All About Women’s Sports: The Las Vegas Aces Are Back-To-Back WNBA Champions

Photograph by Ian Maule/NBAE via Getty Images

By Claire Guest

The Las Vegas Aces recently defeated the New York Liberty to win their second consecutive
Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA) title on Wednesday, Oct. 18.

Las Vegas was the No. 1 ranked team entering the playoffs and lived up to their ranking,
sweeping the Chicago Sky 2-0, then completing a 3-0 victory over the Dallas Wings. Their one
loss in the playoffs came in the final series when they lost game 3 to the Liberty after dominating
games 1 and 2.

The Aces became the first team to win back-to-back titles since the Los Angeles Sparks in 2001
and 2002.

The Aces assembled a formidable “super team” from the outset of the season, but still faced
many challenges, including during the playoffs.

In the third game of the final series, the Aces lost two of their important starters, Chelsea Gray,
referred to as the “Point Gawd,” and Kiah Stokes, a defensive specialist. Gray and Stokes
sustained foot injuries and were unable to play what became the final game.

Candace Parker, a two-time MVP and three-time champion, signed with the Aces at the
beginning of the 2023 season. However, Parker missed the second half of the season after
requiring foot surgery in July.

Photograph by AP Photo/Frank Franklin II

Brenna Stewart, New York’s top player and runner-up in the championship, won the regular-
season MVP award, with Connecticut Sun star Alyssa Thomas placing second. A’ja Wilson, Las
Vegas Aces forward, finished third, just 13 points separated Stewart and Wilson.

“Third in MVP voting? Okay. Rest on that,” the Las Vegas Aces Head Coach Becky Hammon
said. “It’s a joke,” according to Just Womens Sports.

However, Wilson won the Finals MVP award this playoffs, after averaging 23.8 points and 11.8
rebounds per game.

Lebron James gifted Wilson with a custom pair of his own shoes before game 1 of the final
series. The shoes quickly went viral, yet many were left wondering when Wilson would get her
own signature shoes.

Hammon said, “she needs her own shoe. She is the two-time MVP. I’ll toot her horn because she
won’t. Olympic gold medalist, best defensive player two years running, her team’s (success)…
Stop. Stop,” according to Just Womens Sports.

James posted on social media regarding A’ja Wilson’s MVP performance, “her own signature
shoe,” according to Just Womens Sports.