WNBA Finals 2022: Las Vegas Aces win 1st title in franchise history; Chelsea Gray named Finals MVP
Aces beat the Connecticut Sun 78-71 in Game 4 for a 3-1 series victory. Ex-San Antonio Spurs assistant Becky Hammon becomes first person to win in first year as WNBA head coach.
Basketball
The Las Vegas Aces won their first WNBA championship on Sunday (18 September), when they beat the Connecticut Sun 78-71 to capture the series 3-1.
Chelsea Gray, who led the Aces with 20 points, was named Finals MVP after averaging 18.3 points per game over the four games.
"We didn't like that feeling we had last year", said Gray, who also averaged six assists for the series. "My teammates are awesome. I worked so hard for this.
"It was a tough moment, but it built character. It was setting something up for the following year.
"I got the ring".
Courtney Williams had 17 points to pace the Sun, who had forced Game 4 by blowing out the Aces on Thursday. Alyssa Thomas had a triple double for the second straight game with 11 points, 11 assists and 10 rebounds but it was not enough to send the series back to Las Vegas.
Becky Hammon, the former San Antonio Spurs assistant, became the first head coach in league history to win the title in her first season.
A'ja Wilson capped a remarkable season in which she won the league MVP, Defensive Player of the Year Award, made the All-WNBA first team and an Olympic gold medal last summer in Tokyo.
“You see it. You see it,” said Wilson, who played every minute of the game. “This is what we’re building. This is what we’re doing. This is it.”
The championship is also the first for a professional Las Vegas-based sports team. The Aces are owned by Mark Davis, who also owns the NFL's Las Vegas Raiders.
Next season, Las Vegas will look to become the first team to repeat as champions since the Los Angeles Sparks in 2001 to 2002.