After a grueling grind of 286 regular-season games and a drama-filled postseason, the curtain has finally fallen on another unforgettable WNBA season. And standing tall at the very end — once again — are the Las Vegas Aces. Becky Hammon’s side didn’t just win the WNBA Finals; they dominated them, sweeping the Phoenix Mercury 4-0 without even granting a gentleman’s sweep. But even as confetti rained down in Vegas, not all the spotlight belonged to them.

You see, the Aces had to huff and puff their way past the Indiana Fever in the semifinals — a team that was missing half its core. No Caitlin Clark, no Sophie Cunningham, no Sydney Colson, no Aari McDonald, and no Chloe Bibby. Yet, the Fever still pushed one of the best teams in league history to the limit. And for all the grit and growth they showed this season, two of their stars(Aliyah Boston and Kelsey Mitchell) earned spots on the All-WNBA teams — and that’s been the talk of the town ever since.

Becky Hammon’s side found new ways to dismantle a Phoenix Mercury team that had become the ultimate dark horse of the postseason — coming back from a game down against both the defending champions and the Minnesota Lynx. But when it came to facing Hammon, Nate Tibbetts and his Mercury side had no answers for her tactical masterclass.

Becky Hammon put on a coaching clinic against the Mercury. In the second half of Game 1 — which, up to that point, had been all Phoenix — she switched to a zone defense that completely smothered their offense, taking away Alyssa Thomas’ comfort zone in the middle and flipping the game on its head. The adjustment worked to perfection, holding the Mercury to just 15 points on 33.3% shooting in the half.

From that point on, her defensive schemes — especially the guards digging in on Thomas’ dribble during the middle pick-and-roll — kept the Mercury off-balance for the rest of the series. In Game 3, already holding a 2-0 lead, Hammon went straight for the kill. After watching her team start slow in both previous wins, she made a preemptive move, deploying a box-and-one on Kahleah Copper. The tweak worked perfectly. It not only got her team locked in from the opening tip but also threw the Mercury’s offense completely off rhythm.

But even the “chess adjustment master” struggled to pull off such adjustments against the Indiana Fever. Thousands of fans are still talking about it on social media. Let’s take a look at some of these reactions.

Fans consider the Fever-Aces series as the WNBA Finals

“Congrats to the Fever and Aces on a well-fought WNBA Finals,” one fan wrote, while another added, “That Aces/Fever series was the true finals this year.” And honestly? They’re not wrong.

While the WNBA Finals wrapped up in just four games, A’ja Wilson dominated the court, averaging 28.5 points, 11.8 rebounds, and two blocks per game. Her performance shattered multiple records, including:

• She notched her first-ever 30-point game in a WNBA Finals.
• She set a new WNBA postseason scoring record with 322 points
• She surpassed Breanna Stewart and Diana Taurasi, setting the record for the most 30-plus point games in a single postseason with nine.
• She broke Lisa Leslie’s record of 37, setting the new mark for the most multi-block games in a single postseason.
• She made history by becoming the first player ever to win MVP, Finals MVP, and Defensive Player of the Year in the same season.

It wasn’t quite as smooth sailing against the Indiana Fever. The Aces needed all five games to get past a team missing five senior players. Even shorthanded, the Fever went toe-to-toe with Las Vegas, stealing Game 1 and forcing a decisive Game 5 back at Michelob ULTRA Arena. That night, Jackie Young and A’ja Wilson made history as the first duo in WNBA playoff history to each score 30+ points in the same game. Yet, even with that feat, it took Chelsea Gray’s overtime heroics to finally push the Aces through.

Even A’ja Wilson had an off series by her standards against the Fever. Matched up against Aliyah Boston, she missed 14 shots around the basket, including four from inside the restricted area. To be fair, most of those attempts weren’t exactly easy. Boston guarded her for 35 possessions, holding Wilson to a mere 16.7% effective field goal percentage.

Another fan chimed in: “Mercury should be embarrassed man, injury riddled Fever took this Aces team to OT in an elimination game. Getting swept in the Finals is nasty.” Against the Mercury, it wasn’t just A’ja Wilson carrying the load. In Game 3, Jackie Young contributed 21 points and 9 assists. Between the two of them, Wilson and Young scored or assisted on 72 points–tying for the fifth-most by a duo in WNBA Finals history.

Jewell Loyd also made her presence felt in the Finals. Her 18 points in Game 1 were crucial in helping the Aces secure the win. In Game 3, she set a WNBA Finals record by sinking four 3-pointers in the first quarter alone. Against the Fever, however, she couldn’t replicate that dominant form, finishing the series with 27 points across five games. And, the Mercury should have done more to contain.

But that wasn’t the only thing stealing the spotlight from the Aces. Aliyah Boston earned a spot on the All-WNBA Second Team, and fans couldn’t be more thrilled. “As the youngest member of 2nd team All-WNBA, the sky’s the limit, AB!” one fan said.

Boston has truly emerged as one of the WNBA’s top center-forwards this season. In her third year with the Indiana Fever, she posted career highs of 15 points, 8.2 rebounds, and 3.7 assists per game, guiding the Fever all the way to the semifinals in the absence of Caitlin Clark. The All-WNBA Second Team also features stars like Nneka Ogwumike, Sabrina Ionescu, Jackie Young, and Paige Bueckers–but at just 22, Boston is the youngest among them, and her impact this season speaks for itself.

But Boston wasn’t carrying the load alone. She had the firepower of the WNBA’s highest-earning player, Kelsey Mitchell, putting up MVP-caliber numbers. “Kelsey Mitchell they’re right. Numbers don’t lie. You make all of us stand up during the games. 🤗,” a fan said. Mitchell finished the season averaging 20.2 points and 3.4 assists per game, breaking the franchise record for most points in a single season. Her scoring helped fill the void left by Caitlin Clark and was a key reason the Fever clinched their first playoff series win in a decade.

So while the Aces are busy celebrating their third championship in four years, there’s a smaller but passionate community still applauding what the Fever accomplished this season. No disrespect to the Mercury, but the Fever-Aces series might just have been the real highlight of the postseason. What do you think? Drop your thoughts in the comments below!