The Las Vegas Aces made history on Sunday after winning the franchise’s first WNBA championship. What a perfect way to end a great season for the Aces, who captured the Commissioner’s Trophy earlier in the year and finished the regular season with a league-best 26-10 record.
Coach Becky Hammon had a breakout year as a rookie head coach, winning 2022 Coach of the Year honors in her banner year.
Chelsea Gray won the playoffs after averaging 18.3 points and 6.0 assists. The Duke alum dropped a game-high 20 points, five rebounds and six assists on 9-13 shooting from the field in Sunday’s Game 4 to beat the Connecticut Sun.
The series-clinching victory helped Las Vegas become the first team since the Washington Mystics in 2019 to have two different players win the regular season and Finals MVP in the same season.
Gray was joined by co-star Aja Wilson. Wilson took home league MVP after averaging 19.5 points, 9.4 rebounds and 1.9 blocks on 50.1 percent shooting from the field and 37.3 percent from beyond the arc.
As for Kelsey Plum, she brought home some silverware of her own after an impressive performance in the WNBA All-Star Game, dropping an All-Star Game record 30 points and bringing home the All-Star Game MVP.
The three join Sheryl Swoops, Cynthia Cooper and Tina Thompson from the 2000 Houston Comets team that won all three awards in the same season. Swoops won league MVP, Cooper won Finals MVP, and Thompson took home All-Star Game MVP.
When you have players who could be awarded MVP honors anyway, it’s bound to be a recipe for disaster. Although Gray was not selected as an All-Star or an All-WNBA team selection, her ability to step up in the big moments is what sets her apart from other stars in the league. The Aces guard proved it on the biggest stage of all, winning her second championship.
