5 Things To Watch Out For During The WNBA Finals, According To Experts

It’s been quite a year for the WNBA: An unprecedented 3 million people came out to watch the regular season. With stars like Caitlin Clark, Angel Reese, Breanna Stewart, and Napheesa Collier out with injuries, more under-the-radar talent has stepped into the spotlight. Indiana Fever guard Kelsey Mitchell has been the engine behind her team without Clark, and the Stud Budz (the duo of title favorite Minnesota Lynx guards Courtney Williams and Natisha Hiedeman) have gone viral with their unhinged Twitch streams and authenticity on and off the floor. Rookie sensation Paige Bueckers made a splash. And in their first season, the new Golden State Valkyries became the most valuable team in any American women’s sports league.

Now, after an extremely competitive first two rounds of the playoffs, the WNBA Finals begin on Friday, and a champion will be crowned.

This year, the Las Vegas Aces and the Phoenix Mercury will be battling it out for the title. The best-of-seven series kicks off on Friday, Oct. 3 at Nevada’s Michelob ULTRA Arena, and will finish no later than Oct. 17.

The Mercury won the championship in 2007, 2009, and 2014. Three of their key players are forwards and new additions this year: Satou Sabally, a versatile athlete who’s on the mend from an ankle injury, formerly of the Dallas Wings; DeWanna Bonner, who started her career with a decade-long run on the Arizona team and briefly played for the Fever earlier this year; and Alyssa Thomas, nabbed from the Connecticut Sun, who’s scored more triple-doubles than anyone else in WNBA history.

The Aces are led by A’ja Wilson, a record-breaking four-time league MVP who helped clinch the team’s first title in 2022, and has been dubbed 2025’s best WNBA player by both ESPN and CBS Sports. Other key athletes include Kelsey Plum, a guard known for her impressive scoring, and Chelsea Gray, a point guard who excels at running offense. This is the team’s third Finals appearance in four years.

Below, WNBA experts share the league’s biggest storylines right now, along with their predictions for how the end of the season will shake out. From key players to watch to a new Finals format, here’s what you need to know.

The Best-Of-Seven Series Is New

For the first time in league history, the WNBA Finals will be a best-of-seven series, just like men’s professional basketball. At most, the games will play out across two weeks’ time. (Previously, the women’s championship was decided by just a best-of-five, which spanned a maximum of 10 days.)

“That means the demand is there,” says ESPN and Andscape commentator Arielle Chambers. “Fans are tuning in on TV and selling out arenas.” Indeed, 2024 saw the most-viewed Finals in 25 years.

In business terms, a greater number of playoff games is inherently better for a sports league’s bottom line, and means more money for all stakeholders. Some experts, however, wonder whether a potentially longer series will put additional stress on the players. The score of last season’s Game 5 between the Lynx and the Liberty (which included an overtime) was 67-62, a grind-it-out game marked by poor shooting and fatigue.

“I worry that seven is going to add just an exceeding amount of physicality,” says Sabreena Merchant, a staff writer for The Athletic and the host of its No Offseason podcast — especially because the schedule would require additional travel, she adds.

Eyes Will Be On The Referees

Among fans and basketball insiders alike, there’s been much discussion about the officiating, particularly when it comes to the fouls referees call — and don’t call — in the series. During last season’s Finals, two head coaches complained openly to reporters about the inconsistent officiating of physical contact that confused players.

“A lot of the games are determined by how many free throws you shoot, how many things are observed versus not observed, how physical the refs let the athletes play,” Chambers says. “So the refs do have a lot of control.”

Merchant says that more physicality in the postseason isn’t necessarily an officiating problem, however, and that it’s historically a style of play you typically see in high-stakes playoff games. As a result, more calls are let go.

“But also, there is a reason officials are there, and it is to make sure that the game is clean enough,” Merchant says. “I would hope that we get to a point where the player’s skill gets to be highlighted, instead of just elbows and mulling and like a lot of physicality.”

There Are Underdogs — Sort Of

The Las Vegas Aces started the season slowly, reaching a low point with an embarrassing 53-point loss to the Lynx in early August that dropped their record to 14-14. However, from that point on, the Aces — led by Wilson and head coach Becky Hammon — would not lose another game in the regular season, winning their final 16 games to finish the year 30-14. The team seized on the underdog label following its slow start, even running an ad declaring “Aces vs. Everyone.”

Outside of Las Vegas, many don’t think the underdog label fits. “I understand there were times during the season where people didn’t necessarily believe in you, but that doesn’t necessarily make you an underdog,” says Kareem Copeland, WNBA reporter for the Washington Post. “But teams like to manufacture slights and try to find motivation in different ways, and one of the ones we see most often is playing the ‘me against the world’ role, the ‘everybody hates us’ role.”

Pink Hair Reigns Supreme

Prior to the 2025 regular season, Wilson wore a long, light pink wig to the Aces’ media day. As the team went on its 16-game winning streak, fans followed suit, wearing pink wigs in the stands. When Wilson was presented with her fourth MVP award on Sept. 21, her father, Roscoe Wilson, and team co-owner Mark Davis both wore rosy wigs to honor her.

Wilson’s not the only one who’s gone pink this year. The Lynx’s Stud Budz (Williams and Hiedeman), who captivated people on Twitch and during WNBA All-Stars with their nonstop livestreams, both dyed their hair magenta. They chose the color after they’d had a bad day at practice and their coach made Hiedeman cry. Afterward, when they played in other cities, fans would greet them in pink wigs. The Lynx handed out the bright toppers to the crowd at their final regular-season game, and many wore them again for the team’s playoff opener.

“Pink was historically this very soft color,” Merchant says. “When I see the Stud Budz or Wilson wearing pink, I think it’s powerful now.” Given the running theme throughout the season, fans might wear the shade.

There Could Be A Protest

The Finals come at a critical moment for the WNBA. The league and its players are in the middle of tense negotiations over the next collective bargaining agreement (CBA), the labor contract that determines players’ salaries, benefits, and other terms. The outcome will shape the league’s trajectory for the next several years, and if an agreement isn’t reached by Oct. 31, the start of the 2026 season could be delayed.

“Opting out [of the current contract] isn’t just about bigger paychecks — it’s about claiming our rightful share of the business we’ve built, improving working conditions, and securing a future where the success we create benefits today’s players and the generations to come,” WNBA Players Association President Nneka Ogwumike said in a statement.

According to economist Claudia Goldin, the average NBA player’s salary last year was around 80 times larger than what the average WNBA player made.

“I’d be absolutely shocked if this thing is resolved before [Oct. 31],” Copeland says. “I would very much expect them to agree on some kind of extension [to the current CBA]. It’s going to be quite difficult for them to find a resolution here in the next month.”

Merchant even suggests that some players could make more noise by refusing to play in the championship. “If they really believe that the league is not negotiating in good faith with them, that they are not approaching this with the urgency required of the Oct. 31 deadline, wouldn’t you threaten a strike during the Finals?” she says. “That is the ultimate show of solidarity and seriousness.”

Sabally, however, says that most athletes will be most focused on the competition. If they’re going to prove their worth, the product must reflect the money they believe they are owed.

“And nobody can tell me [that] no one watches women’s sports,” Sabally said. “Literally everyone watches women’s sports if you give them access to it. No woman that plays in the WNBA should have to find a second job.”