The Las Vegas Aces won their first WNBA title in franchise history 78-71 against the Connecticut Sun in a hard-fought back-and-forth game.
The game started off competitive until the Aces who were trailing 6-4 went on a 12-0 run to take a ten-point lead 16-6.
The Sun wouldn’t be stopped for long, scoring the next six points cutting the lead back to single digits 16-12 to end the first quarter.
Connecticut refused to go away, beginning the second quarter with a rally to trim the deficit to one. The Aces would counter with a 9-0 run, giving them a double-digit lead with half a quarter left.
Scoring for both teams would slow down.
Nothing was more obvious than the Aces' six-minute scoring drought, as both teams shot less than 35% from the field in the second quarter.
The first half would conclude with both teams not backing down, Aces would end up having the lead going into the half 30-28.
The third quarter was one of the most contested, with no team leading by more than four points at any stage.
One player that stood out was Aces guard Chelsea Gray, who scored 11 points and only missed one field goal while shooting 83%.
With the fourth quarter starting up the Aces only had ten hard-fought minutes ahead of them to deliver the first professional championship to Las Vegas.
The Sun tied the game at 67 with three minutes left after the Aces opened the fourth with a four-point advantage.
Aces guard Riquana Williams came through in the clutch for Las Vegas, going on a personal 8-2 run to put the aces up 75-71 with 53 seconds remaining in the game.
With the title on the line, Aces backcourt pair Kelsey Plum and Jackie Young sealed the victory, with Plum shooting a 6-foot jumper and Young converting one of her two free throws, the Aces won 78-71.
All season, Aces Head Coach Becky Hammon has used the term trust while discussing the squad, and when it counted most, she trusted Williams and it paid off.
"You don’t get the nickname Bay Buckets for nothing,'' said Head Coach Hammon. “So I know she has a lot left in the tank and I have the utmost confidence in her,” Coach Hammon said. “She knows she has the ultimate green light.”
ACES HARDWARE
Not only will the team be celebrating a championship but also a historic season where the Aces took home a bunch of hardware.
Some of the hardware they took home were All-Star game MVP, Most Improved Player, Coach Of The Year, MVP, and Defensive Player of the Year.
Aces Guard Kelsey Plum earned All-Star game MVP honors leading all scorers with 30 points. Plum knocked down five threes and shot 66% percent from the field.
Aces Guard Jackie Young took home the 2022 WNBA most improved award this season after averaging career highs in all categories. Young averaged 15.9 points, 4.4 rebounds, and 1.4 steals this season, an increase from 12.2 points, 4.1 rebounds, and 1.1 steals the previous season.
Jackie Young also upped her three-point shooting percentage from 25% in 2021 to 43% in 2022.
In addition to that the Aces won the commissioner cup in Chicago this season and Aces Guard Chelsea Gray took home the MVP award for that game. Gray finished the game with 19 points, five assists, and four rebounds.
A’ja Wilson was awarded the WNBA MVP and Defensive Player of the Year award for her spectacular season. Wilson joined Sheryl Swoopes as the only players in WNBA history to win MVP, Defensive Player of the Year, and a title in the same season.
Wilson set career highs in all categories, finishing fifth in scoring, second in rebounding, and first in blocks, while no other player in the league was in the top five in all three.
A'ja Wilson and Kelsey Plum also set a record by being the first duo to score 700+ points in a season. Kelsey Plum finished the regular season second in the league in scoring averaging 20.2 points per game, while A'ja Wilson finished fifth with 19.5 points per game.
Becky Hammon, the Las Vegas Aces' head coach, was named Coach of the Year in her first season. Hammon made history as the first former player to win Coach of the Year in her debut season.
The Aces broke attendance records throughout the playoffs with multiple sold-out crowds during their playoff run.
Aces Guard Chelsea Gray was the leading scorer in the closeout game, scoring 20 points, while also grabbing 5 rebounds and 6 assists earning Finals MVP for her amazing performance throughout the entire playoff run.
During her spectacular finals run, Gray scored 18.3 points per game on 58% shooting, with six assists and three rebounds per game.
Despite being passed over for WNBA all-star and first-team honors, Gray seemed to be pleased with her most recent award.
They can keep that all-star and that first team, I got the ring,” Gray said.
Championship Celebration
The Aces will celebrate their first major professional championship with a parade from Caesars Palace to the Bellagio on September 20th beginning at 5:30 pm.
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