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The epic conclusion of a most unique WNBA season is approaching with the league’s top two teams &#8212; the Las Vegas Aces and Seattle Storm &#8212; having weathered injuries, unprecedented challenges, a singular focus on social justice, and a fast-paced schedule to get right here.
To the WNBA Finals presented by YouTube TV.
The best-of-five series &#8212; marking the fourth time in five years that the league’s No. 1 and No. 2 seeds played for a title &#8212; will be one unlike any other in league history. And it begins on Friday night (7PM ET, ESPN2) with a star-studded matchup. Las Vegas won both regular-season games between these two teams, yet a mere 10 points separated them in those games.
Seattle, who are 3-0 in championship series, comes into the Finals with 10 wins in its last 11 games and a three-game sweep of Minnesota in the semifinals, giving the Storm a valuable chance to rest.
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The Aces, reaching the Finals for the first time since the franchise moved to Las Vegas, gutted out a five-game series win against Connecticut, storming back from a 16-point deficit in the first half to win the deciding game by a 66-63 margin. 
This has the makings of a compelling championship series, one that will be a strong punctuation mark on this historic season.
Here are five factors that could decide this series:
Experience. In this case, Seattle has more of it. At least on the floor. The majority of the team that won a title together in 2018 are still on the roster for the Storm. Sue Bird alone has played in 50 career playoff games. They are a cohesive group and they have been here with one another before. But don’t count out the experience that Las Vegas counters with. While key players like A’ja Wilson, Kayla McBride and Jackie Young have never played in a WNBA Finals, their coach Bill Laimbeer has coached in more postseason WNBA games than almost any coach in league history. On Friday, Laimbeer will coach in his 62nd playoff game, passing Minnesota’s Cheryl Reeve for No. 2 on the all-time list. And then there’s glue player Angel McCoughtry, who played in three WNBA Finals series during her time in Atlanta. She has never won a championship and will be as hungry as anyone on the floor.
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Defense. Some of the top individual defensive talents in the league are in this matchup, starting with Storm forward Alysha Clark, who has a <a href="https://www.wnba.com/news/two-atlanta-dream-players-and-seattle-storms-alysha-clark-headline-2020-wnba-all-defensive-team/">unanimous selection to the WNBA’s All Defensive First Team</a>. Her teammate Breanna Stewart was a second-team selection, as was Vegas’ A’ja Wilson for their defensive rebounding and their ability to patrol the paint, in particular. Seattle collected a league-leading 10 steals a game, using the length of Stewart and Clark and the perimeter quickness of Jordin Canada.
Three-point shooting vs. free-throw shooting. Seattle has averaged 10 3-pointers made per game in the Playoffs, which has propelled them to a playoff-best 89.7 points a game so far. Las Vegas is averaging just two 3-pointers made a game and it shows in their offensive output, as they are averaging 72.6 points a game, a drop-off that can also be attributed to the recent absence of WNBA 6th Woman of the Year Dearica Hamby. The Storm, who will go forward without one of their best long-distance shooters in Sami Whitcomb, who returned to Australia for the birth of her child, will want to score from the perimeter and force the Aces to keep up with Stewart, Jewell Loyd and Clark. The trio has made more than 35 3-pointers each this season. Las Vegas, meanwhile, wants to get to the line. Led by Wilson, they are 81-for-96 (84.4%) from the stripe in five playoff games.
Star Power. The two players who battled to the end of the season in the WNBA’s MVP race will battle in this series and that’s probably not a coincidence. Wilson won the MVP Award over Stewart, but both have had stellar seasons. Wilson has carried her team at moments in the postseason, averaging 21.8 points and 10.4 rebounds a game vs. Connecticut. She has scored in double figures in all 27 games she appeared in this season. Stewart is averaging 23 points a game and 5.7 assists in the postseason, getting her teammates involved in the offensive flow. Interesting tidbit here, the team with the league MVP has won the WNBA championship every year since 2016.
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X-Factors. For Seattle it’s going to be point guard play. Sue Bird, who played in just 11 regular-season games, averaged 7.3 assists in the semis against the Lynx. Canada can be a game-changer off the bench with her quickness and her ability to break out and score. She has scored 19 points with 12 assists in two games against the Aces this season. Vegas, meanwhile, is going to have to figure out how to energize its bench scoring without Hamby, who was leading the best bench scoring crew in the league all season. But the bench accounted for zero points in Game 5 against Connecticut and that can’t happen against a team that scores like Seattle. Jackie Young is Vegas’ top bench scorer at 7.0 points a game in the Playoffs. Veteran guard Danielle Robinson had a pair of double-digit scoring games in the semifinal series against the Suns, including a pivotal 18 points in Game 4. The Aces will need more of that

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Inside The W with Michelle Smith: Finals Preview

A&#8217;ja Wilson finished with 23 points and 14 rebounds as the Aces defeat the Storm 82-74. Breanna Stewart had 29 points in the loss for the Storm.

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GAME RECAP: ACES 82, STORM 74

The Las Vegas Aces had a combined 52 points off the bench in their 88-73 win over the Washington Mystics.

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GAME RECAP: Aces 88, Mystics 73

Diana Taurasi scores 22 points to go along with 10 assists as the Mercury get the win over the Aces, 102-95.

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GAME RECAP: Mercury 102, Aces 95

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BRADENTON, Fla. (AP) — Diana Taurasi had 22 points and 10 assists, Skylar Diggins-Smith also scored 22 points, and the Phoenix Mercury never trailed in a 102-95 win over the Las Vegas Aces on Friday night.
Brittney Griner had 18 points, seven rebounds and three steals, Bria Hartley scored 15 points and Sophie Cunningham 11 for Phoenix (1-2).
Angel McCoughtry scored 18 points and A’ja Wilson had 17 points, eight rebounds and three steals for Las Vegas (1-2).
Phoenix led by 23 points midway through the second quarter, but the Aces closed the half with a 14-2 run to make it 50-41 and then held the Mercury scoreless for four-plus minutes during a 9-0 spurt that made it 56-all when McCoughtry hit a jumper with 5:33 left in the third quarter.
Brianna Turner answered with a layup and Cunningham had a steal and a layup to spark a 14-2 run that gave Phoenix the lead for good and made it 70-58 when Taurasi hit a 3-pointer about four minutes later.
Taurasi and Diggins-Smith each hit four of the Mercury’s 11 3-pointers. Phoenix had 30 assists on 38 field goals, shot 57% overall and 55% from behind the arc.
Las Vegas guard Lindsay Allen was ruled out of the game after she had an inconclusive positive test for COVID-19. According to the Aces, the safety procedures outlined by the WNBA and the players’ union require an inconclusive positive to be treated as a positive until the person has two negative tests in a row 24 hours apart. She is currently isolating away from the bubble at IMG Academy.

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Taurasi Has 22 points, 10 assists; Mercury Beat Aces 102-95

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The NBA 2K League is set to host the first-ever “NBA 2KL Three for All Showdown,” an online 3-on-3 tournament featuring fan-organized teams, top female 2K players and social media influencers, all competing in the NBA 2K20 MyPark game mode for the chance to play against NBA 2K League teams and a share of a $25,000 prize pool. Fans can watch NBA 2KL Three for All Showdown games on the NBA 2K League <a href="https://www.twitch.tv/nba2kleague">Twitch</a> and <a href="https://www.youtube.com/nba2kleague">YouTube</a> channels.
The second stage of the tournament will take place Tuesday, March 31 – Friday, April 3 and will feature six WNBA players along with NBA 2K League players (teams of three will represent their NBA 2K League teams), top female 2K players, social media influencers and the top performing teams from the fan‑only stage, again competing against each other in distinct XBOX and PS4 brackets.
All series aside from the final rounds of each bracket will be best-of-three‑games series with the final‑round matchups being best-of-five‑games series.
We hope that the first-ever NBA 2KL Three for All Showdown will provide NBA 2K League fans and the 2K community with an exciting and fun way to engage with our game and one another during these unprecedented times. While we’re encouraged to practice social distancing, it’s important that we stay connected. More information and resources regarding reducing your risk for the coronavirus are available at <a href="https://cares.nba.com/coronavirus/">https://cares.nba.com/coronavirus/</a>.
Below please find the overall schedule.
<ul>
<li>Second Stage: NBA 2KL Three for All Showdown Bracket (March 31 – April 3; Teams composed of NBA 2K League players, the top female 2K players, social media influencers, and the top performing teams from the fan bracket)</li>
</ul>
Below please find the prizing breakdown:
<ul>
<li>$25,000 Prize Pool, including:
<ul>
<li>$15,000 available to the non-NBA 2K League teams in the second stage ($5,000 and $2,500, respectively, awarded to the two furthest‑advancing non-NBA 2K League teams in each of the NBA 2KL Three for All Showdown brackets: XBOX and PS4.)</li>
<li>$9,000 available to the NBA 2K League teams ($3,500 and $1,000, respectively, awarded to the two furthest‑advancing NBA 2K League teams in each of the NBA 2KL Three for All Showdown brackets: XBOX and PS4)</li>
<li>$1,000 available to the winners of the fan‑only brackets in the first stage ($500 awarded to each winning team: XBOX and PS4)</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
*NBA 2KL Three for All Showdown subject to <a href="https://2kleague.nba.com/3v3-tournament-rules/">Official Rules</a>.  Not all fans who sign up will get to participate.
Participating WNBA Players
Watch Us Work
<ul>
<li>Alexis Jones (Atlanta Dream)</li>
<li>Allisha Gray (Dallas Wings)</li>
<li>Aerial Powers (Washington Mystics)</li>
</ul>
Sugar Icy Ballas
<ul>
<li>Sugar Rodgers (Las Vegas Aces)</li>
</ul>
Raining Threes
<ul>
<li>Chelsea Gray (Los Angeles Sparks)</li>
</ul>

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WNBA Players Participate in NBA 2K League Three For All Showdown

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<a href="https://www.wnba.com/wnba-playoff-picture-2017/">League Champion: Minnesota Lynx (Fourth title in franchise history)</a>
<a href="https://www.wnba.com/2017-wnba-draft/#/panel2-1">Top Draft Pick: Kelsey Plum (SAS, University of Washington)</a>
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Awards
<ul>
<li><a href="https://www.wnba.com/sylvia-fowles-2017-wnba-mvp/">Most Valuable Player: Sylvia Fowles (MIN)</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.wnba.com/news/dallas-allisha-gray-named-2017-wnba-rookie-year/">Rookie of the Year: Allisha Gray (DAL)</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.wnba.com/news/los-angeles-alana-beard-named-2017-wnba-defensive-player-year/">Defensive Player of the Year: Alana Beard (LAS)</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.wnba.com/news/new-yorks-sugar-rodgers-named-2017-wnba-sixth-woman-year/">Sixth Woman of the Year: Sugar Rodgers (NYL)</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.wnba.com/news/connecticuts-jonquel-jones-named-2017-wnba-improved-player/">Most Improved Player: Jonquel Jones (CON)</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.wnba.com/news/connecticuts-curt-miller-named-wnba-coach-year/">Coach of the Year: Curt Miller (CON)</a></li>
</ul>
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Top Players
<ul>
<li><a href="https://www.wnba.com/news/2017-mvp-sylvia-fowles-headlines-2017-wnba-first-team/">All-WNBA First Team:</a> Tina Charles (NYL), Skylar Diggins-Smith (DAL), Sylvia Fowles (MIN), Maya Moore (MIN), Candace Parker (LAS)</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>All-WNBA Second Team: Chelsea Gray (LAS), Brittney Griner (PHX), Jonquel Jones (CON), Nneka Ogwumike (LAS), Diana Taurasi (PHX)</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://www.wnba.com/history_all-rookie-teams/">All-Rookie Team: </a>Kaela Davis (DAL), Allisha Gray (DAL), Kelsey Plum (SAS), Brittney Sykes (ATL), Shatori Walker-Kimbrough (WAS)</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>All-Defense First Team: Alana Beard (LAS), Tina Charles (NYL), Sylvia Fowles (MIN), Nneka Ogwumike (LAS), Jasmine Thomas (CON)</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>All-Defense Second Team: Rebekkah Brunson (MIN), Brittney Griner (PHX), Briann January (IND), Maya Moore (MIN), Alyssa Thomas (CON)</li>
</ul>
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Stats Leaders
<ul>
<li>Points Per Game: Brittney Griner (PHX): 21.9</li>
<li>Rebounds Per Game: Jonquel Jones (CON): 11.9</li>
<li>Assists Per Game: Courtney Vandersloot (CHI): 8.1</li>
<li>Steals Per Game: Alana Beard (LAS): 2.1</li>
<li>Blocks Per Game: Brittney Griner (PHX): 2.5</li>
</ul>
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Regular Season
With the top pick in the 2017 WNBA Draft, the San Antonio Stars selected the (then) NCAA women’s all-time leading scorer Kelsey Plum of the University of Washington. The Sky selected South Carolina’s Alaina Coates at No. 2 and the Dallas Wings added Kentucky’s Evelyn Akhator and South Carolina’s Allisha Gray at Nos. 3 and 4, respectively.
Once again, the Minnesota Lynx got off to a hot start, opening the season with nine straight wins and improving to 13-1 after defeating the Sparks in a Finals rematch after their epic five-game battle in 2016. The loss to the Lynx snapped an eight-game win streak for the Sparks, who opened the season 12-3.
For the second straight season, the Lynx (27-7) and Sparks (26-8) ran away with the top two records in the league. They were followed by a pair of 20-win teams from the Eastern Conference – the New York Liberty (22-12) and Connecticut Sun (21-13). This was the third straight year that the Liberty finished first in the East thanks to a 10-game win streak to close out the regular season, but the Sun’s rise came as a bit of a surprise.
With 2014 No. 1 pick Chiney Ogwumike set to miss the entire WNBA season for a second time (she missed 2015 with a knee injury, 2017 with a ruptured Achilles), expectations dipped for the Sun. They opened the season with four straight losses and were 1-5 before things began to click. Jonquel Jones emerged as the Most Improved Player in the league as she absorbed the minutes left by Ogwumike. After their 1-5 start, the Sun would put together three win streaks of five games or more as they went 20-8 the rest of the season to qualify for the playoffs for the first time since 2012.
The new-look Washington Mystics finished at 18-16 – a five-win improvement from 2016 – after adding 2015 league MVP Elena Delle Donne and 2016 champion Kristi Toliver during the offseason.
After joining the Lynx midway through the 2015 season, Sylvia Fowles made an immediate impact on the team. She was named Finals MVP as the Lynx won their third title (Fowles’ first) that same year. A year later she was named Defensive Player of the Year for the third time in her career as she helped the Lynx get back to the Finals.
But in 2017, she took on a larger role in the team’s offense and made the most of those added opportunities as she displayed a two-way dominance that made her a clear-cut choice for her first MVP honor in her 10th WNBA season. She joined Tamika Catchings as the only other WNBA player to win their first MVP in their 10th season or later. On the NBA side, only Hakeem Olajuwon (10th), Kobe Bryant (12th) and Karl Malone (12th) have ever done it.
How dominant was Fowles? Take a look at her season averages: 18.9 points (fifth in WNBA), 10.4 rebounds (second), 2.0 blocks (tied for second), 65.5 FG% (first, fourth-highest mark in history). And she did that on the team that finished with the best record in the league for the second straight year and the fifth time in the last seven seasons.
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Just as Fowles broke the mold by winning MVP a decade into her career, Allisha Gray broke the mold of the Rookie of the Year winner. Since 2004 with Diana Taurasi, the No. 1 overall pick in the draft has gone on to win Rookie of the Year in 11 of the past 16 years. Gray, the fourth pick in the 2017 Draft, is one of five exceptions to this trend during that time.
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<ul>
<li>2005: Janel McCarville No. 1 pick, Temeka Johnson ROY (No. 6 pick)</li>
<li>2007: Lindsey Harding No. 1 pick, Armintie Price ROY (No. 3 pick)</li>
<li>2013: Brittney Griner No. 1 pick, Elena Delle Donne ROY (No. 2 pick)</li>
<li>2017: Kelsey Plum No. 1 pick, Allisha Gray ROY (No. 4 pick)</li>
<li>2019: Jackie Young No. 1 pick, Napheesa Collier ROY (No. 6 pick)</li>
</ul>
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The 2017 season also saw two of the most important all-time records set by two of the biggest stars in the league’s history.
On June 18, in the closing seconds of the first half of Phoenix’s game against the Sparks in Los Angeles (near her hometown of Chino), Diana Taurasi passed Tina Thompson’s mark of 7,488 points to become the all-time leading scorer in league history. While Thompson needed 17 seasons to reach her total, Taurasi needed only 13 to top it.  Since that time, Taurasi has increased her scoring total, becoming the only player to surpass 8,000 career points as she sits at 8,575 points after the 2019 season.
On Sept. 1, in the first quarter of Seattle’s game against the Mystics in Washington, D.C., Sue Bird became the WNBA’s all-time leader in assists as she surpassed Ticha Penicheiro’s mark of 2,599. At the end of the 2019 season, Bird has increased the record to 2,831 assists and should add to it in 2020 as both Bird and Taurasi will be back on the court.
While these two UConn legends continue their WNBA careers, a former Husky and one of the first players signed to play in the WNBA back in 1996, Rebecca Lobo became the fifth WNBA player to be enshrined in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in September.
On the business side, the WNBA had the first women’s sporting event ever streamed live on <a href="https://www.wnba.com/news/live-wnba-games-streaming-twitter-2017-season/">Twitter as the league and the social media platform entered into a multi-year agreement to stream games.</a> The WNBA also became the first major sport to have a game streamed live game on a music streaming platform (TIDAL). And for the first time, all 12 WNBA teams, plus All-Star rosters, were available in the new NBA Live 18 video game.
In October, the WNBA and NBA Board of Governors unanimously approved the relocation of the Stars franchise from San Antonio to Las Vegas for the 2018 season. In November, the Las Vegas franchise won the WNBA Draft Lottery, giving them the top selection in the 2018 Draft. In December, the team unveiled its logo, colors and new name as the Las Vegas Aces became the city’s second major professional sports team, following the NHL’s Las Vegas Golden Knights.
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All-Star
The 2017 WNBA All-Star Game marked the first time that the marquee event was hosted by the city of Seattle. In front of a sellout crowd of 15,221 at KeyArena,<a href="https://www.wnba.com/video/the-top-5-plays-from-the-verizon-wnba-all-star-game-2018/"> the West All-Stars defeated the East 130-121.</a> Maya Moore won her second straight All-Star MVP as she scored a team-high 23 points in 23 minutes. Sue Bird, who tied Tina Thompson for the most All-Star appearances with 10, racked up an All-Star Game record 11 assists. Jonquel Jones of the Sun led all players with 24 points for the Eastern Conference, with the final two coming on a dunk in the closing seconds.
For the first time in eight years, the 3-point contest returned to WNBA All-Star as five of the league’s top sharpshooters competed in the two-round event during halftime of the All-Star Game. The final round came down to New York’s Sugar Rodgers and Chicago’s Allie Quigley, with Quigley coming out on top with an impressive 27-point performance in the final.
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Playoffs
<ul>
<li>First Round: (5) Phoenix Mercury def. (8) Seattle Storm, 1-0</li>
<li>First Round: (6) Washington Mystics def. (7) Dallas Wings, 1-0</li>
<li>Second Round: (5) Phoenix Mercury def. (4) Connecticut Sun, 1-0</li>
<li>Second Round: (6) Washington Mystics def. (3) New York Liberty, 1-0</li>
<li>Semifinals: (2) Los Angeles Sparks def. (5) Phoenix Mercury, 3-0</li>
<li>Semifinals: (1) Minnesota Lynx def. (6) Washington Mystics, 3-0</li>
<li>Finals: (1) Minnesota Lynx def. (2) Los Angeles Sparks, 3-2</li>
</ul>
&nbsp;
The second year of the new playoff format brought about many of the same results that were seen in its debut during the 2016 Playoffs.
The Lynx and Sparks finished 1-2 for the second straight season and earned the double-bye to the semifinal round. There were upsets in the single-elimination rounds as both the No. 3 seed Liberty and No. 4 seed Sun were bounced after just one game as they were upended by the No. 6 Mystics and No. 5 Mercury, respectively.
However, the Mystics and Mercury were unable to keep the magic going against the top two seeds as the Lynx and Sparks both swept their way to the finals to set up a rematch of last year’s five-game classic.
The 2017 Finals were playing out eerily similar to the 2016 Finals. The Sparks stole Game 1 in Minnesota thanks to a last-second shot – this time it was Chelsea Gray that knocked down the game-winner. The Lynx responded to even the series as it shifted to Los Angeles. The Sparks won Game 3 to put them on the cusp of the title, but with their backs against the wall, the Lynx stayed alive and forced another winner-take-all Game 5 back in Minnesota.
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History was on the line in Game 5 as the Sparks looked to become the first team in 15 years to successfully defend the championship (the 2001 and 2002 Sparks were the last team to win back-to-back titles) and the Lynx looked to claim their fourth WNBA title, matching the Houston Comets for the most ever by a single team.
The Lynx built an early lead – going up by 11 points with 2:34 remaining in the first quarter – and fought back every Sparks rally the rest of the night. L.A. cut the lead to two by the end of the first quarter, but the Lynx responded and pushed the lead back to 11 with a minute left in the first half. The Sparks closed the half on a 7-2 run to cut the lead to six at the halftime break.
The Lynx scored the first six points of the second half to build their biggest lead of the game at 12 points. Once again, the Sparks had to chip away at the lead; they cut it to four points (60-56) to close the third quarter. The Lynx had yet another answer as they pushed the lead back to 12 with 2:32 remaining in the game. But everyone knew the defending champion Sparks had one more run left in them.
The Sparks would score the game’s next nine points, cutting the Lynx lead to three (79-76) with 34.9 seconds left after an old fashioned jumper by Odyssey Sims. With all of the momentum on L.A.’s side, the Lynx nearly committed another turnover on the inbounds pass. Seimone Augustus saved the ball from a backcourt violation and got it to Sylvia Fowles, she handed it off to Maya Moore, who drove and hit a tough runner from the free throw line to make it a two-possession game with 26.5 seconds left. Sims missed a three with 22 seconds left and Fowles grabbed her 20th rebound of the game to essentially seal the victory. Fowles and Lindsay Whalen each knocked down a pair of free throws to close out the 85-76 victory.
Fowles was named Finals MVP for the second time in her career, and Whalen won a WNBA champion in the same gym – Williams Arena at the University of Minnesota – where her college jersey hangs in the rafters.
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The 2017 WNBA Finals on ABC, ESPN and ESPN2 is the third most-watched WNBA Finals ever on ESPN networks averaging 559,000 viewers for the five-game series since the networks began exclusively televising the Finals in 2003.

wnba-decade-in-review-2017

WNBA Decade In Review: 2017

The Mystics hang on to beat the Aces 97-95 in game 1 of their WNBA Semifinal series. Elena Delle Donne and Emma Meesseman combined to score 51 points for Washington in the win.

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GAME RECAP: Mystics 97, Aces 95 (Game 1 of Semifinals)

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Phoenix Mercury vs. Las Vegas Aces - Game Highlights

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Minnesota Lynx vs. Las Vegas Aces - Game Highlights

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