2022 WNBA Finals: Aces beat Sun in four games to clinch first title in franchise history

The 2022 WNBA season came to a close on Sunday, when the Las Vegas Aces defeated the Connecticut Sun in the Finals to claim their first ever title. Winning 78-71 in Game 4, the Aces took the series, 3-1. Chelsea Gray was named Finals MVP after another strong outing of 20 points, five rebounds and six assists. For the Finals, Gray averaged 18.3 points and six assists, while shooting 58 percent from the field. 

After earning the No. 1 overall seed in the regular season, the Aces beat the Phoenix Mercury in the first round and the Seattle Storm in the semifinals. The Sun, meanwhile, took down the Dallas Wings and defending champion Chicago Sky. 

Another new playoff format debuted this year, as the league scrapped the first- and second-round byes in favor of a standard three-round bracket format. The first round was best-of-three, and the semifinals and Finals were best-of-five. The semifinals and Finals used a standard 2-2-1 format.

2022 WNBA playoff bracket

Here’s a look at the entire schedule:

Finals (best-of-five)

Sunday, Sept. 11 (Game 1)

• Aces 67, Sun 64 (Aces lead 1-0)

Tuesday, Sept. 13 (Game 2)

• Aces 85, Sun 71 (Aces lead 2-0)

Thursday, Sept. 15 (Game 3)

• Sun 105, Aces 76 (Aces lead 2-1)

Sunday, Sept. 18 (Game 4)

• Aces 78, Sun 71 (Aces win 3-1)

Semifinals (best-of-five)

Sunday, Aug. 28 (Game 1s)

• Storm 76, Aces 73 (Storm lead 1-0)
• Sun 68, Sky 63 (Sun lead 1-0)

Wednesday, Aug. 31 (Game 2s)

• Sky 85, Sun 77 (Series tied 1-1)
• Aces 78, Storm 73 (Series tied 1-1)

Sunday, Sept. 4 (Game 3s)

• Sky 76, Sun 72 (Sky lead 2-1)
• Aces 110, Storm 98 — OT (Aces lead 2-1)

Tuesday, Sept. 6 (Game 4s)

• Sun 104, Sky 80 (Series tied 2-2)
• Aces 97, Storm 92 (Aces win 3-1)

Thursday, Sept. 8 (Game 5)

• Sun 72, Sky 63 (Sky win 3-2)

First round (best-of-three)

Wednesday, Aug. 17 (Game 1s)

• Liberty 98, Sky 91 (Liberty lead 1-0) 
• Aces 79, Mercury 63 (Aces lead 1-0)

Thursday, Aug. 18 (Game 1s)

• Sun 93, Wings 68 (Sun lead 1-0)
• Storm 86, Mystics 83 (Storm lead 1-0)

Saturday, Aug. 20 (Game 2s)

• Sky 100, Liberty 62 (Series tied 1-1)
• Aces 117, Mercury 80 (Aces win series 2-0)

Sunday, Aug. 21 (Game 2s)

• Wings 89, Sun 79 (Series tied 1-1)
• Storm 97, Mystics 84 (Storm win series 2-0)

Tuesday, Aug. 23 (Game 3)

• Sky 90, New York Liberty 72 (Sky win series 2-1)

Wednesday, Aug. 24 (Game 3)

• Sun 73, Wings 58 (Sun win series 2-1)