Feeling the Burn: Why Burn City is Wrong About the WNBA Finals

With the opening game of the 2025 WNBA Finals inching closer, we wanted to have some fun with our sister site, Burn City and take in some predictions for the series between the Las Vegas Aces (30-14) and the Phoenix Mercury (27-17).

The Aces will take on the Mercury on Friday, October 3 at 5pm PT. The game will be nationally televised on ESPN.

Burn City did not disappoint. They had their own predictions about the finals.

J. Russell said, “Mercury in 6. Alyssa Thomas will hoist the MVP trophy for the series. Sure, Vegas has the star power and the dynasty talk, but the Mercury have the more balanced halfcourt answers. Thomas’ pace control, switchable defense, and late-game decision making give Phoenix the edge in a seven-game grind shown by this latest playoff run. Kahleah Copper’s downhill pressure bends Vegas’ help and frees Thomas to win the margin possessions. Definitely believe Copper will make late defensive plays that will lead to another Mercury chip.”

“Mercury in 6 and of course Alyssa Thomas edges out everyone for the series MVP. Thomas has just had an MVP-type of season. She has shown time and time again that she steps up when it matters. Her eight triple-doubles, which is the new single-season WNBA record, proves that she is amongst the greats, and will show that in the Finals. Mercury’s momentum is real, and the X-Factor can be the biggest game-changer,” Said Ben Bliklen.

Wendy was the odd one out of the Burn City crew. She said, “The will win the series but it will go the whole 7 games. I’m going against the grain here an I’m going with Satou Sabally for finals MVP. The Mercury have proven they can hang with the league’s best, but the Aces remain the standard. Sabally has been key, with Phoenix going 5-0 when she scores 15 or more points. She’ll need to stay hot, while the Mercury must continue leaning on their defensive identity, especially in late-game moments like their closeouts against Minnesota and New York.”

Of course Dice City reporters finished the predictions up with the heat. The general consensus: Aces in 6.

Paul believes that the Aces will raise the banner for the 2025 season. “5 – Aces raise banner. They’re 3-1 against the Mercury, I believe and while there were hiccups against the hungry Fever, the Aces are clicking, and asking Phoenix to go through New York, Minnesota and Las Vegas to win a ‘ship is a lot. But if Phoenix does pull this off, no title is more deserved.”

Paul does have a point, in the regular season, the Aces do hold a 3-1 advantage over the Mercury and the Aces did carve out a hard path to get here so the intensity and hunger is definitely there.

“Aces in 6. The Mercury’s depth and defense are going to give A’ja and company fits at points, but no team has hung as tough in the face of adversity as the Aces this season. When in doubt, I trust the team with the core that has been to the mountaintop before,” Dice City insider Derek said.

Robert said, “I’m not betting against the Aces but the Mercury scares me. I’m going 4-2 Aces but those new pieces on the Mercury are just really gelling and are playing with a huge chip on their shoulders. But they don’t have an A’ja and that is the X-Factor.”

The Aces have the championship experience and have built a roster that can compete for championship with the rest of the league. The Aces come into the finals battle tested after a hard fought battle with Indiana that literally went into overtime. They are built for this.

It will be interesting to see if this year’s finals will go down in history as one of the best and most competitive series the league has ever seen in its almost 3o-year history.