WNBA FINALS: LAS VEGAS VS. PHOENIX

October 10, 2025

Kahleah Copper

Alyssa Thomas

Aces 97, Mercury 86

Q. For either of you, what are your initial takeaways or thoughts for this season?

KAHLEAH COPPER: I'm proud of the group. I'm super proud of the group. I think we've just battled, everything, all year from the start until now.

Just I wanted us to hear it. I wanted us to feel the celebrations. I wanted us to really feel that moment, feel the hurt, and hear what was the celebrations and just to let it just fuel us for the future.

Like I said, I'm just proud of this group, how we just continuously responded to adversity all year, and I wouldn't want to do it with any other group. I'm proud of what we were able to accomplish in just a short period of time.

Q. AT, this question is for you. As one of the leaders on this team, what was your message to the teammates after everything you went through this season?

ALYSSA THOMAS: Yeah, I think this team just showed what we're about. It's a game I don't think I ever been a part of like that, but super proud of how we fought, continued to play through everything. It's been a great season. No one expected us to even be here.

Of course it didn't go the way that we want it to end, but we have a lot to build on.

Q. I would just like to hear the two of you speak about each other's performances tonight, I mean, both of you guys. Kah, you just went to the rack time and time and time. No matter how many times you got knocked down, you went back up. Alyssa was playing with one arm. It was just gutsy. Could you talk about what the two of you saw in each other, please.

KAHLEAH COPPER: I think that's why I went out and harassed her to come here. I just got tired of competing against her in the f---ing playoffs, just battling against her. I'm like I've got to go get that one. That's the one I want.

I know just being out there, I know when I look to my left, we're going to war. I know it's about winning. It's about nothing but winning. You seen that she went down, and I'm like, you good? She went to the back, and I said, don't worry, y'all, she coming back. She going to be fine.

That's what I want. That's what I'm looking for in a teammate and a competitor and a winner. That's who I want to be around me in these times.

Yeah, that's who she is, and that's who I am as a competitor. I'm just going to get after it, and I'm just super proud of her.

This is what I expected from her. Just love competing with her. I'm done competing against you and all that.

ALYSSA THOMAS: The feeling is mutual. I know what I'm going to get from Kah each and every night. She wants it just as much as me. It's just fun coming into work every day and just -- it's really like a family. We go out there and compete and try to win each and every day. I love coming to work every day with her.

Q. A couple quick ones for Alyssa. How is your shoulder?

ALYSSA THOMAS: I'm good.

Q. When Nate was ejected, you guys kind of went on a bit of a push, a bit of a run there. Did you know kind of what was happening in the moment when he was ejected? And then did that fire you up a little bit?

KAHLEAH COPPER: I didn't know when he got the first tech, so I was confused about the ejection. I was trying to figure that out first. Then when he was gone, it's just like, you know, another form of adversity on the year. Let's just add on to it and let's just play harder.

That's what we're about. When you talk about Mercury basketball, when you talk about the Phoenix Mercury, period, we're never going to quit. We're going to get after it, and we can handle whatever you throw at us.

Q. I think you told Holly Rowe in your in-game interview that you didn't love how this game was officiated. What about it didn't you love?

KAHLEAH COPPER: It's cool. It's done. We don't even got to talk about that. It's cool. It's done.

Q. AT, kind of a followup. Nate said that he would like to see more consistency from the officiating and that he felt like earlier in the playoffs the refs were letting you play a little bit more. I guess I'm just curious, what would you want to see, in terms of changes, for officiating next year?

ALYSSA THOMAS: I think that's the main message everyone has been saying all year long is consistency. I think we've been asking for that for years, but it is what it is. It's unfortunate to get to this stage and you don't have it, but it's not the reason why you win or lose a game. The main message is just to leave that part out of it.

I think for us it was about us being better as a team through the series and just to leave the officiating out of it.

Q. Kah, when you said you wanted you guys to feel those celebrations and to hear them, I'm just curious, was that from the locker room, or were you in the tunnel watching it there?

KAHLEAH COPPER: No, just like immediately after the game I brought us all together, and I was like take a couple minutes, feel it, hear it. You hate this feeling. You hear the other team celebrating. Just remember what this feeling feels like. Remember the hurt. Just remember everything that you feel in this moment and then just let that fuel you for the future.

Q. Of course there's a lot of questions about the officiating, but how much do you balance that with the accountability of giving up 26 points from 18 turnovers?

KAHLEAH COPPER: There you go right there. That's why I didn't speak to it. I didn't speak to the officiating. I said -- and AT said it too -- that's not what the wins and the losses are about.

One thing about us, we're going to hold ourselves accountable. I didn't speak to the officiating, so there you go.

Q. Can you talk about trying to cover for Satou's absence, particularly some of the players that haven't been playing lately that came in to fill in tonight?

KAHLEAH COPPER: We've dealt with that all year, so that wasn't the reason also. And that's what we're about. We're about next man up. We trust the players that are not playing.

I said it before, these players have played in the beginning of the season, and they've held us down. They've put us in the position to be here now. So it's not about that either. We're built for it. The bench was ready.

Lani came in, she was ready for it. Lexi came in, she was ready for it. We could have went either way. Ready for it, that's what we're about.

Q. Just kind of reflecting on this entire playoff stretch for you all, obviously a lot of highs. You all talk about expectations and you all exceeding those. What do you feel like kind of kept you all from getting to that last kind of goal that you all had in getting to the championship round and ultimately finishing it off?

ALYSSA THOMAS: I think we relaxed when we got to The Finals. I think what made the run so special in the first and second round was how we played together. We moved the ball. We didn't complain or let anything bother us.

The Finals is hard for a reason. I've been saying every stage it gets harder, and The Finals is the hardest stage that you can be on. Definitely a learning experience for a lot of players in our locker room that have never been on this level, but still super proud of how our team fought and competed and never gave up.

Q. This is for either one of you. The X-Factor has come out and supported you not only throughout the season but through these Finals. What has that support meant for you, and what message do you leave them with?

KAHLEAH COPPER: X-Factor, you know how I feel about you all. I love you all. They were behind us, whether we were down 17 fighting for our life or up. All season they've been there. They have really been our sixth man. We love and support them.

Just X-Factor, y'all are one of them. Thank you for coming out all year.

Q. You talked about how much this group means to you, and no team is ever the same from year to year, but this year it's probably going to be more upheaval because of the CBA and free agency. How does that feel knowing that you guys got this close with a special group and that you might not have that chance again next year?

ALYSSA THOMAS: There's still a lot of what ifs. It's early to say what the new CBA is, but I think for me coming to a new team after being somewhere for 11 years, it was so much fun. Everyone welcomed me with open arms. It's been a while since I had a season like this where it's a lot of fun to come into work every day from your front office to the team.

Super grateful that I was able to have this opportunity, and I wouldn't have changed anything about this season.

Q. What have you seen from Kristi Toliver taking over as head coach after Nate Tibbetts got ejected tonight, and how do you consider her as a head coaching candidate for WNBA teams?

ALYSSA THOMAS: First of all, I'm just proud of KT with everything she went through this year, her time away from the team. For her to even come back this season, it meant a lot to all of us. What she went through, I don't know if I would have been able to come back after something like that.

Me and KT go way back, so just super proud of that, first and foremost, for her to even be here, but she's a phenomenal coach. She definitely deserves her chance as being a head coach, somebody that's played and really knows the game. She's ready for this moment.

KAHLEAH COPPER: I love KT.