Phoenix Mercury vs Las Vegas Aces Timeline: From Las Vegas’ Debut to the WNBA Finals

The Phoenix Mercury vs Las Vegas Aces Timeline follows a matchup that grew from regular-season meetings into a battle for the league championship. Phoenix relied on Diana Taurasi and Brittney Griner. Las Vegas arrived with a young core and developed into a team capable of winning several titles. Their history includes narrow finishes, a dramatic semifinal, a record-setting playoff game, and a Finals sweep. This account covers the Las Vegas era from 2018 through the 2025 WNBA Finals. Keeping that period clear helps explain which results belong to the modern matchup and which come from earlier versions of the Aces franchise.

Why the Las Vegas Era Starts in 2018

The Aces were not a newly created franchise when they began playing in Nevada. The organization started as the Utah Starzz in 1997, moved to San Antonio in 2003, and relocated to Las Vegas before the 2018 season. Phoenix had therefore faced the same franchise long before the Aces name appeared. That background matters because some head-to-head records include games against Utah and San Antonio. A timeline focused on Las Vegas should begin with 2018 while acknowledging those earlier connections. Relocation also gave the matchup a new setting, as an experienced Phoenix team faced a developing opponent built around A’ja Wilson.

2018: Phoenix Sets the Early Standard

Their first meeting of the Las Vegas era came on June 10, 2018, when Phoenix won 72–66 at home. The Mercury followed with a 92–80 road victory on June 17, helped by Taurasi’s 28 points. Las Vegas earned its first win against Phoenix under the Aces name on July 19, taking an 85–82 decision behind Kayla McBride’s 27 points and Wilson’s 18 points and 12 rebounds. Phoenix closed the season series with a 104–93 victory on August 1, when Taurasi scored 37. The Mercury finished those four meetings ahead 3–1. Phoenix’s experience shaped the early results, while the narrow Aces win showed that Las Vegas could compete with its established opponent.

2019–2020: Las Vegas Develops Into a Contender

Las Vegas improved from 14–20 in 2018 to 21–13 in 2019, reaching the semifinals in its second season in Nevada. Phoenix still won their May 31, 2019, meeting 86–84, with Essence Carson scoring 20 points. In the shortened 2020 season, Las Vegas finished 18–4 and Wilson won her first league MVP award, but Phoenix won both direct meetings, 102–95 and 92–85. The Aces reached the 2020 Finals, where Seattle defeated them 3–0. Those results show why a team’s overall record and its performance against one opponent deserve separate attention. Las Vegas was becoming a championship contender, yet Phoenix remained capable of beating it even during a strong Aces season.

2021: Phoenix Wins a Five-Game Semifinal

The matchup’s first playoff series under the Las Vegas name became one of its defining chapters. The second-seeded Aces faced the fifth-seeded Mercury in the 2021 semifinals, and the series reached a deciding fifth game. Phoenix had taken a 2–1 lead with an 87–60 victory on October 3, when Brianna Turner contributed 23 points and 17 rebounds. Las Vegas recovered to force the decider, but Phoenix won 87–84 on October 8. Taurasi scored 24 points, including 14 in the fourth quarter, while Griner added 28 points and nine rebounds. Griner’s block on Wilson with 0.7 seconds remaining helped secure the result. Phoenix advanced 3–2, showing that regular-season seeding could not settle a series shaped by late scoring and crucial defensive plays.

2022: The Aces Answer With a Record-Setting Sweep

The teams met again in the first round of the 2022 playoffs, with a different outcome and very different conditions. Las Vegas won the opener 79–63 on August 17, then finished the best-of-three series with a 117–80 victory on August 20. Chelsea Gray produced 27 points and eight assists in the second game, making seven three-pointers. The Aces made 23 three-pointers overall, setting a WNBA playoff record at the time. Phoenix was without Taurasi, Griner, and Skylar Diggins-Smith, an essential detail when comparing this series with 2021. Las Vegas earned the sweep through outstanding shooting, but the depleted Mercury lineup also affected the contest. The Aces continued through the postseason and won their first championship under head coach Becky Hammon.

2023–2024: Las Vegas Wins Again and Copper Joins Phoenix

Las Vegas remained a leading force in 2023, winning a second consecutive championship. Its meetings with Phoenix included a 99–79 victory on June 21 and a 100–85 win on September 10, when Wilson scored 36 points. Those games reflected the Aces’ depth and ability to score through different players. Phoenix offered a sharper challenge after adding Kahleah Copper in 2024. On May 21, Copper scored 37 points in a 98–88 Mercury victory in Las Vegas, handing the defending champions their first loss of that season. That result was a useful reminder that championship status does not guarantee control of every matchup. Individual games can change when a new scorer gives a team another reliable option in difficult possessions.

2025: A Changed Mercury Team Reaches the Finals

Phoenix entered 2025 with a substantially different roster. Taurasi retired, Griner moved to Atlanta, and the Mercury added Alyssa Thomas and Satou Sabally alongside Copper. Phoenix finished 27–17 and reached the Finals by defeating New York 2–1 and Minnesota 3–1. Las Vegas finished 30–14 after winning its last 16 regular-season games, then advanced past Seattle and Indiana. The Aces also won the regular-season series against Phoenix 3–1: the scores were 76–70 for the Mercury, followed by Las Vegas wins of 84–81, 86–83, and 83–61. Three of those four games were decided by six points or fewer. The season therefore supplied both evidence of Las Vegas’ advantage and reasons to expect competitive stretches when the teams finally met for the championship.

Finals Games 1–3: Close Finishes and a Record Quarter

The 2025 Finals opened on October 3 with an 89–86 Las Vegas victory, followed by a 91–78 Aces win on October 5. Jackie Young drove the second result with 32 points, including a Finals-record 21 in the third quarter. Phoenix then came close to changing the series in Game 3 on October 8. DeWanna Bonner scored 25 points, and the Mercury erased a large fourth-quarter deficit to tie the game at 88. Wilson answered with a turnaround jumper with 0.3 seconds left, securing a 90–88 Las Vegas win and a 3–0 series lead. The first and third games were decided by three and two points, respectively. Those margins explain why the eventual sweep should not be mistaken for four equally comfortable victories.

Finals Game 4: Las Vegas Secures the Championship

Las Vegas completed the sweep with a 97–86 win in Phoenix on October 10. Wilson finished with 31 points and nine rebounds, while Gray and Young scored 18 each. Copper led Phoenix with 30 points, and Thomas recorded 17 points, 12 rebounds, and 10 assists. The Mercury were missing Sabally after she suffered a concussion in Game 3, and Thomas dealt with a shoulder injury during the clincher. Those difficulties belong in the account without erasing the Aces’ performance. Las Vegas won its third championship in four seasons, and Wilson received the Finals MVP award. Across the series, the Aces outscored Phoenix 367–338, a combined margin of 29 points. Their advantage came from winning every game, including the tight finishes.

How to Compare Results Without Losing Context

A useful head-to-head comparison separates regular-season games, playoff games, and playoff series. A team can lose several individual meetings yet win the series that determines who advances. Across their three playoff series in the Las Vegas era through 2025, the Aces won eight games and Phoenix won three. Las Vegas led 2–1 in series victories, while Phoenix owned the only series that required a deciding final game. These figures exclude the franchise’s Utah and San Antonio years. They also need context: Phoenix’s missing stars in 2022, its roster changes in 2025, and the different series lengths affected what each result represented. Dates, available players, and competition stage make the record more useful than one undated win-loss total.

Final Thoughts

The Phoenix Mercury vs Las Vegas Aces Timeline shows a matchup whose stakes rose as Las Vegas developed and Phoenix changed generations. The Mercury established the early advantage and delivered the 2021 semifinal upset. The Aces answered in 2022 and defeated a rebuilt Phoenix team in the 2025 Finals. The most revealing moments include McBride’s early Las Vegas breakthrough, Griner’s deciding block, Gray’s record-setting shooting night, and Wilson’s last-second Finals winner. These moments explain how the matchup reached the championship stage and why game scores and series outcomes both matter.

Frequently Asked Questions

1. When did Phoenix first face the Las Vegas Aces?

Phoenix first faced the team under the Las Vegas Aces name on June 10, 2018, winning 72–66. The Mercury had previously played the same franchise in Utah and San Antonio, so broader historical records can begin much earlier.

2. Did the Aces start as an expansion team in 2018?

No. Las Vegas inherited an existing WNBA franchise that began as the Utah Starzz in 1997 and later played in San Antonio. The 2018 season marked a relocation and new identity, rather than the creation of a completely new organization.

3. When did Las Vegas first beat Phoenix under the Aces name?

The first victory came on July 19, 2018, when Las Vegas won 85–82 in Phoenix. McBride scored 27 points, and Wilson added a double-double. The result ended a 10-game Mercury winning streak against the franchise that had extended into its San Antonio years.

4. Did Phoenix win the title after beating Las Vegas in 2021?

No. Phoenix advanced to the Finals after winning its semifinal 3–2, but Chicago defeated the Mercury 3–1. Beating the Aces decided one postseason stage; it did not award the league championship. That distinction keeps the rivalry win separate from the Finals result.

5. What made the 2022 playoff rematch historic?

Las Vegas made 23 three-pointers in its 117–80 series-clinching win, a WNBA playoff record when it happened. Gray supplied seven of them. The achievement describes that game’s shooting performance; it does not mean both playoff meetings ended by similarly large margins.

6. How did Kahleah Copper influence the matchup?

Copper gave Phoenix another major scoring threat after arriving in 2024. Her 37-point performance in the Mercury’s May 21 win demonstrated that impact. She also scored 30 in the 2025 Finals clincher, showing her importance across different stages of this history.

7. Was the 2025 Finals their first championship series against each other?

Yes. Their previous Las Vegas-era playoff meetings were the 2021 semifinals and the 2022 first round. The 2025 matchup was their first Finals series against each other and took place in the WNBA’s first best-of-seven championship format.

8. Does a 4–0 sweep mean every Finals game was one-sided?

No. Las Vegas won Game 1 by three points and Game 3 by two. A sweep means one team won every game played in the series. It does not describe the size of each winning margin or how closely individual games were contested.

9. Why do some head-to-head totals look different?

Totals can differ because they cover different periods or competitions. Some include Utah and San Antonio results, while others count only games since 2018. Regular-season records also exclude playoff results unless stated otherwise. Checking the cutoff date and scope resolves most apparent disagreements.

10. How did the playoff formats differ across their meetings?

Their 2021 semifinal was best-of-five, requiring three wins. The 2022 first-round series was best-of-three, requiring two. The 2025 Finals were best-of-seven, requiring four. That distinction matters when comparing sweeps, total games played, and the number of victories needed to advance.

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