ESPN, we saw what you did there. What they did is jump the gun a tad. Sure the Aces stand 3-0 right now. But this just ran the risk of jinxing everything. Nike and ESPN just dropped an ad during Game 4 between the Las Vegas Aces and Phoenix Mercury. All would’ve been good if the commercial didn’t just declare one team the 2025 WNBA champions.

The following sentence comes with a lot of ‘Please don’t jinx it’ anxiety – the Nike ad declares the Aces with their 4x MVP, A’ja Wilson are going to sweep the Mercury. When that happened the Aces were leading 62-71. As of this writing, the game is at 78-89 in Vegas’ favor.

This is giving the 1969 NBA championship where the Lakers had prematurely arranged ‘World Champion Lakers’ balloons in the rafters before they’d even win. And what happened? Bill Russell’s Celtics destroyed the Lakers’ overconfidence and rode off into the sunset with his 11th ring.

But back then it was former Lakers owner, Jack Kent Cooke’s gaffe that cost the Lakers. The Lakers then and the Aces with this Nike ad, had nothing to do with the premature declaration. Chelsea Gray declared the team’s collective mentality is they’re at 0-0 and not getting complacent.

We get that cartoon scenario of an over-eager coyote itching to press the button that will blow up the Grand Canyon. But come on, Swoosh. You’ve done this a gazillion times before.

Nike killed the vibes

Well, now the ad fits. The Las Vegas Aces won the 2025 WNBA championship after fending off Phoenix Mercury 86-97 in a wire-to-wire second half. It’s their third title in four years, a dynasty in women’s basketball if you will.

The Nike ad ESPN just ran is also safely getting shared online right now (proving that it was not a figment of the imagination). It was short enough to be a GIF more than an ad spot. It didn’t feature any players. Just a team plane with the Commissioner’s Cup trophy on its way to Las Vegas. “Back to back… and back again,” it said before the usual ‘Just Do It’ plug.

Fans were not in the least bit pleased with this move. The Aces fans found it tasteless, Mercury fans felt disrespected. Everyone in between speculated if this was a calculated move by Nike or a mistake on ESPN’s part.

The Swoosh has a reputation of being the first to celebrate the WNBA champions (and any champion for that matter). In 2024, they dropped an appropriately timed ad right after the New York Liberty won their first WNBA title. The witty ad won the Internet as did Nike’s billboard celebrating Sabrina Ionescu’s game-winning shot that series and A’ja Wilson’s “Mv’3” celebrations.

Nike is experienced in this. So fans doubt it was a misstep with how much premature publicity it got in the 3rd quarter. Although now the vibes feel stale. But who cares. Aces won!