A’ja Wilson and the Las Vegas Aces are in rarified air.
The franchise won its third WNBA championship in four seasons, completing a sweep of Phoenix in the best-of-seven Finals on Friday night. Only Houston has done better over a four-season span, winning the first four titles in WNBA history from 1997-2000.
Wilson was a huge reason why the Aces were champions again after falling in the semifinals last season. She became the first player to win the regular-season MVP, Defensive Player of the Year and Finals MVP in the same season. The 29-year-old forward was the best player on the court and is already in the conversation for the greatest in league history.
Wilson averaged 28.5 points, 11.8 rebounds and two blocks in the Finals.
“You have your Mount Rushmore, she’s alone on Everest,” Aces coach Becky Hammon said. “There’s no one around.”
Whether Las Vegas can keep its run going depends a lot on how negotiations for a new collective bargaining agreement go. Most of the Aces, like a majority of players in the league, are free agents. The team could look very different next season if players decide to go elsewhere.
If Wilson, Jackie Young, Chelsea Gray and Jewell Loyd decide to stay, the Aces could keep this run going for a while. With a fourth title, Las Vegas would match Houston, Seattle and Minnesota for the most in league history.
“Vegas is the standard. We’re here for a reason. Took a little bit to get here,” Young said. “Proud to put on a Aces uniform every night.”
This might have been the most difficult of Las Vegas’ championships. The Aces had a 14-14 record in early August and were coming off a record-breaking 53-point home loss to Minnesota. That defeat could have torn the team apart, but instead it grew closer, and Las Vegas didn’t lose a game during the rest of the regular season, winning 16 straight. Including playoffs, the Aces went 25-3 after that loss.
“This team has been through hell and back,” Gray said. “What a run!”
The team was pushed to the brink in the first two rounds of the playoffs. The Aces needed a late putback by Young in the decisive Game 3 to advance past Seattle and then an overtime victory over Indiana in Game 5 of the semifinals.
“This one hits different because it was different,” said Hammon, who is 10-2 in the WNBA Finals. “There was a lot more adversity then any of us anticipated. At the end of day we’re all humans. We wanted to get it right and get it right together.”
This Finals, which was the first best-of-seven series in league history, only lasted four games. The series was a bit more competitive than the sweep would indicate as Phoenix had a chance in Game 1, missing two late free throws. Wilson hit a game-winner with 0.3 seconds left in Game 3.
Now the WNBA and Aces go into an offseason of uncertainty, with CBA negotiations the major topic of conversation.
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AP WNBA: https://apnews.com/hub/wnba-basketball
