Las Vegas Aces stake dynasty claim with third WNBA title in four years

The Aces won the WNBA Finals on Friday over the Mercury, marking the team’s third title in four years. The Aces swept the Mercury in four games, marking an “unceremonious end to the first best-of-seven series.” Aces C A’ja Wilson became the first person in WNBA and NBA history to win MVP, Defensive Player of the Year, Finals MVP and a scoring title in a single season. Under Aces coach Becky Hammon, Las Vegas has “cemented itself as one of the premier dynasties” of the league (USA TODAY, 10/12). The Aces “cement their status as the league’s reigning dynasty,” in the first best-of-seven WNBA Finals in league history (ESPN.com, 10/11). The Ace’s championship parade is “planned for Oct. 17” (LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL, 10/10). The LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL ran with the headline, “Aces’ dynasty will go as long as Wilson, Hammon are together” (LAS VEGAS REVIEW JOURNAL, 10/11).

WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert was “on hand” to present the WNBA championship trophy to Aces owner Mark Davis amid the team’s celebrations. But as soon as Engelbert was handed the microphone by ESPN’s Holly Rowe, “heavy boos rained down on Engelbert.” The broadcast was “temporarily blurred as some fans even flashed inappropriate hand gestures” (USA TODAY, 10/12). When asked about the booing after the game, Aces G Chelsea Gray said, “We have great players. You need to treat them like that” (ESPN.com, 10/11).

THE ATHLETIC’s Marcus Thompson II wrote this WNBA offseason will feature “more drama than the mind of an inebriated reality show producer.” A new CBA “must be hashed out,” while two new franchises “will be added.” Perhaps the “wildest free agency period in sports history will commence.” This offseason is “shaping up to be unlike anything we’ve seen in major professional sports” (THE ATHLETIC, 10/11). In Minneapolis, Jim Souhan wrote a “little conflict is good for the sports business.” However, the WNBA “isn’t in conflict; it’s threatening its own progress, if not its own existence.” Souhan: “I don’t trust Engelbert, I’m hoping [Lynx F Napheesa] Collier will find a way to save the day.” What the WNBA is “facing is something closer to a nuclear winter” (MINNESOTA STAR TRIBUNE 10/11). Davis said on the CBA negotiations, “The last time I spoke about things like that, I got fined, so I think it’s better if I don’t say anything. I think they’ll work it out somehow. I hope. I haven’t been consulted” (ESPN.com, 10/11).