The Aces got their 2025 WNBA championship rings before Saturday afternoon’s season opener at T-Mobile Arena. But their bling day turned into a blowout for the Mercury.
The Mercury, who were swept by the Aces in the WNBA Finals last year, won 99-66, the largest margin of victory in a season opener for Phoenix. It was also the largest margin of defeat by a defending champion in its season opener in WNBA history.
The Phoenix Mercury defeat the Aces, 99-66, in their 2025 Finals rematch to open the regular season!
A'ja Wilson, the WNBA's first ever four-time MVP, is signing a three-year, $5 million supermax contract to return to the Las Vegas Aces, sources tell me and @Andraya_Carter. The deal, which is the largest in WNBA history to date and fully guaranteed, was negotiated by Jade-Li… pic.twitter.com/xSJhkHOvId
That’s a no brainer for Las Vegas, Wilson is arguably the best player in the WNBA and I’m sure that $5M is just pocket change for the owners!
Andraya Carter and Shams Charania, reporting for ESPN;
Last season, Wilson became the first WNBA or NBA player to win the scoring title, MVP, Defensive Player of the Year and Finals MVP all in the same season. She averaged 23.4 points, 10.2 rebounds, 3.1 assists, 2.3 blocks and 1.6 steals while shooting 50.5% from the field in 2025.
USA Basketball just announced the 15 players who will participate in a training camp set for April 1-3 in Phoenix.
A’ja Wilson
Azura Stevens
Brittney Sykes
Cameron Brink
JuJu Watkins
Kayla Thornton
Mikayla Blakes
Monique Billings
Napheesa Collier
Paige Bueckers
Rae Burrell
Rickea Jackson
Sabrina Ionescu
Stefanie Dolson
Veronica Burton
2025-28 USA Basketball Women’s National Team head coach Kara Lawson (Duke University) will lead training camp and will be assisted by court coaches Niele Ivey (Notre Dame), Natalie Nakase (Golden State Valkyries), Shea Ralph (Vanderbilt University), Nate Tibbetts (Phoenix Mercury) and Stephanie White (Indiana Fever).
USA Women’s National Team managing director Sue Bird is set to evaluate the current roster pool ahead of the 2026 FIBA Women’s World Cup in Berlin. This assessment will include players from the recent qualifying tournament in Puerto Rico as the U.S. prepares to pursue its fifth consecutive gold medal from September 4–13.
After being pushed to the limit by the Indiana Fever, the Las Vegas Aces, lead by A’ja Wilson, sweeps the Phoeniz Mercury, celebrating on their home court. Even though its a sweep, 3 of the 4 games was decided in the last minutes of the game, this includes Games 3, where A’ja Wilson buried a mid-range fade-away to give the Aces the lead and the win.
Another angle of A’ja Wilson’s game winner to give her 34 PTS and push the @LVAces past the Mercury 90-88 in Game 3 of the WNBA Finals presented by @youtubetv
After losing Game 3, the Indiana Fever bounced back to defeat the Las Vegas Aces and force a winner-take-all Game 5 of the 2025 WNBA Semis.
Kelsey Mitchell led the Fever with 25 points, on the other hand, Aliyah Boston had a monster game of 24 points, 14 rebounds, and 5 assists, along with 2 blocks and 2 steals, despite guarding A’ja Wilson for the entirety of the game. Odyssey Sims was a big factor with 18 points. Lexie Hull despite scoring only 7 points, she was the engine that powered the Fever’s defense, Hull grabbed 7 rebounds, with 4 steals and 1 block.
The Indiana Fever won the game even though the Aces got a big performance from 4-time MVP A’ja Wilson. She scored 31 points and 9 rebounds and was also a force on the defensive end with 4 steals and 3 blocks. Jackie Young added 18 points, 5 rebounds, and 9 assists. Aside from Wilson and Young, the rest of the Aces were a non-factor. The team even committed a technical foul when Head Coach Becky Hammon mistakenly called an extra timeout with 30.1 seconds left in the game. This mistake cost the Aces possession, and the Fever were able to capitalize by making the technical free throw and the two free throws by Odyssey Sims when she was fouled by Chelsea Gray, creating a 10-point margin (87−77).
Game Highlights
The series will now move back to Las Vegas for the deciding Game 5 this Tuesday, Sept 30th. The pressure will now be on the Aces, considering they are the healthy team, with the reigning MVP A’ja Wilson, and are playing at home. The Indiana Fever, at this point, are already overachieving, with 5 players out due to season-ending injuries and with 2 players who were added only a month ago, simply by pushing the Aces to the brink of elimination.
As expected, the Las Vegas Aces defeated the Indiana Fever (90 – 68) to even the 2025 WNBA Semifinals. After being embarrassed by the Fever in Game 1, the Aces played their own game and was able to contain Indiana’s Kelsey Mitchell and limited her to just 18 points. Unlike in game 1, Aces’ A’ja Wilson also played like the MVP of the league scoring 25 points, 9 rebounds and 5 steals. Former Fever player NaLyssa Smith also had a big game with 18 points and 7 rebounds.
Game Highlights
Game 3 and 4 will now move to Indiana where Fever have been undefeated in their last 3 games including their Game 2 win in the first round against Atlanta Dream.
I was out of the weekend and just catching up on everything WNBA and everyone’s favorite/hated team the Indiana Fever will advance to the semis of the 2025 WNBA Playoffs and will face the Las Vegas Aces.
Both team needed 3 games in order to advance to the next round. Indiana Fever won two in a row; one at home and a nail-bitter on the road (87 – 85). Game 3 against the Atlanta Dream was a close game, and it wasn’t decided until the final 17 seconds.
Despite missing Caitlin Clark among its injured players, Indiana closed on a 7-0 run to win a playoff series for the first time since 2015. The sixth-seeded Fever will play on Sunday against the winner of Thursday’s other Game 3 between Seattle and Las Vegas.
Boston was left alone under the basket for an easy layup after Brionna Jones went to the ground going for a loose ball. It gave Indiana an 86-85 lead, its first since it was 33-30 in the second quarter.
Rhyne Howard twice had trouble inbounding the ball in the final seconds, with Hull coming from behind to poke it away from Jones. Indiana got it to Odyssey Sims, who went 1 of 2 at the free-throw line to give Atlanta another shot with 1.2 left. Jones’ off-balance 3-pointer at the buzzer was off the mark.
Here’s the Game 3 Highlights
As for the Las Vegas Aces, they needed an MVP-worthy performance from A’ja Wilson just to squeak out a win against the Seattle Storm. Wilson scored a game-high 38 points and 5 rebounds. In the series against the Storm, A’ja Wilson is averaging 29.33 points, on a 55.4% field goal. She is also averaging 8.7 rebounds with 2.3 steals and 2.0 blocks.
Watch the Game 3 Highlights of the Aces versus the Storm;
The format for WNBA Semifinals will be a best of 5 games with a 2-2-1. Game 1 of the Semifinals of the 2025 WNBA will this Sunday, at the Michelob ULTRA Arena in Las Vegas.
WNBA just release first of fan voting for the coming WNBA All-Star Voting 2025 in Indiana and as expected, Fever star guard Caitlin Clark is the top vote getter with 515,993 votes, followed by Napheesa Collier (484,758) and teammate Aliyah Boston with 446,961 votes. Amongst all the team, Indiana Fever have the most player in the top 40, followed by New York Liberty with 4 players.
Here are the top 40 leaders;
Caitlin Clark, Guard (IND) 515,993
Napheesa Collier, Frontcourt (MIN) 484,758
Aliyah Boston, Frontcourt (IND) 446,961
A’ja Wilson, Frontcourt (LVA) 394,600
Breanna Stewart, Frontcourt (NYL) 367,819
Paige Bueckers, Guard (DAL) 312,920
Kelsey Mitchell, Guard (IND) 277,664
Sabrina Ionescu, Guard (NYL) 234,684
Lexie Hull, Guard (IND), 217,438
Kiki Iriafen, Frontcourt (WAS) 213,500
Kelsey Plum, Guard (LAS) 204,845
Satou Sabally, Frontcourt (PHX) 175,611
Angel Reese, Frontcourt (CHI) 173,363
Allisha Gray, Guard (ATL) 168,349
Jonquel Jones, Frontcourt (NYL) 162,259
Natasha Howard, Frontcourt (IND) 158,331
Gabby Williams, Frontcourt (SEA) 144,257
Nneka Ogwumike, Frontcourt (SEA) 141,596
Dearica Hamby, Frontcourt (LAS) 105,727
Rickea Jackson, Frontcourt (LAS) 97,767
Alyssa Thomas, Frontcourt (PHX) 96,141
Kamilla Cardoso, Frontcourt (CHI) 95,986
Sophie Cunningham, Guard (IND) 95,116
Jackie Young, Guard (LVA) 82,313
Rhyne Howard, Guard (ATL) 80,477
Skylar Diggins, Guard (SEA) 77,596
DiJonai Carrington, Guard (DAL) 77,072
Brittney Sykes, Guard (WAS) 76,549
Natasha Cloud, Guard (NYL) 74,280
Damiris Dantas, Frontcourt (IND) 72,262
Kate Martin, Guard (GSV) 67,449
Temi Fágbénlé, Frontcourt (GSV) 63,931
Tina Charles, Frontcourt (CON) 62,420
Arike Ogunbowale, Guard (DAL) 60,947
Sonia Citron, Guard (WAS) 59,939
Marina Mabrey, Guard (CON) 59,939
Brittney Griner, Frontcourt (ATL) 57,308
DeWanna Bonner, Frontcourt (IND) 56,775
Kayla Thornton, Frontcourt (GSV) 51,645
Kayla McBride, Guard (MIN) 44,378
The voting is still open and will end on before midnight of the 28th of June.
The Las Vegas Aces just handed the Indiana Fever their second straight loss. Their first loss was against the Golden State Valkyries last Thursday in San Francisco. The Fever managed to build a 10-point lead in the first half, but the Aces cut the lead to just 6 points entering the fourth quarter. That’s when the Aces’ experience and championship pedigree took over; they seized the lead (70–69) at 4:23 and never relinquished i
A’ja Wilson led the Aces with 24 points, 7 rebounds, and two crucial blocks. Jackie Young added 19 points, 7 rebounds, and 7 assists. Wilson struggled from the field, managing only two field goals in the first half.
Like Wilson, Caitlin Clark had another poor shooting night, going 7-for-20 from the field and 1-for-10 from the three-point line. Despite her shooting slump, Clark scored 19 points and had 10 assists. Aliyah Boston led the Fever with 26 points and 10 rebounds, and she was also the primary defender on Wilson for most of the game. Kelsey Mitchell added 20 points.
Game Highlights
The Indiana Fever will travel to Seattle for their match this Wednesday afternoon, while the Las Vegas Aces will host the Connecticut Sun this Thursday.
Just hours before Game 3 of the 2024 WNBA Finals, the league announced the 2024 All-WNBA First Team which is headline by the Caitlin Clark, who was named the 2024 Rookie of the Year; A’ja Wilson, the first unanimous MVP and Napheesa Collier, who was named as the 2024 WNBA Defensive Player of the Year.
Caitlin Clark is the first rookie since Candace Parker in 2008 to be selected to the All-WNBA First Team, and the fifth rookie so honored since 2000, joining Sue Bird (2002), Tamika Catchings (2002) and Diana Taurasi (2004).
Joining Clark, Wilson and Collier, the league also named Connecticut Sun forward Alyssa Thomas and New York Liberty forward Breanna Stewart as part of the 2024 All-WNBA First Team.
The 2024 All-WNBA Second Team consists of Liberty guard Sabrina Ionescu, Phoenix Mercury guard-forward Kahleah Copper, Seattle Storm forward Nneka Ogwumike, Dallas Wings guard Arike Ogunbowale and Liberty center Jonquel Jones.
Indiana Fever’s Caitlin Clark has won the WNBA Rookie of the Year award and Minnesota Lynx star Napheesa Collier has been awarded the Defensive Player of the Year, sources confirm.
Las Vegas’ A’ja Wilson received MVP and Connecticut’s DiJonai Carrington won Most Improved Player.
Except for Las Vegas’ A’ja Wilson MVP award, WNBA has yet to officially announce this years 2024 WNBA Individual Awards.
It would have been great if A’ja Wilson was also named as the DPOY, since Wilson lead the league in blocks, and top 5 in steal and rebounds.
As for the Rookie of the Year, with all other rookies sideline by the end of the regular season, Caitlin Clark will be the runaway winner for ROY, I was thinking that Cameron Brink could at least make it to a interesting race at the start of the season.
After setting the WNBA single-season scoring record earlier this week, Las Vegas Aces star A’ja Wilson added another unique distinction on Sunday.
Wilson became the first player in league history to ever score 1,000 points in a season during Sunday’s 84-71 win against the Connecticut Sun.
For context, this is the 2nd year that the WNBA is playing a 40 games per season. In 2022, the number of games was 36. The WNBA single-season scoring record last year was set by Jewel Lloyd, who scored 939 points, playing 38 games. Wilson set the 1,000 Points in 1 Season playing just 37 games.
A’ja Wilson became the WNBA’s single-season scoring leader and finished with 27 points and 12 rebounds to help the Las Vegas Aces beat the Indiana Fever 86-75 on Wednesday night for their 14th straight win in the series.
Wilson passed Jewell Loyd’s total of 939 points on a jumper from the free-throw line with 26.4 seconds left before halftime. Wilson needed just 35 games to top last year’s record by Loyd, who needed 38 games. Wilson’s previous high was 912 points, set in 40 games last season.
She finished the game with 956 points this season and could potentially be the first player in league history to reach 1,000 in a year.
This is a good measuring stick for the Fever to gauge on how they fare against the best team and facing the best player in the WNBA. Add the shooting woes of Caitlin Clark and foul trouble on Aliyah Boston. Kelsey Mitchell, as always kept them in the game but not enough for them to overcome the 12-point deficit.
Las Vegas Aces is the only team that the Indiana Fever have not beat this season and they will have another chance this Saturday, Sept 14th.
It was a rematch of the Tokyo Olympics medal game, but the US Women’s Basketball team took care of business and claimed the gold medal in the Women’s 5×5 Basketball Tournament at the 2024 Paris Olympics. Unlike their male counterparts, the US women needed a bit of luck to secure the gold, as Gabby Williams’ buzzer-beating shot was just inches inside the three-point line, potentially sending the game to overtime.
A’ja Wilson led the team with 21 points and 13 rebounds. Wilson also took have the MVP awards for the tournament. Kahleah Copper and Kelsey Plum contributed 12 points apiece, both going 6-for-6 from the free-throw line.
After clawing back from a 10-point deficit early in the third quarter, France kept the game close. However, Kelsey Plum’s offense and the team’s defense in the fourth quarter created a 3-point lead, ultimately securing the gold medal.
Gabby Williams led France with 19 points and 7 rebounds. Valeriane Ayayi and Marine Johannes added 9 points each, but no other French player scored more than 8 points. Fast break points (6-15), points in the paint (20-30), and bench points (20-29) were significant factors in France’s defeat.
After being leaked a couple of days ago, the official roster for the Team USA Women’s Basketball for 2024 Paris Olympics have been officially announced.
As previously leaked and now official, below are the official roster of Team USA Women’s Basketball for 2024 Paris Olympics;
Player
WNBA Team
Position
Napheesa Collier
Minnesota Lynx
Forward
Kahleah Copper
Phoenix Mercury
Guard/Forward
Chelsea Gray
Las Vegas Aces
Guard
Brittney Griner
Phoenix Mercury
Center
Sabrina Ionescu
New York Liberty
Guard
Jewell Loyd
Seattle Storm
Guard
Kelsey Plum
Las Vegas Aces
Guard
Breanna Stewart
New York Liberty
Forward
Diana Taurasi
Phoenix Mercury
Guard
Alyssa Thomas
Connecticut Sun
Forward
A’ja Wilson
Las Vegas Aces
Forward/Center
Jackie Young
Las Vegas Aces
Guard/Forward
USA Women’s National Team head coach Cheryl Reeve with the assistance of Kara Lawson, Joni Taylor and Mike Thibault.
Here is what USA Basketball Women’s National Team Committee chair Jen Rizzotti said in the official statement;
“On behalf of USA Basketball, I’m excited to announce the 2024 USA Women’s National Team, We have selected a team that we are confident will represent our country to the highest standard in Paris. Basketball in the United States boasts unparalleled depth, making this a challenging and competitive process. The commitment these athletes have shown to USA Basketball is unmatched and I look forward to watching them take on the World in Paris.”
This is what USA Women’s National Team head coach Cheryl Reeve said regarding the roster;
“This roster features some of the best basketball talent our country has to offer and I’m excited to lead this team with the goal of winning an eighth straight Olympic gold medal in Paris, I’m looking forward to getting together in Phoenix and starting the journey to Paris.”
The roster for the 2024 USA Basketball Women’s National Team have been leaked. In a tweet, Shams Charania of The Athletic and Stadium reported that “Indiana Fever rookie sensation Caitlin Clark is expected to be left off the 12-player Team USA women’s basketball roster for the upcoming Summer Olympics”
Sources: Team USA women’s basketball roster for the 2024 Paris Olympics – no Caitlin Clark:
Charania then added and named the 12 players in the roster. Except for Kahleah Copper, Sabrina Ionescu, Kelsey Plum and Alyssa Thomas. All other players have Olympic experience. Fans also pointed out that rookie phenom Caitlin Clark of the Indiana Fever is missing from the roster. Despite receiving an invitation to the USA Basketball Women’s National Team training camp last April, Iowa Hawkeyes standout Caitlin Clark couldn’t attend due to her team’s Final Four run.
Player
WNBA Team
Position
Napheesa Collier
Minnesota Lynx
Forward
Kahleah Copper
Phoenix Mercury
Guard/Forward
Chelsea Gray
Las Vegas Aces
Guard
Brittney Griner
Phoenix Mercury
Center
Sabrina Ionescu
New York Liberty
Guard
Jewell Loyd
Seattle Storm
Guard
Kelsey Plum
Las Vegas Aces
Guard
Breanna Stewart
New York Liberty
Forward
Diana Taurasi
Phoenix Mercury
Guard
Alyssa Thomas
Connecticut Sun
Forward
A’ja Wilson
Las Vegas Aces
Forward/Center
Jackie Young
Las Vegas Aces
Guard/Forward
The final USA Women’s Basketball roster and list of potential alternates must be submitted to FIBA by June 24th. While no official announcement has been made by the USA Basketball on their official website or social media accounts.
Gatorade just released its “It hasn’t changed” ad, which features WNBA stars Caitlin Clark and A’ja Wilson, two-time Summer Olympic gold medalist Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone, Boston Celtics star Jayson Tatum, and Buffalo Bills star Josh Allen. The company’s first product endorser, Michael Jordan, narrates the ad.
The ad showcases current and rising stars across various sports, including Caitlin Clark of the Indiana Fever, a two-time WNBA MVP and champion, alongside Las Vegas Aces’ A’ja Wilson. You can also see two-time Summer Olympic gold medalist Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone, Buffalo Bills star QB Josh Allen, and Boston Celtics star Jayson Tatum, who are favorites to win the NBA Championship this year.
The ad features the tagline “It hasn’t changed,” a reference to the legendary “Is it in you?” slogan. The company also brought back the colored sweat, which can be seen in their past promotional materials.
via wikipedia;
Gatorade was created in 1965, by a team of scientists at the University of Florida College of Medicine, including Robert Cade, Dana Shires, Harry James Free, and Alejandro de Quesada. Following a request from Florida Gators football head coach Ray Graves, Gatorade was created to help athletes by acting as a replacement for body fluids lost during physical exertion.
Everything about the game has changed, except for the most important thing: what you have inside.
Narrated by Michael Jordan.
