“I’ve been chasing a championship for a long time, and I believe this is our moment,” said Alyssa Thomas after her team’s overtime victory in Game 2 of the Mercury-Lynx series. The Phoenix Mercury star is determined, especially now that the championship title is still out of reach for her and her team. In her 11-year WNBA career, she has yet to win a championship. In contrast, her opponents, the Las Vegas Aces, have secured the title twice in the last three years. Fortunately, according to a well-known analyst, A’ja Wilson and her team have a weakness that Thomas can exploit.

Rachel A. DeMita recently hosted another episode of the ‘Courtside Club’ show. During the same time, she revealed that her analysis had revealed to her that “Now, the Aces are also a team that plays physical. They don’t back down to anyone, but they have truly been relying on one and a half players. It’s pretty much been the Aj’a Wilson and the Jackie Young show, and it’s primarily been the Aj’a Wilson show. So, for the Aces, for them to have a chance in these finals, somebody else is going to have to step up besides those two players.”

This is the same thought process that Rachel A. DeMita highlighted in one of her previous episodes. After Game 1 of the Las Vegas Aces-Indiana Fever series, DeMita highlighted that the Indiana Fever beat the Aces by 16 points because “they held A’ja to under 20 points. If you hold A’ja to under 20 points in any game, the Aces aren’t winning”. If that wasn’t enough, the host even trolled the Aces by saying that they should change their name to the ‘Las Vegas A’jas’.

A’ja Wilson has often carried the team on her shoulders. She was the team’s highest average scorer during the 2025 season with her 23.4 points per game. Meanwhile, in the 2nd place was Jackie Young, who had averaged 16.5 points per game. Below her was Chelsea Grey, who had averaged 11.2 points per game. The gap reduced a bit in the playoffs, but Wilson still led by 6 points. As a recent GQ article said, “Wilson is so good, she makes you wonder if everyone else on the court is even trying.” Furthermore, the Indiana Fever’s victories during the recent Semi-Finals did occur when the 2025 WNBA MVP was kept at bay. Aliyah Boston’s defense in Game 1 of the Aces-Fever series caused Wilson to shoot only 6-22 (27.3%) field goals, 0-1 (0.0%) 3-pointers, and 4-5 (80.0%) free throws. Therefore, a defense solely focused on her can do wonders.

Rachel A. DeMita wasn’t fully right in her analysis. After all, the Aces have managed to win 6 of the last 10 games in which A’ja Wilson scored 20 points or less. However, the Finals are a different stage. Especially when the player on the other team is Alyssa Thomas.

Alyssa Thomas Revealed Determination To Seek Redemption On 2022 Finals Loss

The closest Alyssa Thomas came to a championship was back in 2022. During the regular season that year, she averaged 13.4 points, 8.2 rebounds, and 6.1 assists over the course of 36 games with the Connecticut Sun. She helped the team secure a 25–11 win record to finish 3rd on the Points table. Eventually, the Sun reached the Finals to take on their opponents, who, ironically, were the Las Vegas Aces.

During Games 3 and 4, Alyssa Thomas created history by recording back-to-back triple-doubles against the No. 1-seeded Las Vegas Aces. That feat made her the first player to ever record a triple-double in a Finals game, the first player to record two triple-doubles in back-to-back games (regular season or playoffs), and the first player to record four triple-doubles in a single season in WNBA history. Unfortunately, her individual prowess wasn’t enough to save the Sun. The Aces narrowly won Game 1 (67–64). They then won Game 2 by a 14-point margin. The Sun scored 105 points in Game 3 back home, but the 78–71 Game 4 matchup in A’ja Wilson and her team’s favor gave them the championship.

During a presser after the Game 4 win against the Minnesota Lynx, Thomas recalled the previous loss by saying, “I’ve been saying it since training camp. For me, it was a Finals year. It’s disappointing to get to the Finals and lose. It’s even extremely harder to get back to the Finals. So, yeah, just for her to be back here (indicating towards Bonner) back playing together, it’s super exciting. Just, exciting for Satou to get her first Finals as well. Um, it’s just a great group. We’re excited, we believe in each other, and Finals bound, and one more to go”.

The Aces may have recent experience in winning championships. However, Mercury has a determined player. In the end, it remains to be seen who emerges victorious.