October 11, 2025
A’ja Wilson, Aces Sweep Phoenix Mercury, Become The WNBA’s Latest Dynasty
The Las Vegas Aces became the second team in WNBA history to win three championships in a four-year span.
The Las Vegas Aces became the second team in WNBA history to win three championships in a four-year span, joining the Houston Comets as the only teams to accomplish that feat after they handily defeated the Phoenix Mercury 97-86 on Oct. 10.
In the league’s first seven-game championship series, the Aces and their superstar A’ja Wilson made history, as she became the first basketball player ever to win a regular season MVP, Finals MVP, Defensive Player of the Year, and a scoring title in the same season.
According to The Athletic, dynasties in sports are rare, and franchise players like Wilson are even rarer. After her record-setting play, which saw her set the league mark for most points in a single playoff run, Wilson joins a relatively short list of two-time WNBA Finals MVPs, the list includes Wilson, New York Liberty forward Breanna Stewart, former Minnesota Lynx forward Sylvia Fowles, former Phoenix Mercury guard Diana Taurasi, former Los Angeles Sparks center Lisa Leslie, and the only woman to win four finals MVP’s, former Houston Comets guard Cynthia Cooper.
As she told the outlet, Wilson’s coach, Becky Hammon, believes Wilson is on a trajectory that places her in her own category, and at this juncture in Wilson’s career, it’s hard to argue against her point, particularly after Wilson’s iconic game winning shot in Game Three and her 31 point, nine rebound effort in the close out game en route to another historic Finals performance.
“You have your Mount Rushmore, she’s alone on Everest,” Hammon said after the game. “There’s no one around.”
She continued, noting the important contributions the team received from All-Star guards Chelsea Gray and Jackie Young, and the path to the Finals that, at one point during the season, looked anything but a sure thing.
“I’m invested in their greatness and getting that out of them every day. This one hits different because it was different. There was probably a lot more adversity than any of us anticipated,” Hammon told reporters.
Gray chimed in, noting that despite the team’s early-season struggles, they didn’t unravel.
“To be here right now, and where we were in May and June. We had confidence in each other. I’m just really proud of how we just stayed the course,” Gray told reporters.
As ESPN previously reported, the relationship between Wilson and her “Point Gawd” Chelsea Gray is a big reason why the team was able to keep their collective heads after an Aug. 2 53-point drubbing by the Minnesota Lynx embarrassed them.
At one point, as Gray recalled to the outlet, Wilson’s challenge to her about her assist numbers lit a fire under her that helped ignite the Aces’ run from a fringe playoff team to the third overall seed.
Backup point guard Dana Evans credited Wilson as the stabilizing force during the team’s earlier trials and tribulations in her comments at the post-game press conference.
“She (Wilson) was the positive person (during our struggles),” Evans said. “She was the one sending texts, saying, ‘Hey, y’all, we good. Keep your heads up. Don’t get down on yourself.’ She’s just always been that positive.”
Aces team president, Nikki Fargas, told The Athletic in no uncertain terms that she, too, believes that when Wilson does finally hang up her jersey, she will be considered one of the greats, if not the greatest player to ever play in the WNBA.
“She’s a generational talent. A’ja Wilson, once finished playing, will be the GOAT,” Fargas said. “There’s not gonna be anything left for her to do. I just don’t want us to get tired of seeing and watching her greatness.”
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