The Las Vegas Aces are your back-to-back Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA) champions! The Aces clinched the title with a 70-69 nail-biting win over the New York Liberty in game four, and their superstar forward A’ja Wilson took home Finals Most Valuable Player (MVP) honors for her prolific efforts throughout the series.
The 2023 season culminated with the long-awaited matchup between these two foes, who ran away with the top two seeds in the league. With the win, the Aces win their second WNBA championship, striking rich once more and becoming the first team since the 2001-2002 Los Angeles Sparks to win back-to-back titles.
The two powerhouses were destined to meet in the WNBA Finals as they both built seemingly unstoppable forces this season. While the series had a few more blowouts than anticipated and injuries came into play, game four was one for the ages.
While star guard Chelsea Gray and center Kiah Stokes were ruled out for the Aces in game four, the Aces managed to earn the win. However, they did come out flat. The Liberty took off to an early lead, going up nine by the end of the first half, doing so with a barrage of threes and timely passing. The Aces came out high rolling in the third quarter though, eventually taking the lead with a 23-12 quarter.
The two foes went bucket for bucket in the final quarter. With the Liberty down two possessions, clutch buckets from guards Courtney Vandersloot and Sabrina Ionescu made things tight. Then, 2023 MVP Breanna Stewart came up huge with a block on fellow MVP candidate Wilson to give New York one last chance. Down one with five seconds to go, the Liberty swung the ball around to the open Vandersloot in the corner. The veteran who had sunk four threes that night let one go behind the arc for the win, but couldn’t find nylon as the Aces held on.
It was a great series, and the stars really showed out for the Aces on the biggest stage of all. Wilson highlighted the super team, with a superb performance in these playoffs. After falling short of winning the regular season MVP award, Wilson got the last laugh. She averaged just over 21 points a game and crashed the boards for 12.5 rebounds a game, putting an exclamation point on the series with a 24 point and 16 rebound night to help the Aces capture their second ring.
Las Vegas guard Kelsey Plum also played a crucial role in this series for the Aces. The 29-year-old proved to be a dangerous scorer throughout the series. She matched Wilson in the scoring column with just over 21 points a contest, and when the shots weren’t falling, she’d find her open teammates for the easy buckets.
For the Liberty, it was tough for them to find much consistency. The defensive prowess of the Aces was on display every night. You could say that Vandersloot and Ionescu disappointed as they struggled to find consistency from the field, and Stewart was not nearly as dominant as some had hoped. Forward Jonquel Jones was the hot hand in games one, two and three, averaging an efficient 21.6 points per game in that span. While each of the four had their efficient showings, they just couldn’t put it all together, finally falling in game four.
Congrats to the Aces! It was a fantastic season for the WNBA as a whole. It was one that strengthened the fan base, as well as the play on the court. It will be exciting to see where this league goes as it continues to grow and expand.
