Alyssa Thomas, left, led all scorers with 20 points as the Mercury faced the Aces for the first time since being swept by Las Vegas in the 2025 finals.
Ethan Miller / Getty Images
LAS VEGAS — A week of celebration in Las Vegas came to an abrupt halt. The Aces launched the “Never Fold” documentary, A’ja Wilson debuted her A’Two sneaker at Caesars Palace, and the team received championship rings before their season opener against the Phoenix Mercury. But the good vibes ended quickly.
The Mercury won the opening tip, scored first, and never trailed, cruising to a commanding 99-66 win over the defending champions. Las Vegas became the first team to lose on ring night since 2018, when the Minnesota Lynx fell on a buzzer-beater to the Los Angeles Sparks—the same team they had defeated in the WNBA Finals the previous year.
This was the second time in three seasons that Phoenix faced the Aces in their opener after Las Vegas won the title. But it marked the first time the Mercury were the team the Aces beat in the finals, and Aces coach Becky Hammon acknowledged the emotional edge Phoenix would bring. “If I’m Phoenix, I’m coming in with definitely an edge, and sometimes that emotion is hard to match because they’ve been pissed off for the last six months,” Hammon said before the game.
Saturday’s performance proved the Mercury were far from the team that was swept last October. Phoenix played harder, executed better, and looked more complete. Alyssa Thomas dictated the pace with her playmaking, tallying nine assists and 20 points in 26 minutes. Natasha Mack finished well inside and did enough to disrupt Wilson on defense. Spot starter Jovana Nogic, who had only two practices with the Mercury during training camp before replacing the injured Sami Whitcomb, was lights out, scoring 19 points and hitting 4 of 5 from deep.
Las Vegas, by contrast, never found a rhythm. Phoenix walled off the paint, and the Aces settled for midrange jumpers early, finishing just 4-of-19 from 3-point range. Chennedy Carter, expected to provide scoring off the bench, was so poor defensively in her Aces debut that she didn’t get meaningful minutes until the game was out of reach in the second half.
The Aces suffered the largest loss by a defending champion in a season opener, and the sixth-worst defeat ever by a defending champion. It was also the Mercury’s biggest season-opening win in franchise history. Las Vegas tied the record for a defending champion’s worst defeat (38 points) during the 2023 season but went on to win the title that year. The Aces have plenty of time to turn things around.
Both teams have little time to dwell on the result, as they play the second half of back-to-back games on Sunday. The Aces travel to Los Angeles, while the Mercury visit Golden State.
