2023 WNBA Finals

2023 WNBA Finals

Team Coach Wins Las Vegas Aces Becky Hammon 3 New York Liberty Sandy Brondello 1
Dates	October 8 – 18
MVP	A'ja Wilson
Eastern finals	New York Liberty defeated Connecticut Sun 3–1
Western finals	Las Vegas Aces defeated Dallas Wings 3–0
←  2022 WNBA finals 2024  →

The 2023 WNBA Finals, officially the WNBA Finals 2023 presented by YouTube TV for sponsorship reasons, was the best-of-five championship series for the 2023 season of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). The finals featured the first-seeded Las Vegas Aces facing off against the second-seeded New York Liberty. ^{[1] [2]} The Aces defeated the Liberty in 4 games, winning their second WNBA Championship in a row. The Aces became the first team in twenty one years, and only the third in history to repeat as WNBA Champions. ^[3]

Road to the Finals

Standings

#	Team v t e	W	L	PCT	GB	Conf.	Home	Road	Cup
1	x – Las Vegas Aces	34	6	.850	–	18–2	19–1	15–5	9–1
2	x – New York Liberty	32	8	.800	2	16–4	15–5	17–3	7–3
3	x – Connecticut Sun	27	13	.675	7	14–6	13–7	14–6	7–3
4	x – Dallas Wings	22	18	.550	12	11–9	11–9	11–9	6–4
5	x – Atlanta Dream	19	21	.475	15	11–9	11–9	8–12	6–4
6	x – Minnesota Lynx	19	21	.475	15	12–8	9–11	10–10	5–5
7	x – Washington Mystics	19	21	.475	15	9–11	12–8	7–13	5–5
8	x – Chicago Sky	18	22	.450	16	5–15	7–13	11–9	3–7
9	e – Los Angeles Sparks	17	23	.425	17	9–11	10–10	7–13	5–5
10	e – Indiana Fever	13	27	.325	21	5–15	6–14	7–13	2–8
11	e – Seattle Storm	11	29	.275	23	8–12	4–16	7–13	4–6
12	e – Phoenix Mercury	9	31	.225	25	2–18	8–12	1–19	1–9

Playoffs

Main article: 2023 WNBA Playoffs

	Round One: Best-of-3					Semifinals: Best-of-5					Finals: Best-of-5
	1	Las Vegas Aces	2
	8	Chicago Sky	0
						1	Las Vegas Aces	3
						4	Dallas Wings	0
	4	Dallas Wings	2
	5	Atlanta Dream	0
											1	Las Vegas Aces	3
											2	New York Liberty	1
	2	New York Liberty	2
	7	Washington Mystics	0
						2	New York Liberty	3
						3	Connecticut Sun	1
	3	Connecticut Sun	2
	6	Minnesota Lynx	1

Bold Series winner

In November 2021, the WNBA Board of Governors formalized a new playoff system that will structure the 2022 playoffs onward. The new playoff format scraps the single-elimination games of the first two rounds in favor of a best-of-3 quarterfinal round. As a result, all eight playoff teams, seeded according to overall regular season record regardless of conference (1 vs. 8, 2 vs. 7, 3 vs. 6, 4 vs. 5), will begin postseason play in the first round. Since 2016, seeds 3 and 4 received a bye to the second round (single game) and seeds 1 and 2 received a bye to the semifinals (best-of-5). In the first round series, the higher seeded team will host games 1 and 2, and the lower seeded team will host game 3 if necessary. In the semifinal round, no reseeding will take place, which means the winners of the 1 vs. 8 series will be paired with the winner of the 4 vs. 5 series as will the winners of the 2 vs. 7 and 3 vs. 6 series. The semifinal and final rounds will remain best-of-5 series in which the higher seeded team hosts games 1, 2 and (if necessary) 5 while the lower seeded team hosts games 3 and (if necessary) 4. ^[4]

The Las Vegas Aces qualified for the finals after finishing first in the regular season standings with a 34–6 regular season record. They defeated the Chicago Sky 2–0 in the first round and the Dallas Wings 3–0 in the Semifinals. This was the Ace's second straight finals appearance, and third appearance in four years. They are the defending WNBA Champions.

The New York Liberty qualified for the finals after finishing second in the regular season standings with a 32–8 regular season record. They defeated the Washington Mystics 2–0 in the first round and the Connecticut Sun 3–1 in the Semifinals. This was the Liberty's first appearance in the finals since 2002.

The Aces had an extra two days of rest coming into the finals, as their Semifinal series ended on September 29, but the Liberty had to play a fourth game in their series on October 1. The Liberty have had to play one games in their Semifinal rounds. The teams played four times in the regular season, with the teams splitting the series 2–2. The teams also met in the Commissioners Cup Final, which the Liberty won.

Summary

Game 1

The Liberty started game one off well, stealing a close first quarter 25–22. The game continued to be tight throughout the second quarter, which ended in a 24–24 tie. Therefore, the Liberty enjoyed a slim three point lead going into halftime. However, the Aces rallied behind the home crowd coming out of halftime and won the third quarter 26–16. They continued their dominance into the fourth quarter winning 27–17. Their twenty-point second half win took them to a seventeen-point game one win. The Aces only had five players score points, and four of them scored in double figures. The Aces were led by Kelsey Plum and Jackie Young who each scored twenty-six points. Chelsea Gray added twenty points and A'ja Wilson scored nineteen. The Liberty had five players score in double figures and were led by Breanna Stewart who had twenty-one points. Jonquel Jones scored sixteen points, Marine Johannès scored fourteen points, Betnijah Laney scored eleven, and Courtney Vandersloot rounded out the double digit scorers with ten points. The Liberty only had two other players score in the game. Jones continued her streak of double-doubles by recording ten rebounds. Jones now has the most double-doubles in a single postseason in WNBA history, with seven. ^{[5] [6]}

ABC, SN1

October 8 3:00 p.m. EST

Box Score

Las Vegas Aces 99, New York Liberty 82
Scoring by quarter: 22–25, 24–24, 26–16, 27–17
Pts: Kelsey Plum Jackie Young (26) Rebs: A'ja Wilson (8) Asts: Chelsea Gray (9)		Pts: Breanna Stewart (21) Rebs: Jonquel Jones (10) Asts: Courtney Vandersloot (6)

Michelob Ultra Arena Attendance: 10,300 Referees: Roy Gulbeyan Tim Green Fatou Cissoko-Stephens

Game 2

The Aces got off to a flying start in game two of the series, winning the first quarter by nineteen points, 38–19. The Liberty made a comeback in the second quarter, winning by eleven points, 25–14. However, it was not enough to overcome the first quarter defect and the Aces took an eight-point lead into halftime. Similarly to game one, the Aces came out of the halftime break strong and won the third quarter 28–13. The Aces took a twenty-three point lead into the fourth quarter and continued to dominate the game. The Aces won the fourth quarter by five points, 24–19. The Aces won game two by twenty-eight points and took a 2–0 series lead into the series games played in New York.

The Aces had four players score in double figures and were led by A'ja Wilson with twenty-six points. Jackie Young scored twenty-four points, Kelsey Plum scored twenty-three points and Chelsea Gray rounded out the double digit scorers with fourteen points. Wilson and Gray both recorded double-doubles in the game. Wilson by virtue of her fifteen rebounds and Gray via her eleven assists. The Liberty also had four double digit scorers and were led by Jonquel Jones with twenty-two points. Breanna Stewart scored fourteen points, Betnijah Laney added twelve points, and Sabrina Ionescu scored ten points. Stewart and Jones also scored double-doubles by having thirteen and ten rebounds, respectively.

ESPN, TSN1/4/5

October 11 9:00 p.m. EST

Box Score

Las Vegas Aces 104, New York Liberty 76
Scoring by quarter:38–19, 14–25, 28–13, 24–19
Pts: A'ja Wilson (26) Rebs: A'ja Wilson (15) Asts: Chelsea Gray (11)		Pts: Jonquel Jones (22) Rebs: Breanna Stewart (13) Asts: Betnijah Laney (5)

Michelob Ultra Arena Attendance: 10,232 Referees: Michael Price Eric Brewton Tiara Cruse

Game 3

The Liberty used the home crowd to their advantage in game three and got off to a 21–18 first quarter win. In the second quarter the teams were evenly matched, and the quarter finished 22–22. Therefore, the Liberty took a three-point lead into halftime in the must-win game three. The Liberty played lock-down defense in quarter three, and won 18–10. Taking an eleven-point lead into the fourth quarter, the Liberty didn't look back and won the fourth 26–23. They won game three by fourteen points in order to stay alive in the series. This was the Liberty's first win in the WNBA Finals since 1999. ^[7]

The Liberty had four players score in double figures and were led by Jonquel Jones with twenty-seven points. Breanna Stewart scored twenty points, and Betnijah Laney and Courtney Vandersloot scored twelve. Stewart had a double-double by recording twelve rebounds. This was the first game in the playoffs where Jones did not score a double-double. The Aces only had five players score points in the game, and three of them scored in double digits. They were led by Kelsey Plum with twenty-nine points. A'ja Wilson scored sixteen points, and Chelsea Gray scored eleven points. Wilson had a double-double with eleven rebounds.

ABC, SN1

October 15 3:00 p.m. EST

Box Score

New York Liberty 87, Las Vegas Aces 73
Scoring by quarter:21–18, 22–22, 18–10, 26–23
Pts: Jonquel Jones (27) Rebs: Breanna Stewart (12) Asts: Sabrina Ionescu (11)		Pts: Kelsey Plum (29) Rebs: A'ja Wilson (11) Asts: Jackie Young (5)

Barclays Center Attendance: 17,143 Referees: Maj Forsberg Isaac Barnett Randy Richardson

Game 4

New York again faced elimination at home in game four and they started the game strongly by winning the first quarter 23–13. The Aces fought back in a closely contested second quarter and won 17–16. The Liberty took a nine point lead into halftime. The Aces came out of halftime and played lock-down defense limiting the Liberty to only twelve points and they won the quarter 23–12. Heading into the fourth quarter the Aces held a two-point lead. The fourth quarter was a back and forth affair, with the Liberty won 18–17. However, the one point victory was not enough to secure the game and the Aces won by a point. The win secured them their second WNBA title in a row. The Aces prevailed in game four despite starting point guard Chelsea Gray missing the game due to injury.

The Aces had four players score in double figures and were led by Finals MVP A'ja Wilson with twenty-four points. Jackie Young scored sixteen points, Cayla George scored eleven and Alysha Clark added ten. Wilson recorded her third double-double in the Finals with sixteen rebounds. The Liberty also had four players score in double digits and were led by Courtney Vandersloot with nineteen points. Betnijah Laney scored fifteen points, Sabrina Ionescu scored thirteen points, regular season MVP Breanna Stewart was held to 3-17 shooting and scored ten points. Stewart recorded a double-double with fourteen rebounds.

ESPN, TSN1/3/4/5

October 18 8:00 p.m. EST

Box Score

New York Liberty 69, Las Vegas Aces 70
Scoring by quarter:23–13, 16–17, 12–23, 18–17
Pts: Courtney Vandersloot (19) Rebs: Breanna Stewart (14) Asts: Courtney Vandersloot (6)		Pts: A'ja Wilson (24) Rebs: A'ja Wilson (16) Asts: Jackie Young (7)

Barclays Center Attendance: 16,851 Referees: Michael Price Eric Brewton Tiara Cruse

Team rosters

2023 Las Vegas Aces roster
Players	Coaches
Pos. # Nat. Name Height Weight DOB From Yrs F 1 Bell, Kierstan 6' 1" (1.85m) 176 lb (80kg) 03-16-2000 Florida Gulf Coast 1 F 7 Clark, Alysha 5' 11" (1.8m) 167 lb (76kg) 07-07-1987 Middle Tennessee 10 C 81 Coates, Alaina 6' 4" (1.93m) 225 lb (102kg) 04-07-1995 South Carolina 4 G 51 Colson, Sydney 5' 8" (1.73m) 140 lb (64kg) 1989-08-06 Texas A&M 8 F/C 13 George, Cayla 6' 4" (1.93m) 192 lb (87kg) 05-01-1989 Australia 3 G 12 Gray, Chelsea 5' 11" (1.8m) 170 lb (77kg) 1992-10-08 Duke 8 F/C 3 Parker, Candace   6' 4" (1.93m) 184 lb (83kg) 1986-04-19 Tennessee 15 G 10 Plum, Kelsey 5' 8" (1.73m) 145 lb (66kg) 1994-08-24 Washington 5 C 41 Stokes, Kiah 6' 3" (1.91m) 191 lb (87kg) 1993-03-30 Connecticut 7 G 2 Williams, Riquna 5' 6" (1.68m) 165 lb (75kg) 1990-05-28 Miami (FL) 10 F 22 Wilson, A'ja 6' 4" (1.93m) 195 lb (88kg) 1996-08-08 South Carolina 5 G 0 Young, Jackie 6' 0" (1.83m) 165 lb (75kg) 1997-09-16 Notre Dame 4	Head coach Becky Hammon (Colorado State) Assistant coaches Natalie Nakase (UCLA) Tyler Marsh (Birmingham–Southern) Charlene Thomas-Swinson (Auburn) Athletic trainer Michelle Anumba (Duke Legend (C) Team captain (FA) Free agent (IN) Inactive (S) Suspended Injured

Depth Chart

Pos.	Starter	Bench
PG	Chelsea Gray	Sydney Colson
SG	Kelsey Plum	Riquna Williams
SF	Jackie Young	Alysha Clark Kierstan Bell
PF	Candace Parker	Cayla George
C	A'ja Wilson	Kiah Stokes

2023 New York Liberty roster
Players	Coaches
Pos. # Nat. Name Height Weight DOB From Yrs C 31 Dolson, Stefanie 6' 5" (1.96m) 235 lb (107kg) 1992-01-08 Connecticut 9 G 20 Ionescu, Sabrina 5' 11" (1.8m) 165 lb (75kg) 1997-12-06 Oregon 3 G 23 Johannès, Marine 5' 10" (1.78m) 134 lb (61kg) 01-21-1995 France 2 F/C 35 Jones, Jonquel 6' 6" (1.98m) 215 lb (98kg) 1994-01-05 George Washington 6 G/F 44 Laney, Betnijah 6' 0" (1.83m) 166 lb (75kg) 1993-10-29 Rutgers 7 F 8 Sabally, Nyara 6' 5" (1.96m) 204 lb (93kg) 2000-02-26 Oregon 1 F 30 Stewart, Breanna 6' 4" (1.93m) 170 lb (77kg) 1994-08-27 Connecticut 6 F 5 Thornton, Kayla 6' 1" (1.85m) 188 lb (85kg) 1992-10-20 UTEP 7 G 22 Vandersloot, Courtney 5' 8" (1.73m) 137 lb (62kg) 1989-02-08 Gonzaga 12 G/F 13 Willoughby, Jocelyn 6' 0" (1.83m) 180 lb (82kg) 1998-03-25 Virginia 2 C 21 Xu, Han 6' 10" (2.08m) 193 lb (88kg) 10-31-1999 China 2	Head coach Sandy Brondello (Western Sydney) Assistant coaches Olaf Lange Roneeka Hodges (Florida State) Zach O'Brien (Saint Joseph's College of Maine) Athletic trainer Terri Acosta Strength and conditioning coach Emily Zaler Legend (C) Team captain (FA) Free agent (IN) Inactive (S) Suspended Injured

Depth

Pos.	Starter	Bench
PG	Courtney Vandersloot
SG	Sabrina Ionescu	Marine Johannès
SF	Betnijah Laney	Kayla Thornton Jocelyn Willoughby
PF	Breanna Stewart	Nyara Sabally
C	Jonquel Jones	Stefanie Dolson Han Xu

References

1. Negley, Cassandra (October 1, 2023). "Liberty advance to WNBA Finals to set up super-team matchup with Aces". sports.yahoo.com. Yahoo Sports. Retrieved October 1, 2023.
2. Feinberg, Doug (October 1, 2023). "Las Vegas Aces and New York Liberty set for WNBA Finals as top two teams face off". usatoday.com. Associated Press . Retrieved October 1, 2023.
3. Feinberg, Doug (October 19, 2023). "Las Vegas Aces become first repeat WNBA champs in 21 years, beating New York Liberty 70-69 in Game 4". Associated Press . Retrieved October 19, 2023.
4. "WNBA Approves New Playoff Format". WNBA. NBA Media Ventures. Retrieved 4 August 2022.
5. @ESPNStatsInfo (October 8, 2023). "Jonquel Jones has recorded a double-double in all 7 games in these playoffs. That is the most double-doubles, consecutive or not, in a single postseason in WNBA history" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
6. Anderson, Mark (October 8, 2023). "Young and Plum each score 26 points as Aces dominate Liberty 99-82 in WNBA Finals opener". AP News . Retrieved October 8, 2023.
7. Feinberg, Doug (October 15, 2023). "Jones and Stewart help Liberty avoid sweep, take Game 3 of WNBA Finals, beat Aces 87-73". AP News . Retrieved October 15, 2023.

External links

• WNBA Playoffs Home