PHOENIX — A’ja Wilson’s hands were full all night.
First, with buckets. She put up 31 points, including 17 of 19 free throws. One last dominant performance in one of the great seasons in WNBA history.
Then they embraced loved ones. Coach Becky Hammon. Her parents. Bam Adebayo. After the Aces’ 97-86 win in Game 4, sweeping the Phoenix Mercury to claim the 2025 WNBA championship, Wilson was overcome with emotion that she poured out on the shoulders of her people.
Advertisement
Then, her hands were filled with, well, all kinds of stuff. The WNBA Finals MVP, the second in her career. Green goggles. Moët for a time, or Michelob Ultra. And a pink tambourine, making her a one-woman Amen corner, punctuating moments with a rhythmic rattle.
She won her fourth MVP this season, as well as the scoring title, co-Defensive Player of the Year honors, and another first-team All-WNBA bid. And she’s capped the dream season by lifted the Aces back to top, their third title in four seasons.
Now the W gets riveting.
The excellence of the Aces overwhelmed the Mercury while setting a new bar for greatness. On the WNBA’s biggest stage, Las Vegas looked most worthy. Millions got to witness the crowning of a dynasty.
Advertisement
The Aces were so good as to rob the WNBA Finals of the height of suspense. The games were closer than the four-game sweep would suggest, thanks to the Mercury’s penchant for late rallies. But the inevitability of the outcome was clear after Game 2.
However, what the finals lacked in suspense, now begins the compensation. This offseason will feature more drama than the mind of an inebriated reality show producer. A new Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) must be hashed out. Two new franchises will be added. Perhaps the wildest free agency period in sports history will commence.
That’s all after Angel Reese hits the Victoria’s Secret runway and before Unrivaled takes over Miami. And nobody knows what Caitlin Clark, the WNBA’s strongest magnet, will do this summer.
Advertisement
This offseason is shaping up to be unlike anything we’ve seen in major professional sports. The Summer of the W. A well-earned bonanza of attention.
Adding to context is an Aces squad that just ascended to a dynastic realm. Three titles in four seasons gives the WNBA its first juggernaut in over a decade. Dynasties are valuable in the harnessing of fervor. They give the entire league a target. Nothing like dominance creates the ire and intensity of rivalry, creating the kind of friction that lures casual fans.
The Aces were so good, anchored by Wilson, the rest of the league will have to elevate to sniff their rarified air. So the high-level, competitive basketball of the W only figures to get better, especially as the influx of uber-talented college stars enter the league.
But greatness on the court deserves great drama off it. If the finals were the entree, more tasty than filling, here comes dessert in the form of the most hectic offseason in league history.
Advertisement
The current CBA expires at the end of October. The negotiations have already produced riveting theater. The WNBA Finals started with commissioner Cathy Engelbert’s anticipated press conference after getting called out by Minnesota Lynx star Napheesa Collier. It ended with her being booed out of Mortgage Matchup Arena.
Engelbert, as the commissioner does, was jeered vociferously when she handed the championship trophy to Aces owner Mark Davis. They were louder than the PA system, drowning out whatever Engelbert was saying on the microphone.
They serenaded her with boos again as she announced Wilson as the WNBA Finals MVP. It was resounding enough to provoke side-eyed looks from the players on the makeshift stage.
The commissioner couldn’t get off the stage fast enough. While Wilson was being interviewed, Engelbert was booed some more as she exited through the tunnel.
Advertisement
It was an epic plot twist in this CBA soap opera. Engelbert — who had her clear-the-air meeting with Collier canceled after, essentially, calling the Minnesota star a liar — now has to sit across the table from the same players who are standing behind Collier.
NBA commissioner Adam Silver may have to step in. May as well get Shonda Rhimes in here, too.
With the league never more relevant, and facing a critical opportunity to capitalize on years of effort, this new CBA must get done. None of the parties involved can risk killing the league’s current momentum with a work stoppage interrupting next season. So this is urgent. Tense. And on the clock. This has “Netflix show” written all over it.
Then, after the CBA is finalized, arguably the greatest free agency in sports history will commence.
Advertisement
Because of the pending new CBA deal, which is expected to significantly increase player salaries, most athletes timed their contracts to expire at the end of this season. According to Spotrac, only 41 players in the league are under contract for next season. That list includes young stars still on rookie deals, such as Clark and Reese, and Dallas guard Paige Bueckers, the WNBA Rookie of the Year.
Still, well over 100 players will hit the free agent market. The list features some of the biggest names in sports. Eight of the 10 players to make All-WNBA will be free agents. All of the first-teamers — Wilson, Collier, Alyssa Thomas, Allisha Gray and Kelsey Mitchell. Three of the second-teamers: Jackie Young, Sabrina Ionesci and Nneka Ogwumike.
Each of the featured players in these finals don’t have a contract for next season, including Kahleah Copper, Chelsea Gray, Satou Sabally and Jewell Loyd.
The WNBA is set up for unprecedented player movement. When has any league ever had three-quarters of its players in free agency?
Advertisement
If the Core Player Designation rule survives the new CBA, some of the most obvious names will likely be retained. But if the Women’s National Basketball Players Association negotiates that out of the CBA, then all of the superstar free agents will be available.
On top of that, two expansion franchises will be added as Portland and Toronto expands the field to 15 teams. That’s 24 more spots to fill in an expansion draft that will force teams into tough decisions over which players to protect.
This is monumental for the WNBA. Headlines all offseason. Storylines keeping the league fresh on the minds of fans. Money flowing in. Endorsements piling up. Social media popping.
No doubt, some teams will load up to try to take down the Aces. Like the Liberty last year, who added Breanna Stewart and Jonquel Jones to Ionescu and won the 2024 championship. We’ll get new collaborations, new rivalries.
Advertisement
We should get our popcorn ready. And our own tambourines.
This article originally appeared in The Athletic.
Las Vegas Aces, WNBA, Sports Business
2025 The Athletic Media Company
