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\u2019s first-ever best-of-seven finals, culminating with a resounding 97-86 road win, last Friday.\u00a0\u00a0Apparently, four is the Aces\u2019 lucky number. Their titles in 2022 and 2023 were both earned\u00a0in four finals games in a best-of-five finals series.\u00a0<\/p>\n
And their star,\u00a06\u20194 center A\u2019ja Wilson, is now in the conversation as to who is the best women\u2019s player in the history\u00a0of 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\u00a0the 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.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe worked our butts off to get to this point. And now it\u2019s time to have some fun,\u201d Wilson joyfully expressed after the No. 2 seed Aces took down the No. 4 seed Mercury. Indeed, the Aces didn\u2019t have the look of a championship squad on July 10\u00a0when 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.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The players praised Hammon and spoke about the relationships she built with them through adversity,\u00a0understanding\u00a0the ebbs and flows of long campaigns, experience gained during a 16-year WNBA playing career, eight of those with the New York Liberty. The\u00a0Aces\u2019 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\u00a0round playoff series and then a dramatic 107-98 overtime victory against the unwavering Indiana Fever in Game 5\u00a0of\u00a0their best-of-five semi-finals matchup.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
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.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Embattled league commissioner\u00a0Cathy Engelbert\u00a0was\u00a0loudly\u00a0booed by the\u00a0crowd\u00a0when she presented the championship trophy\u00a0to the Aces\u00a0and\u00a0the MVP award to\u00a0Wilson.\u00a0A long and complicated postseason lies ahead as\u00a0the players and owners negotiate a new\u00a0collective bargaining\u00a0agreement, with many prominent players highly critical of Englebert\u2019s leadership and desiring her to resign. \u00a0<\/p>\n
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