The 2025 WNBA Finals officially start on Friday. We know we will be seeing the Phoenix Mercury in the series, but their opponent is still up in the air. Game 5 of the Las Vegas Aces and Indiana Fever series on Tuesday will determine who gets the spot.
With that being said, we know a player from one of those three teams will be named the 2025 WNBA Finals MVP. This is an award given out at the end of the Finals, after a winner has been crowned, that puts a spotlight on who the panel deems the most valuable member of their championship-winning team.
Twenty-one different players have won this award since the first trophy was given out in 1997. Cynthia Cooper of the Houston Comets won the first four of these awards in 1997, 1998, 1999, and 2000. Lisa Leslie has won twice, along with Diana Taurasi, Breanna Stewart, and Sylvia Fowles.
Let's take a look at the rest of the previous WNBA Finals MVP winners.
Year | Player | Team |
|---|---|---|
2024 | Jonquel Jones | New York Liberty |
2023 | A'ja Wilson | Las Vegas Aces |
2022 | Chelsea Gray | Las Vegas Aces |
2021 | Kahleah Copper | Chicago Sky |
2020 | Breanna Stewart | Seattle Storm |
2019 | Emma Meesseman | Washington Mystics |
2018 | Breanna Stewart | Seattle Storm |
2017 | Sylvia Fowles | Minnesota Lynx |
2016 | Candace Parker | Los Angeles Sparks |
2015 | Sylvia Fowles | Minnesota Lynx |
2014 | Diana Taurasi | Phoenix Mercury |
2013 | Maya Moore | Minnesota Lynx |
2012 | Tamika Catchings | Indiana Fever |
2011 | Seimone Augustus | Minnesota Lynx |
2010 | Lauren Jackson | Seattle Storm |
2009 | Diana Taurasi | Phoenix Mercury |
2008 | Katie Smith | Detroit Shock |
2007 | Cappie Pondexter | Phoenix Mercury |
2006 | Deanna Nolan | Detroit Shock |
2005 | Yolanda Griffith | Sacremento Monarchs |
2004 | Betty Lennox | Seattle Storm |
2003 | Ruth Riley | Detroit Shock |
2002 | Lisa Leslie | Los Angeles Sparks |
2001 | Lisa Leslie | Los Angeles Sparks |
2000 | Cynthia Cooper | Houston Comets |
1999 | Cynthia Cooper | Houston Comets |
1998 | Cynthia Cooper | Houston Comets |
1997 | Cynthia Cooper | Houston Comets |
Who will be this years WNBA Finals MVP?
There are many different possibilities when it comes to who might take the honors this year. Of course, we don't even know who will be facing the Phoenix Mercury in the Finals yet. But if I had to give a name from each team of who I think might take the trophy, it'd have to be Alyssa Thomas, A'ja Wilson, and Kelsey Mitchell. They have all done incredible things for their teams this postseason, and were all frontrunners to win league MVP this season.
Alyssa Thomas has put the Mercury on her back more times this season than I can count. Through the playoffs, she is averaging 18.6 points, 8.4 rebounds, and 9.1 assists per game. Kelsey Mitchell has also been on fire this postseason. She is averaging 23.3 points per game with a 42.3 shooting percentage from the floor.
A'ja Wilson has already won league MVP, making her the first-ever four-time winner. She won Finals MVP back in 2023, and now she and the Aces might find themselves back in the championship. With the way Wilson has been playing this season, she could become the first player to win both league MVP and Finals MVP in the same season since Breanna Stewart did it back in 2018.