‘Battle-tested’ Aces ready for WNBA’s first-ever 7 game Finals vs. formidable Mercury

While detailing the paths that their respective teams journeyed to reach the 2025 WNBA Finals, there was undeniable confidence in the eyes of Aces point guard Chelsea Gray and Phoenix Mercury forward Alyssa Thomas on Thursday at Michelob Ultra Arena.

The full staffs of both teams, along with a large contingent of media and WNBA brass, had descended upon the Aces’ home court for the last practice before the league’s first ever seven-game championship series — a reminder of just how high the stakes of the matchup would be.

Thomas, the leading scorer of the fourth-seeded Mercury, quickly displayed the edge that made Phoenix just the fourth team in league history to eliminate both of the previous year’s championship finalists in the same postseason.

“(We’re) able to go on runs and ride the waves,” Thomas said when asked about the Lynx overcoming a 20-point deficit in Game 2 of their semifinals series against the Minnesota Lynx to tie the record for largest road comeback in WNBA playoff history.

“And it’s the same in the finals,” Thomas added. “It’s going to be a hard-fought battle, a tough series.”

Thomas’ description of the clash set to begin in Friday’s Game 1 didn’t come off like a threat, more like a self-assured reminder.

The Aces also had those in high supply Thursday, understandably so after their first-round series against the Seattle Storm went the full three games and the Indiana Fever took them to the brink in a tightly contested five-game semifinals series that went to overtime in its final contest.

“We’ve been battle-tested. We played a full series, both of them,” Gray said. “Each series was completely different in different ways, but they were challenges, and so I’m proud of the way we responded.”

The idea of being forged by previous wars on the court came up again when Aces coach Becky Hammon was asked if it helps that the Aces are still led by Gray, four-time MVP A’ja Wilson and guard Jackie Young, three of the key players from the franchise’s two league titles.

“Anytime you’ve been in a situation where you’ve been in battles before, it can be valuable,” Hammon said.

However, Hammon added, she’s learned that adaptability is key. She needs her team to “shift gears and be done with the old.”

Practical notes

Questions posed to both teams about the challenges a seven-game series might pose were met with uncertain laughter on each side.

In the words of Gray, players and coaches can’t know what they don’t know. But Wilson had some key notes about what will make the Mercury a difficult matchup in general.

“I think their pace and also their size. They are big across the board, which is something you don’t really see too much of in our league when it comes to just bigger-sized guards,” Wilson said. “I mean, you have (Thomas) that can just facilitate the crap out of the ball, and so it’s going to be very difficult considering the series we just came out of.”

Hammon joked that while she’s excited for the opportunity, the extended series is simply about more money for the league. She also alluded to a potential fatigue factor.

“I’m not quite sure how the overall wear and tear and effect will happen. If this series goes to seven (games), we’re creeping on 60 games with an 11-man roster,” Hammon said.

No matter how many games it takes, if the Aces can overcome the Mercury, there’s a different level of satisfaction that Hammon will feel.

“We’re not finished yet, but has it been a hell of an accomplishment to get here more than any other year? Yes,” Hammon said. “We’ve learned that this team likes to take the long way around, but as long as we’re moving in the right direction and we’re sticking together, I don’t think there’s a lot that this team can’t do and can’t work through, because they’ve already worked through a lot just to get to this point.”

‘Don’t pick us’ vs. finding the why

Thomas said she knew from the first day of training camp that the Mercury had a championship pedigree, despite the team not being picked to advance to this point by most national media outlets.

That trend has continued into this series, with a majority of ESPN analysts selecting the Aces to win the championship in a panel that was released once the Finals matchup was set.

Mercury guard Kahleah Copper relished that doubt. “Dont pick us,” she told the media on Thursday, saying that the whole roster has been underestimated at some point and its given the team an edge.

Nearly the opposite is true for the Aces, who fell short of expectations with a below .500 first half of the season before closing on a historic 16-game win streak to secure the No. 2 seed.

“We had to sit down, have a talk and figure out if this is really what we wanted,” Young said after the Aces’ Game 5 win over the Fever to advance to the finals.

Gray and guard Jewell Loyd remember the talk vividly, with Gray saying “everybody got really vulnerable.”

“Sometimes you just need to reset and figure out why you’re playing. I think sometimes along the line, you kind of get distracted and confused on things, and you’re unsure, and everyone’s kind of new,” Loyd recalled.

The team had to revisit what they’d written on notecards as their goals to start the season, and while Loyd said multiple players had a championship jotted down, the team had to reimagine what it would look like.

“That’s how you take a step,” Gray said of the conversation. “We’ve had some uncomfortable moments this season, and I think that’s what made us a lot better.”

Contact Callie Fin at cfin@reviewjournal.com. Follow @CallieJLaw on Twitter.