Las Vegas Aces Dealt WNBA Title

The Las Vegas Aces won the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) championship behind a game-high 20 points from finals MVP Chelsea Gray.  A'ja Wilson had a double-double and Riquna Williams scored 17 points off the bench to close out the Connecticut Sun 78-71 in four games.

It was the first championship in the franchise's first title and it was the first major sports championship for the city of Las Vegas.

The franchise began as the Utah Starzz in 1997 then moved to San Antonio in 2003 for 14 seasons before relocating to Las Vegas in 2018.  It was the third trip to the finals having come up short in 2008 and 2020. 

The Aces finished the regular season as the top seed with a 26-10 record then swept the Phoenix Mercury 2-0 in the first round and defeated the Seattle Storm 3-1 in the semifinals.  In the finals, the Aces won the first two games of the series 67-64, 85-71 before the Sun bounced back for a 105-76 in game three to avoid the sweep.  

The WNBA completed its 25th season with 12 teams.  The final standings of the regular season:

1. Las Vegas Aces (26-10)
2. Chicago Sky (26-10)
3. Connecticut Sun (25-11)
4. Seattle Storm (22-14)
5. Washington Mystics (22-14)
6. Dallas Wings (18-18)
7. New York Liberty (16-20)
8. Phoenix Mercury (15-21)
9. Minnesota Lynx (14-22)
10. Atlanta Dream (14-22)
11. Los Angeles Sparks (13-23)
12. Indiana Fever (5-31)

First Round:

• Las Vegas Aces defeated Phoenix Mercury (2-0)
• Las Vegas 79, Phoenix 63
• Las Vegas 117, Phoenix 80
• Chicago Sky defeated New York Liberty (2-1)
• New York 98, Chicago 91
• Chicago 100, New York 62
• Chicago 90, New York 72
• Connecticut Sun defeated Dallas Wings (2-1)
• Connecticut 93, Dallas 68
• Dallas 89, Connecticut 79
• Connecticut 73, Dallas 58
• Seattle Storm defeated Washington Mystics (2-0)
• Seattle 86, Washington 83
• Seattle 97, Washington 84

Semifinals

• Las Vegas defeated Seattle Storm (3-1)
• Seattle 76, Las Vegas 73
• Las Vegas 78, Seattle 73
• Las Vegas 110, Seattle 98 (OT)
• Las Vegas 97, Seattle 92
• Connecticut Sun defeated Chicago Sky (3-2)
• Connecticut 68, Chicago 63
• Chicago 85, Connecticut 77
• Chicago 76, Connecticut 72
• Connecticut 104, Chicago 80
• Connecticut 72, Chicago 63

Final

• Las Vegas Aces defeated Connecticut Sun (3-1)
• Las Vegas 67, Connecticut 64
• Las Vegas 85, Connecticut 71
• Connecticut 105, Las Vegas 76
• Las Vegas 78, Connecticut 71