Las Vegas Aces center A'ja Wilson (22) shoots against Phoenix Mercury forward Satou Sabally (0) during the fourth quarter of game one of the 2025 WNBA Finals at Michelob Ultra Arena. Stephen R. Sylvanie-Imagn Images

A'ja Wilson has historic performance in Aces' WNBA Finals Game 1 win

By Adam Gretz | Last updated Oct 3, 2025 10:59 PM ET

The Las Vegas Aces took Game 1 of the WNBA Finals on Friday night, defeating the Phoenix Mercury 89-86 to take a 1-0 series lead. To the surprise of no one, it was A'ja Wilson leading the way for the Aces in the win with a pretty historic performance.

A'ja Wilson's WNBA Finals dominance continues

Wilson is no stranger to the big stage that is the WNBA Finals, and she typically dominates when her team gets here. She did it again on Friday night by finishing with 21 points, 10 rebounds, five assists, a steal and two blocks in the Aces' win.

The 21-10 line is the one that stands out the most, because it's the fifth time she has reached those numbers in a WNBA Finals game in her career.

No player in the history of the league has done that more times on this stage.

Career WNBA Finals games with 20+ PTS, 10+ REB:

A'ja Wilson - 5
Sylvia Fowles - 4
Jonquel Jones - 3
Breanna Stewart - 3

Wilson totaled 21 PTS, 10 REB in Game 1 win to set the new record.
— Underdog WNBA (@UnderdogWNBA) October 4, 2025

She did that while shooting 7-of-16 from the field and finishing in a tie with Dana Evans for the game's top point total.

Wilson wasn't Vegas' only star in Game 1 win

As great as Wilson was in Game 1 — again — the Aces needed more than her to secure the 1-0 series lead. And they received plenty of help from an absolutely dominant bench performance that saw Evans and Jewell Loyd combine for 39 points, including 21 from Evans to match Wilson for the game-high in scoring.

Overall, the Aces received 41 points from their bench. The Mercury received just 16.

It's one thing to have one of the game's best players (which Vegas absolutely does in Wilson), but things get even tougher when you also have a bench that is capable of producing that many points in a WNBA Finals game.

Superstars are important and make teams contenders. But depth is what really can be the determining factor when it comes to being a championship team. The Aces have both and showed it in a big way on Friday.

Game 2 of the series is set for Sunday in Las Vegas with a 3 p.m. ET tip-off. The Aces will be going for a commanding 2-0 series lead.

Adam Gretz

Adam Gretz is a freelance writer based in Pittsburgh. He covers the NHL, NFL, MLB and NBA. Baseball is his favorite sport -- he is nearly halfway through his goal of seeing a game in every MLB ballpark. Catch him on Twitter @AGretz

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