matters most? Will Sami’s perimeter shooting be enough to contain Wilson’s dominance in the paint?

As tip off approaches, one thing is clear. This series is set to put a big full stop on what has been another landmark season for the WNBA. With no Caitlin Clark, the league has pushed ahead and continues to defy the odds with viewership, attendance, and league hype.

So pull out the popcorn, this one will be big!