{"id":191039,"date":"2025-10-05T08:54:11","date_gmt":"2025-10-05T08:54:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/191039\/"},"modified":"2025-10-05T08:54:11","modified_gmt":"2025-10-05T08:54:11","slug":"aces-x-factor-in-2025-wnba-finals","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/191039\/","title":{"rendered":"Aces\u2019 X-factor in 2025 WNBA Finals"},"content":{"rendered":"

The post Aces\u2019 X-factor in 2025 WNBA Finals<\/a> appeared first on ClutchPoints<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Under coach Becky Hammon<\/a>, the Las Vegas Aces<\/a> are currently fighting it out in what is their third WNBA Finals appearance in four seasons. The Aces finished second in the regular season with a 30-14 record and have largely depended on their \u201cBig 3\u201d of A\u2019ja Wilson, Chelsea Gray and Jackie Young.<\/p>\n

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Wilson in particular has been the standout, snagging her fourth overall and second-straight MVP award with averages of 23.4 points, 10.4 rebounds, 3.1 assists, 2.3 blocks and 1.6 steals per game. She was once again incredible in Game 1 against the Phoenix Mercury, finishing with 21 points, 10 rebounds and five assists as her team won 89-86.<\/p>\n

However, another particular aspect that has stood out as a norm this season has been the Aces\u2019 bench unit. The Aces\u2019 bench outscored the Mercury\u2019s reserves 41-16<\/a> in the first game, with the likes of Dana Evans and Jewell Loyd leading the charge.<\/p>\n

The Aces\u2019 reserves, apart from providing points, have consistently brought in energy and drive, giving their starting stars the breaks they need to continue producing at a high level.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe bench has really been a difference maker \u2026 I think we have the best overall bench that we\u2019ve had since I\u2019ve been here,\u201d Hammon had said before<\/a> the NBA Finals, per Yahoo Sports.<\/p>\n

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The Aces\u2019 reserves have shown up clutch in the postseason\"Stephen<\/p>\n

Stephen R. Sylvanie-USA TODAY Sports<\/p>\n

The analysis takes further depth when one considers that only in June, the bench unit was seen as an outlined weakness. Until the 89-81 victory over the Indiana Fever on June 22, the Aces\u2019 reserves scored an average of 16.2 points per game, ranking 12th out of 13 teams, with only the Los Angeles Sparks\u2019 bench unit scoring less<\/a>, per The Sporting Tribune.<\/p>\n

However, since then, things have changed dramatically. In Game 1, Dana Evans became the first player in WNBA history to get five three-pointers and four steals in a Finals game. She was the joint top-scorer with 21 points while Loyd added 18.<\/p>\n

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Those two, along with Megan Gustafson, who scored only two, accounted for 46% of the team\u2019s total points. However, the bench has not been crucial when it comes to scoring alone.<\/p>\n

Gustafson played 11 crucial minutes when Wilson needed rest, while players such as Aaliyah Nye and Kiah Stokes have also provided much-needed energy and defensive grit when called upon throughout the season. During the postseason, the Aces\u2019 bench unit has seen a huge uptick, now adding 20.8 points per game.<\/p>\n

Jewell Loyd and Dana Evans have proved crucial for the Aces\"Stephen<\/p>\n

Stephen R. Sylvanie-USA TODAY Sports<\/p>\n

Against the Mercury, the Aces\u2019 starting lineup was actually outscored 70-48. Kahleah Copper got 21 while Satou Sabally, Alyssa Thomas and Monique Akoa Makani also scored in double digits. However, Loyd and Evans have been constant fixtures throughout the postseason, with both coming up clutch in multiple games.<\/p>\n

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Evans, who averaged 6.6 points and 2.2 assists per game in the regular season, is now averaging 8.8 points and three assists per game. Out of nine postseason games thus far, she has scored in double digits five times, culminating in the 21-point display in Game 1.<\/p>\n

On the other hand, Loyd has also come up clutch when needed. She scored 27 points off the bench in the first two games against the Seattle Storm, had 10 against the Fever in Game 2, and produced 18 in her latest postseason outing.<\/p>\n

For a team that has seen consistent brilliance from its starters, the Aces\u2019 bench has also been impressive on both ends of the court. Hammon sees it as well, considering she had no qualms in proclaiming this bench unit as the Aces\u2019 best during her time with the franchise.<\/p>\n

The 2022 and 2023 championship runs also had bench stars who contributed. Players such as Alysha Clark and Cayla George proved crucial in 2022, while Riquna Williams, Kierstan Bell and even Dearica Hamby contributed in 2023. In such a scenario, Hammon proclaiming the current bench unit as the best certainly proves exactly what Game 1 did as well.<\/p>\n

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This Aces team is not merely limited to its gifted starters, and have multiple stars who can make a major impact in games, something which is likely to continue for the rest of the games as well.<\/p>\n

Related: Aces\u2019 A\u2019ja Wilson makes impressive WNBA Finals history in Game 1 vs. Mercury<\/a><\/p>\n

Related: Aces\u2019 A\u2019ja Wilson reveals why she wore Susie Carmichael A\u2019Ones in Game 1<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The post Aces\u2019 X-factor in 2025 WNBA Finals appeared first on ClutchPoints. Under coach Becky Hammon, the Las…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":191040,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[629],"tags":[4662,75328,12190,4652,8133,49,48,12199,38507,24659,2803,4661,16666,12202,95448,75329,3460,632,82904,16296,3461,4659,1611,82,630,15457],"class_list":["post-191039","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-wnba","tag-aja-wilson","tag-aaliyah-nye","tag-alysha-clark","tag-alyssa-thomas","tag-becky-hammon","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-chelsea-gray","tag-dana-evans","tag-dearica-hamby","tag-indiana-fever","tag-jackie-young","tag-jewell-loyd","tag-kahleah-copper","tag-kiah-stokes","tag-kierstan-bell","tag-las-vegas-aces","tag-los-angeles-sparks","tag-megan-gustafson","tag-monique-akoa-makani","tag-phoenix-mercury","tag-satou-sabally","tag-seattle-storm","tag-sports","tag-wnba","tag-wnba-finals"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/191039","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=191039"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/191039\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/191040"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=191039"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=191039"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=191039"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}