WNBA Finals - who you got? | Page 3 | The Boneyard

WNBA Finals - who you got?

Who ya got?

  • Las Vegas

    Votes: 10 37.0%

  • Phoenix

    Votes: 17 63.0%

  • Winner in 4

    Votes: 2 7.4%

  • Winner in 5

    Votes: 4 14.8%

  • Winner in 6

    Votes: 12 44.4%

  • Winner take all in 7

    Votes: 6 22.2%
  • Total voters
    27
  • Poll closed .
GamecockFam said:
The last five minutes were intense but the build up was a snooze fest. For a while it was looking like the Aces were going to blowout the Mercury and I honestly was having trouble staying awake.
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Most of my stress was due to the baseball game, however the ending of this game sure didn't help matters. 😂
 
Wild game, all the way down to the last shot. I don't think Phoenix has a prayer now. Battling back from 17 down to tie it, only to lose on a tough fadeaway buzzer beater by A'ja Wilson. Just gutting and now they're down 3-0 and Sabally might be out next game.

Watching the game it seemed like if anyone breathed on A'ja Wilson, they called a foul. Definitely got star treatment from the refs. Alyssa Thomas also got star treatment in that she should've been in major foul trouble far earlier in the game. Reffing was balanced out by the fact that every non-A'ja Aces player seemingly got called for every ticky tack foul imaginable. I get why players (and fans) are frustrated with the officiating when some players get away with murder and others can't do anything.

All that said, I think in the next game or 2, A'ja Wilson cements herself as the clear cut GOAT in WNBA history.

At 29 and in just 8 season she'll have:
-3 Championships
-2 Finals MVPs
-4 MVPs
-3 Defensive POY awards
-4 Finals Appearances

Randoms/intangibles:
-buzzer beating winner in WNBA Finals
-single season scoring record in league history
-top 5 all time in playoff scoring, rebounds and blocks
-career 68.8% regular season win percentage
-led team to 2nd longest win streak in WNBA history
-her 2023 team was one of (if not the) best teams in WNBA history
-leading scorer and go to player on every team she's been on
-never had a poor finals showing


The only intangible she's missing is longevity, but through just 8 seasons her W resume is already more stacked than the likes of Parker, Taurasi, Leslie, and Catchings.

Going into the season I felt she was on par with a lot of the greats, but now I think this elevates her to a league of her own, and she likely has another solid 6-8 years performing at a high level.
 
bballnut90 said:
Wild game, all the way down to the last shot. I don't think Phoenix has a prayer now. Battling back from 17 down to tie it, only to lose on a tough fadeaway buzzer beater by A'ja Wilson. Just gutting and now they're down 3-0 and Sabally might be out next game.

Watching the game it seemed like if anyone breathed on A'ja Wilson, they called a foul. Definitely got star treatment from the refs. Alyssa Thomas also got star treatment in that she should've been in major foul trouble far earlier in the game. Reffing was balanced out by the fact that every non-A'ja Aces player seemingly got called for every ticky tack foul imaginable. I get why players (and fans) are frustrated with the officiating when some players get away with murder and others can't do anything.

All that said, I think in the next game or 2, A'ja Wilson cements herself as the clear cut GOAT in WNBA history.

At 29 and in just 8 season she'll have:
-3 Championships
-2 Finals MVPs
-4 MVPs
-3 Defensive POY awards
-4 Finals Appearances

Randoms/intangibles:
-buzzer beating winner in WNBA Finals
-single season scoring record in league history
-top 5 all time in playoff scoring, rebounds and blocks
-career 68.8% regular season win percentage
-led team to 2nd longest win streak in WNBA history
-her 2023 team was one of (if not the) best teams in WNBA history
-leading scorer and go to player on every team she's been on
-never had a poor finals showing


The only intangible she's missing is longevity, but through just 8 seasons her W resume is already more stacked than the likes of Parker, Taurasi, Leslie, and Catchings.

Going into the season I felt she was on par with a lot of the greats, but now I think this elevates her to a league of her own, and she likely has another solid 6-8 years performing at a high level.
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Not to ruffle feathers, but how would this be any different from Moore's WNBA career at this point? If she were to stop now, she would be seen as a Hall of Famer in my opinion.
 
cancontent said:
Not to ruffle feathers, but how would this be any different from Moore's WNBA career at this point? If she were to stop now, she would be seen as a Hall of Famer in my opinion.
Expand ...
A lot of similarities, but overall I think Wilson's case is better:

MVP: 4 >1 in favor of Wilson
DPOY: 3>0 in favor of Wilson
Finals MVP: 2>1 in favor of Wilson
Championships: 4>3 in favor of Moore

Moore only led the Lynx in scoring in 5 of her 8 seasons, Wilson has led Vegas in all 8. Regular season and playoff stats favor Wilson over Moore too.
 
GamecockFam said:
This thought had me wondering if an AI could spit out the average age of the MVP winner and it gave me some generic answer like 25-29. With that said, it referenced this thread from r/WNBA that I thought was enlightening. Generally speaking and not exclusive to GOATs, it seems that peak performance happens around the age 28-29 in the W.

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I ran the numbers (retired quant who doesn't crunch enough numbers in the average day 😉 ). The average age of the MVP is 28.3 . If you take out the first two years (Cynthia Cooper at 35 and 36), the average is 27.8.
 
.-.
Gamecockfan77 said:
I'm not blown away by her to be honest, but the results will play.

But having the best team will tend to do that.
Expand ...
What more could you want from her in her 4 year tenure?

2022: 26-10 regular season (1st in league), won championship
2023: 34-6 regular season (1st in league), won championship
2024: 27-13 regular season (4th in league), lost in semis
2025: 30-14 regular season (2nd in league), up 3-0 in finals series
 
GamecockFam said:
This thought had me wondering if an AI could spit out the average age of the MVP winner and it gave me some generic answer like 25-29. With that said, it referenced this thread from r/WNBA that I thought was enlightening. Generally speaking and not exclusive to GOATs, it seems that peak performance happens around the age 28-29 in the W.

Expand ...
27 is the often quoted peak for men's athletes where the accumulated experience and lack of physical decline are in best synergy. Maybe it is 28 now due to advances in nutrition and training slowing physical decline, but IDK that anything can be done for reaction times. Elite W peaks last longer than in the men's game.

Age at start of last MVP season (or 2025 season):
34, Cynthia Cooper
33, Lisa Leslie
33, Alyssa Thomas
33, Sherryl Swoopes
32, Jonquel jones
31, Tamika Catchings
31, Sylvia Fowles
30, Breanna Stewart
29, Della Donna
29, Napheesa Collier
28, A'ja Wilson
28, Lauren Jackson
26, Candace Parker
23, Paige Bueckers (TIL Bueckers is older than Boston and CC)
23, Aliyah Boston
23, Caitlyn Clark

So A'ja has about six more years where she could reasonably expect to win the award. The next three years are probably her best chance to add more awards though, as her late peak will compete with the prime of the three youngsters.

www.statmuse.com

Age Of WNBA Mvp Winners | StatMuse

Cynthia Cooper was 33 years old in her rookie season in 1997.
www.statmuse.com www.statmuse.com
 
bballnut90 said:
What more could you want from her in her 4 year tenure?

2022: 26-10 regular season (1st in league), won championship
2023: 34-6 regular season (1st in league), won championship
2024: 27-13 regular season (4th in league), lost in semis
2025: 30-14 regular season (2nd in league), up 3-0 in finals series
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Some believe her greatest coaching ability is arriving just as A'ja Wilson reached her mid 20's.
 
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Gamecockfan77 said:
I'm not blown away by her to be honest, but the results will play.

But having the best team will tend to do that.
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I get what you are saying, and you don't have to be blown away by coach Hammon, but this is the same team she had all season. The same team that lost to Washington twice this season. Coach Hammon is an excellent coach, and I wish people would put some respect on her name.
 
Wilson’s first MVP season was the COVID year in the bubble where a bunch of players sat out and the season was 24 games. She earned that MVP but it was Hammon’s first season that she became the most dominant player in the league. The new pace-and-space style spread the floor way better than Bill Laimbeer’s ever did but didn’t anchor Wilson inside either, and she started to feast on midrange shots at will. She’s had at least one season where she made jumpers at the highest volume and efficiency of anyone in the league which isn’t normal for a PF, let alone a C.

All that to say that it’s not as simple as Hammon getting to coach a team that had A’ja Wilson already. She’s developed tremendously under Hammon. And I was very critical of Hammon much of last year and early this year.
 
JellyBean said:
I get what you are saying, and you don't have to be blown away by coach Hammon, but this is the same team she had all season. The same team that lost to Washington twice this season. Coach Hammon is an excellent coach, and I wish people would put some respect on her name.
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I guess I'm not too impressed by a team with an mvp who was playing like an MVP being .500.

Or almost losing a 5 game series to Indiana.
 
JstVisiting said:
She was already there before Game 1.
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Yeah, but 3 time Champ plus 4 time MVP just puts her more over the top. Imagine where she'll be in another 5 years or so provided she stays healthy.

For that matter Gray is on the verge of becoming a 4 time Champ, which puts her in very elite company.
 
.-.
Surprised no comments here about how Sabally was helped(or not helped) after her concussion-producing injury last night. Plenty of strong criticism flying around about lack of stretcher or even a wheelchair. Very sad watching her being helped(almost carried) off the court. And a pathetic, rambling explanation by the Phoenix coach today.
 
Iluvacc2 said:
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Both Ionescu and Bueckers over Plum? Nah, not having it. LA disappointed, but Dallas was terrible, and NY also underachieved significantly. Sabrina was up, down and all over the place. Plum was ahead of both in scoring and assists. Bueckers may have shot better but Ionescu was worse. KP led them all in 3 point%, Bueckers had the best overall FG%. Ionescu was not good in either category. Like I said, that's a big NOPE from me.
 
nwhoopfan said:
Both Ionescu and Bueckers over Plum? Nah, not having it. LA disappointed, but Dallas was terrible, and NY also underachieved significantly. Sabrina was up, down and all over the place. Plum was ahead of both in scoring and assists. Bueckers may have shot better but Ionescu was worse. KP led them all in 3 point%, Bueckers had the best overall FG%. Ionescu was not good in either category. Like I said, that's a big NOPE from me.
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I think you have a good case for KP > Sabs and a weak one vs Bueckers. Paige had a shoe string cast, an in over his head coach, and was 100 percent the focus of defenses when Arike was out. And she still shot over most of them. I know, I watched her torch us. Oh, and if memory serves, she was one of the league's steals leader. Her D is legit.

KP was stuffing stats but honestly wasn't all that impressive to watch and she had a really strong supporting cast that spread the floor really well... And yet they had the same exact post season outcomes...
 
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Congrats, Las Vegas!! The new dynasty! Great win. Great season. Great playoff run. Phoenix? Well done as well. Nobody expected you guys to make it this far. The whole season it was my beloved Minnesota Lynx and the New York Liberty. Out of nowhere we had Atlanta, Las Vegas, and Phoenix. Las Vegas was a mystery all season. Atlanta and Phoenix, along with Golden State, were those surprise teams. Well done Phoenix and to the Mercury fans. Great season.
 
TheFarmFan said:
I think you have a good case for KP > Sabs and a weak one vs Bueckers. Paige had a shoe string cast, an in over his head coach, and was 100 percent the focus of defenses when Arike was out. And she still shot over most of them. I know, I watched her torch us. Oh, and if memory serves, she was one of the league's steals leader. Her D is legit.

KP was stuffing stats but honestly wasn't all that impressive to watch and she had a really strong supporting cast that spread the floor really well... And yet they had the same exact post season outcomes...
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Sabrina shouldn’t have gotten it. She faded the same way New York faded. Sabrina the greatest shooter in the game, right? She shot less than 30% from 3 this season. I would have Plum over Sabrina. I like Paige being there. She had better stats than basically every guard.
 
JellyBean said:
Congrats, Las Vegas!! The new dynasty! Great win. Great season. Great playoff run. Phoenix? Well done as well. Nobody expected you guys to make it this far. The whole season it was my beloved Minnesota Lynx and the New York Liberty. Out of nowhere we had Atlanta, Las Vegas, and Phoenix. Las Vegas was a mystery all season. Atlanta and Phoenix, along with Golden State, were those surprise teams. Well done Phoenix and to the Mercury fans. Great season.
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No love for the surprising Fever who took the Aces too the limit?
 
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