Five years ago, Las Vegas was a town rife with vitality yet devoid of a single professional sports team. Over the weekend, the Las Vegas Aces became the first team to bring a championship to Sin City with their victory over the Connecticut Sun to win the WNBA title. Led by the astounding play of league MVP and Defensive Player of the Year A’ja Wilson, the Aces completed an astounding season that saw the franchise ascend to new heights.
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Boasting a league-best 26-10 regular season record, the Aces powered through the playoffs. They swept the Phoenix Mercury in the first round, then beat the Seattle Storm in four games before delivering the final blow to the Sun. Seemingly unstoppable guard Chelsea Gray took home Finals MVP, averaging over 18 points and 6 assists per game.
The championship is also the first for the Aces franchise that began as the Utah Starzz in the WNBA’s inaugural 1997 season. The team relocated to San Antonio, which would become home for fifteen years before relocating again to Las Vegas in 2018 – the same year Wilson was the No. 1 draft pick. The Aces already had another No. 1 pick from 2017 in Kelsey Plum and added a third in 2019 in Jackie Young, both of whom are now All-Stars. After getting swept in the 2020 WNBA Finals, the team signed Chelsea Gray – another All-Star – to cement a lethal starting lineup.
With such star power, the Aces needed a coach who could make all that talent coexist smoothly. Becky Hammon proved to be the ideal person for the job. After eight seasons as an assistant to Gregg Popovich, Hammon becomes the first rookie head coach in WNBA history to lead her team to a title. Assuming they can keep these star talents together, this certainly won’t be the last championship for the Aces.
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