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2023 WNBA Finals: How to watch, Aces vs. Liberty season series results and key storylines – The Athletic

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1 year ago

October 11, 2023

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WNBA
The Athletic has live coverage of the WNBA Finals featuring the Las Vegas Aces vs. New York Liberty
The matchup we’ve all been waiting for is here.
Game 1 of the 2023 WNBA Finals between the Las Vegas Aces and New York Liberty is set for Sunday at 3 p.m. ET, the culmination of a season where both franchises largely lived up to their “super-team” hype. The only question now is: Who comes out on top when it counts?
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For the defending champion Aces, the series marks a third finals appearance in four years. For New York — which is making its first appearance since 2002, when it lost to the Los Angeles Sparks — it is a chance to win the franchise’s first title.
Here’s what you need to know to get up to speed:
Las Vegas (34-6) and New York (32-8) met four times in the regular season, with both teams winning their two home contests. They also met in the Commissioner’s Cup, where the Liberty cruised past the Aces.
The 2023 WNBA Finals will mark the fifth time the Liberty have been in the league’s championship series. Each of the first four, however, the Liberty lost, with their last appearance coming in 2002. Of the original WNBA franchises still in existence, New York is the lone team that has never won a title. Throughout the regular season, coach Sandy Brondello stressed process and daily improvement over fixation with a title. But at this point in the season, the Liberty’s goal is clear. — Ben Pickman, women’s basketball staff writer
The WNBA hasn’t seen a repeat champ since 2002, and it had been six years since a reigning champ even made it to the finals before Las Vegas pulled off the feat this season. The Aces have talked about feeling the target on their backs all season, and that will be magnified against a roster that was seemingly specifically constructed to beat them. For all the talk about super-teams during the offseason, the one accomplishment that could warrant that moniker for Las Vegas and put this team in dynasty consideration would be winning consecutive titles. — Sabreena Merchant, women’s basketball staff writer
Breanna Stewart, A’ja Wilson or Jonquel Jones has won each of the last four WNBA MVP awards, and five of the last six. Jones has a double-double in every playoff game this year, and New York has lost just once all season when she records at least 10 points and 10 rebounds. Wilson, meanwhile, has scored 30 or more points in three of Las Vegas’ five playoff games, continuing to build on her historic regular season. Stewart has struggled the most in the postseason of the series’ three MVP winners, yet she played perhaps her two best playoff games of this season in Game 3 and Game 4 against the Connecticut Sun. Which team’s star bigs perform better will be instrumental in determining who emerges with this year’s title. — Pickman
Las Vegas and New York have the two most stacked backcourts in the league. Each starts three All-Stars on the perimeter — the Aces’ trio are all Olympic gold medalists while the Liberty have two world champs on their side — and the collective offensive firepower is overwhelming. That’s why this series could come down to which group can best defend the other.
For all their accolades, Betnijah Laney was the only player among the six to make an all-defense team this year, and she’s proven that she can slow Aces’ star Chelsea Gray. One of the Las Vegas guards, perhaps Jackie Young, will have to have a similar effect on Sabrina Ionescu for the Aces to keep pace. — Merchant
This series will be the first time in league history two former WNBA players will serve as head coaches in the WNBA Finals. Brondello played for three teams from 1998 to 2003. Hammon, meanwhile, played for the Liberty from 1999 to 2006, and for the San Antonio Silver Stars from 2007 to 2014. During Hammon’s on-court tenure in San Antonio, Brondello even spent time coaching Hammon.
“We have a lot of mutual respect,” Brondello said. “She was one of the smartest players around.” Now, they’ll pace the same sideline on the sport’s biggest stage. — Pickman
The Aces are -210 favorites to win their second straight title, per BetMGM. Wilson is the -185 favorite to be named Finals MVP, followed by Stewart at +300 and Ionescu at +900.
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(Photos: Wendell Cruz / USA Today)