Aces to open 2025 WNBA season against defending champions

By Callie Fin Las Vegas Review-Journal

3 weeks ago

Aces head coach Becky Hammon coaches from the sidelines during a WNBA basketball game between t ... — Aces head coach Becky Hammon coaches from the sidelines during a WNBA basketball game between the Las Vegas Aces and the Atlanta Dream at Michelob ULTRA Arena on Friday, Aug. 30, 2024, in Las Vegas. (Madeline Carter/Las Vegas Review-Journal)

Aces center A’ja Wilson (22) reacts to a call by a referee during game four of a WNBA semifinals playoff series between the Aces and New York Liberty at Michelob ULTRA Arena on Sunday, Oct. 6, 2024, in Las Vegas. The Aces lost 76-62, which ended their season. (Madeline Carter/Las Vegas Review-Journal)

The Aces will start next season with a reminder of how the last campaign ended.

The WNBA released its 2025 schedule Monday, and the Aces will open with a semifinals rematch against the defending champion Liberty on May 17 in New York.

It’s likely to be a tough first game, indicative of the changing of the guard in the growing league.

The matchup will be followed by another road game against the Connecticut Sun before the Aces’ home opener against the Washington Mystics on May 23 at Michelob Ultra Arena.

The Aces entered last season as the back-to-back champions and favored to win the title again. But their three-peat bid was cut short by the Liberty, who avenged their 2023 finals loss to the Aces, then defeated the Minnesota Lynx to win their first title.

Now, it’s a whole new world in the WNBA. The league will expand to 13 teams next season with the addition of the Golden State Valkyries, coached by former Aces assistant Natalie Nakase.

Four additional games will be played, increasing the season to 44 from 40. The playoffs will still see an eight-team field in a three-round format.

Commissioner’s Cup play will run from June 1 to 17 for the Aces. They will play six games in the tournament.

The event was introduced in 2021, pitting teams against each other for a $500,000 prize pool in the championship game. The teams with the best record in the Eastern and Western conference in Cup games will meet in the 2025 title game July 1.

Indiana will host the All-Star Game on July 19. The Aces boasted a league-high four players in the game last season — A’ja Wilson, Chelsea Gray, Kelsey Plum and Jackie Young.

The Aces will host their final three home games next season at T-Mobile Arena. Last season’s game against Caitlin Clark and the Fever on July 2 drew a sellout crowd of 20,366 — the largest for a regular-season game since 1999.

In September, the Aces became the first team in WNBA history to sell out of season tickets before the conclusion of the previous year’s regular-season slate.

The national and local broadcast and streaming schedules will be released at a later date.

Contact Callie Fin at cfin@reviewjournal.com. Follow @CallieJLaw on X.