WNBA Finals Preview

The long-awaited matchup between the Las Vegas Aces and New York Liberty begins this Sunday. Game 1 of this five-game series will take place in the Michelob Arena in Las Vegas.

These two teams were already the subject of early finals predictions after significant off-season trades were made.

After playing six years with the Seattle Storm, former No. 1 pick Breanna Stewart signed a one-year $175,000 deal with the New York Liberty. Stewart averaged 20.3 points per game, won MVP in the year of 2018, and was a four-time all-star during her time in Seattle.

Jonquel Jones, the former 2021 MVP, was traded from the Connecticut Suns to the Liberty. The dominant center previously played six years with Connecticut and had a lengthy resume. Becoming the only WNBA player to win MVP, Sixth Woman of the Year and Most Improved Player.

On the other side, as if being the former 2022 WNBA champions wasn't enough, they signed arguably one of the best players in the WNBA, Candace Parker, to a one-year $100,000 deal. She formally played with the Chicago Sky where she won a championship in 2021.

Both of the trades during the off-season were huge and made the anticipation for this matchup that much greater.

In the 40-game season, Las Vegas went 34-6 on the season. At home, they had an almost perfect record going 19-1 and away they went 5-5.

New York’s record on the season was 32-8. At home, they were 15-5 and on the road, they were 17-3.

These two teams faced off four times during the regular season and split evenly 2-2.

Aces took away the first meeting 98-81 with their star guard, Kelsey Plum leading all scorers with 18 points.

In the second meeting, New York redeemed themselves, winning 99-61. The power duo, Ionescu and Stewart combined for a total of 54 points shooting and shot 51% from the field.

The Aces took the next meeting winning 88-75, and the Liberty closed out their final meeting defeating Las Vegas 94-85.

Throughout the entire four matchups, both stars A'ja Wilson and Breanna Stewart averaged over 15 points per game.

After the first two games are played in Las Vegas, the series will then shift over to Brooklyn, New York in the Barclays Center for Game 3. The WNBA Finals last took place in New York in 2002 at Madison Square Garden.

The Las Vegas Aces seek to win back-to-back champions and remain at the top of the chain, whilst the Liberty are hungrier than ever to win their first-ever title in franchise history.

Kiera Baker is a third-year majoring in broadcast journalism. To contact her, please email ksb5617@psu.edu