The 2025 WNBA campaign has gotten off to a scintillating start for the New York Liberty and the Minnesota Lynx, as both franchises have won all eight of their matchups. If their current trend continues, it appears inevitable that the teams will face off in the WNBA Finals for a second consecutive year.
New York signalled their intent to retain the 2024 championship with seemingly genius acquisitions to strengthen their already star-studded roster.
Natasha Cloud, especially, has delighted fans with a string of impressive performances since her trade from the Connecticut Sun, accumulating 10 points, 6.6 assists, and 1.9 steals per game, while picking up her first WNBA Eastern Conference Player of the Week award in the process.
In the case of the Lynx, the continuing development of superstar forward Napheesa Collier has ignited their scathing revenge tour as they look to knock New York off their championship throne. The 28-year-old has averaged a whopping 25.1 points, 8.7 rebounds, and 2.1 steals per game and will have ambitions of snatching the MVP accolade out of the hands of the Las Vegas Aces' franchise star, A'ja Wilson.
Both the Liberty and the Lynx have been highly efficient on both ends of the court in 2025, scoring an average point differential of +19 and +10.1 per game which has resulted in the two 2024 WNBA playoff finalists being untouchable in terms of results.
However, an argument could be made that these incredible records are not solely a product of elite performances.
Strength of schedules favours the top franchises
There is simply no denying the devastating nature of New York's and Minnesota's performances; yet, fans should be guided towards the strength of the teams' schedules before making any early end-of-season predictions.
Out of their eight regular-season games so far, the reigning WNBA champions have only faced off with one franchise with a winning record, a triumph that saw them defeat the Las Vegas Aces in the first game of the 2025 season at the Barclays Center. The game finished 92-78 in favour of the Liberty. Breanna Stewart led the scoring with 25 points.
In comparison, Minnesota has also only matched up with one team that currently has a winning record: the Phoenix Mercury. The teams have met on two occasions during the 2025 campaign, with the Lynx narrowly defeating their opponents 74-71 on May 31. Then, blowing out the Mercury by 22 points in a 65-88 victory on June 4.
The schedule does not appear to get any more difficult in the next slate of games for the franchises, as Minnesota will travel to the Dallas Wings (1-8) on Sunday, June 8. New York will host the Chicago Sky (2-4) on Wednesday, June 11.
Supporters of either team will have an agonising wait to witness the enthralling rematch between the Liberty and the Lynx, with the fixture not set to take place until Wednesday, July 30. This will be a battle of the heavyweights, conveying a true representation of how prepared each side is to challenge for the 2025 championship.