PHOENIX — The Houston Comets, the Minnesota Lynx and, now, the Las Vegas Aces.
With their third title in four years, the Aces have firmly cemented themselves as one of the WNBA’s dynasties. And, by completing a sweep of the Phoenix Mercury on Friday night in the league’s first best-of-seven Finals, at a time when the level of play in the WNBA has never been higher, the Aces might just be the best team ever.
They have the best player on the planet in A’ja Wilson, the best facilitator in Chelsea Gray, the best two-way guard in Jackie Young and the best coach in Becky Hammon. Add in a bench that includes former scoring champion Jewell Loyd and sharp-shooter Dana Evans, and they could shatter the WNBA’s record for titles won by a single franchise before their reign is over.
‘I just think the evolving of the game — I left the game in ’14. These players are bigger, stronger, faster and more skilled just than it was 10 years ago,’ said Hammon, who faced both the Comets and Lynx during her playing career. ‘Those dynasties laid the groundwork, showed how winning should be done and really gave a lot to the W in so far as history. It’s really great to talk about it, but the skill set and the level that these guys are at, to me it’s not comparable.
‘These ladies are at the top of the game, and it is the best basketball the W has ever seen. From top to bottom.’
In fact, at this rate, the biggest threat to Las Vegas might be the next collective bargaining agreement. The current deal expires Oct. 31.
The Aces are an incredibly tight-knit group — the postgame press conference Friday night with Hammon, Wilson, Gray, Young and Loyd was a hilarious lovefest — and it’s hard to imagine them losing their core. But salaries are expected to soar, and every franchise will be throwing money at them. Heck, everyone else on the Las Vegas roster, too.
Not if owner Mark Davis has anything to do with it, however.
When Davis bought the Aces in 2021, he did so partly because he thought the players were being short-changed financially and he wanted to change that. Now that the players are about to cash in, Davis will be happy to pay the tab if it means keeping the dynasty going.
‘I’m going to keep everybody,’ Davis told USA TODAY Sports. ‘We have to see how this all shakes out, but yeah, obviously we want to continue what we’re doing it. It would be tough to break it up.’
It would be a shame, too. It’s hard enough to win one title, let alone enough of them to earn yourself the title of dynasty. If you are lucky enough to find yourself in that position, you do everything in your power to protect it and keep it going for as long as you can.
‘I’m grateful to be with this bunch,’ Wilson said. ‘And that ain’t the alcohol talking.’
That’s what makes this title particularly sweet, because it wasn’t that long ago the Aces didn’t look like playoff contenders let alone dynasty material.
In an eight-day span after the All-Star break, Las Vegas was walloped twice by the Minnesota Lynx. Not just beaten. Ground into proverbial dust, losing by 31 points the first game and 53 the second.
But the great teams figure things out. The Aces closed the regular season on a 16-game win streak. They would win 25 of their last 28 games, including all four against the Mercury. The 97-86 win over Phoenix on Friday night was their second by double digits in the Finals and fifth in the playoffs.
They joined the Comets as the only WNBA teams to win three titles in four years. The Comets won four in a row from 1997-2000.
‘To be here right now, after where we were in May and June, there were a lot of doubts besides in our locker room,’ Gray said. ‘We had confidence in each other. I’m just really proud of how we stayed the course and trusted the process the entire time.’
While the sweep might suggest otherwise, the Aces had to show that resolve in the Finals.
They led by 20 early in the third quarter Friday night, only to have Phoenix storm back and make a game of it, just as they did in Game 3. Despite not having Satou Sabally and Mercury coach Nate Tibbetts getting tossed after back-to-back technicals, they got within six points twice in the fourth quarter.
But the Aces are simply too good. Their run will end on their terms, not someone else’s.
‘We ran into a really good team,’ Tibbetts said. ‘We ran into a team that’s been through it together. We ran into a team that had the ultimate belief and trust that they could get it done.’
Gray and Young combined for 11 points during a two-minute span to put Las Vegas back up by double digits, 89-78, with 4:26 left. All that was left to do was uncork the champagne and start planning the parade.
‘This one hits different because it was different,’ Hammon said, choking back tears. ‘There was probably a lot more adversity than any of us anticipated. We’re all humans. But humans that wanted to get it right and get it right together.’
Get it right they did. And now they’re a team for the ages, pushing the bar by which all future WNBA teams will be measured to the highest of heights.
Follow USA TODAY Sports columnist Nancy Armour on social media @nrarmour.