The Las Vegas Aces are a dynasty. They have moved into the pantheon of an all-time great WNBA franchise by winning their third title in the last four seasons, sweeping the Phoenix Mercury 4-0 in the league’s first-ever best-of-seven finals, culminating with a resounding 97-86 road win, last Friday. Apparently, four is the Aces’ lucky number. Their titles in 2022 and 2023 were both earned in four finals games in a best-of-five finals series.
And their star, 6’4 center A’ja Wilson, is now in the conversation as to who is the best women’s player in the history of the sport. After being bestowed her fourth regular-season MVP last month, Wilson, who scored 31 points in Game 4 (tied for the most in a title-clinching victory in WNBA history), garnered the series MVP. Thus, she stands alone among WNBA and NBA players to win the regular season scoring title (23.4), MVP, Defensive Player of the Year, and Finals MVP in the same season.
“We worked our butts off to get to this point. And now it’s time to have some fun,” Wilson joyfully expressed after the No. 2 seed Aces took down the No. 4 seed Mercury. Indeed, the Aces didn’t have the look of a championship squad on July 10 when they were two games under .500 at 9-11, battling injuries and performing inconsistently. But head coach Becky Hammon and Wilson held the team together, and the Aces surged into the postseason, going 18-1 in their last 19 regular-season games.
The players praised Hammon and spoke about the relationships she built with them through adversity, understanding the ebbs and flows of long campaigns, experience gained during a 16-year WNBA playing career, eight of those with the New York Liberty. The Aces’ collective resilience manifested in a razor-thin 74-73 win over the Seattle Storm in the decisive Game 3 in their best-of-three opening round playoff series and then a dramatic 107-98 overtime victory against the unwavering Indiana Fever in Game 5 of their best-of-five semi-finals matchup.
With guards Jackie Young (7 years) and Chelsea Gray (11 years), who have a combined 18 years in the WNBA, making immeasurable contributions along with other Aces, Wilson anchored a talented group that found ways to overcome all that could have stopped their march to the mountaintop.
Embattled league commissioner Cathy Engelbert was loudly booed by the crowd when she presented the championship trophy to the Aces and the MVP award to Wilson. A long and complicated postseason lies ahead as the players and owners negotiate a new collective bargaining agreement, with many prominent players highly critical of Englebert’s leadership and desiring her to resign.