Las Vegas Aces vs New York Liberty Prediction 5/17/25 WNBA Picks

The Las Vegas Aces and the New York Liberty meet Saturday in WNBA action from the Barclays Center. We will look at this from a betting perspective and determine the best bets for this game. Here’s a Las Vegas Aces vs. New York Liberty prediction.

Las Vegas Aces Team Preview

The Las Vegas Aces come into the 2025 season in the championship conversation once again after finishing the 2024 season with an overall record of 27-13 on the year, making the playoffs for the sixth straight season and sixth in seven seasons in Las Vegas. The Aces swept the Seattle Storm in the first round before losing to the Liberty in four games in the semifinals. The Aces do bring back the majority of their core four, led by three-time WNBA MVP A’Ja Wilson, Chelsea Gray and Jackie Young, but the rich got richer and it’s only appropriate that in Vegas, the Aces hit the jackpot by acquiring Jewell Loyd from the Seattle Storm, but it meant parting ways with mainstay Kelsey Plum. Loyd was the WNBA’s scoring leader in 2023 and even though 2024 was a step back, Loyd still averaged 19.4 PPG and in addition to the weapons that the Aces already have, it’s championship or bust for the Aces in Sin City.

New York Liberty Team Preview

The New York Liberty come into the 2025 campaign as your defending WNBA champions after finishing the year with a league best 32-8 record. The Liberty would knock off the Atlanta Dream and the aforementioned Aces before taking down the Minnesota Lynx in a thrilling winner take all game five to hoist the WNBA championship for the first time in franchise history. The Liberty bring back three all-WNBA players from last year’s squad, including two-time MVP Breanna Stewart, Sabrina Ionescu and Finals MVP Jonquel Jones. Natasha Cloud was brought in via trade to help bolster the void left by the departing Courtney Vandersloot, and Sandy Brondello has a lot of teams gunning for her squad to dethrone them as the defending champs.

Las Vegas Aces vs. New York Liberty Prediction

I’m on the Aces with the points in this one. I get why the Liberty would be favored, and against most teams I’d actually back the Liberty on banner raising night as I think that the narrative that the ceremony is a distraction is false and frankly overplayed for how little it’s actually been effective in recent years. However, the Aces and Liberty are rivals as two of the premier teams in the WNBA, and the Aces have some revenge on the brain as they felt they should’ve been in the finals last year and they’re the best team in the W but the Liberty derailed that train. The road team and the underdog has had a lot of success in the recent meetings between these two WNBA powerhouses, and I think that the points have some serious value in a star-studded matchup like this one. Give me Las Vegas and the points here.

Chris Ruffolo's Pick: Las Vegas Aces +4