Mark your calendars for October 8th, Sunday, WNBA fans. Game 1 of the highly-anticipated WNBA Finals between the league's two superteams the Las Vegas Aces and the New York Liberty is finally here. Will A'ja Wilson and the Aces win their second straight championship, or will Breanna Stewart and company bring the New York Liberty their first-ever WNBA title?

With all the storylines surrounding this Aces-Liberty series — from both teams being absolute powerhouses, to New York beating Las Vegas for the Commissioner's Cup crown, to Stewart winning the 2023 WNBA MVP over Wilson — expect this budding rivalry to go up a notch when the Finals are over.

As expected, the Aces enter this series as favorites. But don't expect Las Vegas to just easily waltz its way to the throne. The Liberty are just as loaded and motivated to make history for their franchise.

Nonetheless, the Aces do not seem like a team that went through a championship hangover. In fact, they were even much better in their title defense campaign and finished with a franchise record 34-6 mark this 2023 season. Las Vegas' hunger seemingly grew even stronger in the 2023 WNBA playoffs. The Aces enter the Finals with an unblemished slate and have defeated their opponents by 14.8 points per game.

There are good reasons to believe that Las Vegas will win back-to-back titles. Here are three reasons why the Aces will stop the Liberty in their tracks and win the 2023 WNBA Finals.

1. A'ja Wilson is locked in

Everything for the Aces starts and ends with A'ja Wilson. The two-time MVP is the engine that drives this team and will be the main reason why they will end up as back-to-back champs.

That's why it's hard not to see Las Vegas winning the 2023 WNBA title with Wilson so locked in during the playoffs. Wilson is also playing like she has something to prove. And she does. She wants to prove that she deserved to win her third WNBA MVP award. She has good reason to believe that, too.

Wilson had her best season yet. The 6-foot-4 forward a career-high 22.8 points, 9.5 rebounds, and 2.2 blocks while shooting 55.7 percent from the field. Her highlight of the season came on August 23rd, when she tied the WNBA record for most points in a game with a 53-point explosion in a win over the Atlanta Dream.

Stewart herself had her best individual season, but Wilson led the Aces to a better record overall. Las Vegas also had the best offense and defense in the league and those should have been major factors in Wilson winning MVP over Stewart.

Nonetheless, losing out may have sparked a fire under Wilson's belly. The lefty superstar has turned the dial up a notch in the postseason with averages of 25.8 points, 11.2 rebounds, and 3.2 blocks on nearly 60 percent field goal shooting. Wilson had three straight 30-point outings, including a franchise-record 38-point explosion in Game 2 of their first round series against the Chicago Sky.

With Wilson as locked in as she is, especially with the personal vendetta she has in Stewart winning MVP over her, the Aces should like their chances of winning two in a row.

2. The Aces have been rolling through the playoffs, while the Liberty have shown signs of struggle

Not only is Wilson rolling, but this entire Aces team is locked in throughout the postseason. Las Vegas has swept its way to the Finals so far, with an average margin of victory of 14.8 points. The Dallas wings did give them a bit of a test in Game 3 of their semi-finals series, but the Aces showed resiliency in the fourth quarter to enter the Finals with an unblemished slate.

Meanwhile, the Liberty have shown some cracks that the Aces can exploit. Many predicted the Liberty to steamroll through the Sun, just as they did in the regular season. But Connecticut shocked them with a 15-point win to open the semis. The Liberty did win three straight to make the Finals, but Sun gave them all they can handle. New York was just +1.5 throughout the four-gamer and had a true shooting percentage of 53.7 percent, well below its season mark of 57.7 percent.

Breanna Stewart, in particular, struggled mightily through the first four games of the playoffs, where she shot a sour 27.8 percent from the field and averaged just 16.8 points per game. Though she has slowly found her rhythm over her last couple of games, the No. 1 ranked Aces defense isn't going to make life less difficult for her.

3. The Aces enter as the fresher team

Another reason why Las Vegas will win the 2023 WNBA Finals is because they enter the Finals with fresher legs. Sure, both teams will already have some substantial rest when Game 1 tips off this Sunday, but the Liberty are still entering with more wear and tear on their bodies with the journey they took to get to the Finals.

Las Vegas simply just steamrolled to the championship round, save for Game 3 of the semi-finals. Meanwhile, New York went through more tightly-contested games throughout the postseason.

The Liberty players have also logged heavier minutes in the playoffs. Just compare the superstars from both sides. A'ja Wilson is averaging just 32.0 minutes per game, while Stewart is logging in 39.2 minutes a night. In fact, Stewie along with Betnijah Laney, played all 40 minutes in Game 4 against the Sun to ensure the Liberty get to the Finals.

Six Aces players log at least 21 minutes per game throughout the playoffs. Meanwhile, all five New York starters average at least 34 minutes per contest — even more than Vegas's superstar Wilson.