7 reasons we’re so excited to watch the 2018 WNBA Finals

The 2018 WNBA Finals won’t be like any we’ve seen before. Stars Maya Moore and Candace Parker are noticeably absent from this years Finals, but a progressing league is bound to put on its best scoring display ever to excite a fleet of new fans.

The Seattle Storm set records this season in three-point makes and attempts, boasting a trio of All-Stars in Sue Bird, Jewell Loyd and the MVP, Breanna Stewart. Their opponent, the Washington Mystics, are playing in the franchise’s first Finals behind Elena Delle Donne, a former MVP who leads the pack of 6’5 unicorns.

This is a Finals matchup that should be competitive enough to make us forget we were robbed of Lynx vs. Sparks Round 3.

Whoever comes out victorious, this Finals will bring a lot of firsts. The Mystics have never won a title. The Storm’s Stewart and Loyd, 2015 and 2016 No. 1 picks, have never sniffed a playoff run like this. Though Delle Donne’s greatness has stood out for half a decade, she’s never been this close to a title, either. The coaches — Mike Thibault for the Mystics and Dan Hughes for the Storm— are both searching for their first championships after a prolonged period of excellence in the league.

The schedule is as follows:

Here’s why you should watch:

A decisive Game 5 brought the best out of Bird, the Storm’s legendary point guard who wore a clear mask across her face to protect her nose. She broke it less than 48 hours earlier after an elbow from her teammate, Stewart.

But the five-time broken nose veteran showed that injury no longer effected her, dropping 14 points in the final quarter to seal a trip to the WNBA Finals.

Masked Sue is fazed by precisely no one.

She drained shots from everywhere.

The WNBA is changing. Not only is the league becoming more analytically sound in cutting down its long two-point jumpers and increasing its shots from deep, but the players are evolving, too. Stewart and Delle Donne are two of the league’s best unicorns — 6’4 and 6’5 bigs who can dribble with the ball and launch from wherever.

Their versatility is impossible to match — except, of course, by the other.

Stewart won MVP in her third season scoring 22 points per game on 42 percent 3-point shooting, and eight rebounds.

Delle Donne was in the running with 20 points on 41 percent 3-point shooting and seven rebounds per game as well.

Now the towers will collide.

Aside from Bird’s broken nose, Delle Donne has been hit with injury too. In Game 2 of her Mystics team’s semifinals matchup with the Atlanta Dream, she went down awkwardly with a knee injury. Those around her feared she’d torn ligaments.

Instead, five days after she was diagnosed with a bone bruise, Delle Donne returned to the floor to post a double-double and win Game 4. Two nights later, she helped Washington beat Atlanta on its home court in Game 5.

She might not be at 100 percent yet, but a knee brace is holding her together.

Two years ago, at age 35, Bird was an unrestricted free agent able to sign with whatever team she pleased. Her career was coming to an end, and Seattle didn’t appear to be the place that was going to take her on a championship route anymore.

The Storm were rebuilding after Bird and then-co-star Lauren Jackson won a pair of WNBA titles. Bird had no attachment to the city of Seattle, growing up in New York and playing collegiately at the University of Connecticut.

But Bird ultimately believed in the system and Seattle hoops culture. She shook off ring-chasing thoughts of teaming up with long-time friend Diana Taurasi and the Phoenix Mercury or Tina Charles and her hometown New York Liberty.

And that seems to have paid off.

Aside from Taurasi, Toliver is the deadliest off-the-bounce shooter in the league. For her career, she shoots 39 percent, often against the opposing team’s best wing defender who won’t give her an inch of room.

Because you can’t.

From anywhere.

How the Storm defend Toliver could change the outcome of their series with the Mystics. As Delle Donne’s sidekick, those two can be lethal.

Seattle set the league record for 3-point shots and percentage . Each member of the team’s starting five is capable of launching from behind the line, which is how the Storm were able to outlast shot-swatters like Brittney Griner en route to the finals.

How do you stop this?

Coach Dan Hughes watched the Golden State Warriors in the offseason to pick up some tips, and their influence is noticeable. Screens are set everywhere for shooters, players are launching from way beyond the 3-point line, and there’s so much player movement that it makes defenses dizzy.

The future of the league outside of household names like Delle Donne, Stewart, and Bird are catching fire early.

Ariel Atkins

The Mystics’ 5’11 rookie wing wasn’t even one of the 12 athletes invited to the WNBA Draft in April. But she was selected as a first-round pick (No. 7) and Washington hasn’t looked back. The Texas product had 20 points in a decisive Game 5 win over Atlanta on Tuesday with seven offensive rebounds. She’s the first rookie since Candace Parker in 2008 to average 15 points per game in at least six playoff games, per Basketball Reference.

Natasha Cloud

Cloud was in the running for Most Improved Player of the Year award, as the Mystics point guard doubled her scoring to nine points per game on 44 percent 3-point shooting, 13 percent better than the previous season. Her improvement as a scorer helps explain the Mystics’ run to the Finals.

Jewell Loyd

The 2015 Storm No. 1 pick has taken some time to figure herself out in the pros, but as one of the best shooters in the league, she’s become a defensive focal point for opponents. A 37 percent shooter from deep scoring 15 points per game, she’s the perfect complement to Stewart and Bird.

The 2018 WNBA Finals nobody expected will be one to remember. It all starts on Friday night.