Aces sweep, solidify dynasty with 3rd title in 4 years

PHOENIX -- The Las Vegas Aces defeated the Phoenix Mercury 97-86 in a dominant performance Friday night to win their third WNBA championship in four years and cement their status as the league's reigning dynasty.

The Aces completed a four-game sweep of the Mercury in the first best-of-seven WNBA Finals in league history.

Aces superstar and league MVP A'ja Wilson led the way in Game 4, finishing with 31 points, 9 rebounds, 4 assists and 3 blocks en route to earning Finals MVP honors. She said ahead of the clincher she thinks Las Vegas can set the bar even higher.

"That's a good steppingstone to a dynasty-type of feel," Wilson said. "Obviously, you want to win more to really solidify it. But this is something you can never take away from us."

The Aces were presented the championship trophy by embattled WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert, who was greeted with boos from the sizable contingent of Las Vegas fans who made the trip to Phoenix.

The Aces won back-to-back titles in 2022 and 2023 as the No. 1 seed after having the best record in the league. This season, they were .500 on Aug. 2 following a 53-point loss.

But through a subsequent 16-game winning streak to end the regular season, the Aces secured the No. 2 seed and weathered challenging first-round and semifinals series that went the distance, before putting together a dominant Finals run that solidified their super-elite status.

"This team has been through hell and back," said an emotional Chelsea Gray, who had 18 points, 4 rebounds and 4 assists. "Everyone stepped up ... we got the best player in the world in A'ja Wilson ... we champions."

Jackie Young added 18 points, 7 rebounds and 8 assists, while Jewell Loyd and Dana Evans combined for 22 points off the bench.

For the first 2½ months of the season, the Aces were not jelling. They lost their season opener by 14 points at New York, then hovered around .500 through June and July and had a losing record as late as July 25.

For most of the season, the Minnesota Lynx were atop the league standings and the presumed favorite to win the title after losing in the Finals to the Liberty a year ago. But New York fell in the first round of the playoffs, and Minnesota exited in the semifinals -- both at the hands of Phoenix.

The Mercury entered the Finals with a lot of momentum, but the Aces took it away. Las Vegas pulled out a close victory in Game 1, won comfortably in Game 2, and took Game 3 on Wilson's game-winning jumper with 0.3 seconds left.

In Game 4, the Aces led by 16 at halftime and 15 after the third quarter, during which Phoenix coach Nate Tibbetts was ejected in the third quarter after receiving two quick technical fouls. The Mercury, with assistant coach and former WNBA player Kristi Toliver guiding the team, rallied in the fourth quarter and got as close as six.

But the Aces held on and celebrated their third title on the road, after winning at Connecticut in 2022 and at New York in 2023.

Only the Lynx, Seattle Storm and Houston Comets (who disbanded after the 2008 season) have four WNBA titles. With Wilson and Young, both former No. 1 picks, still in their prime at ages 29 and 28, the Aces should be contenders to join that exclusive group.

Information from The Associated Press was included in this report.