Aces coach Becky Hammon wasn’t just good this season. She was excellent, phenomenal, amazing — or any other superlative that serves as a synonym.
Aces
Las Vegas Aces news, scores, highlights and game reports for the back-to-back WNBA champs, led by A'ja Wilson, Chelsea Gray and Kelsey Plum.
Chelsea Gray concluded perhaps the best individual postseason run in league history, converting 9-of-13 field goals and adding six assists in title-clinching win.
The Aces won the first two games of the WNBA Finals because they defended with effort and urgency. They lost the third one Thursday because they elected not to do either.
Kelsey Plum eradicated any memory of an atrocious Game 1 outing by scoring 20 on 7-of-13 shooting to go with seven assists in 35 minutes.
Turns out the Aces aren’t just an offensive juggernaut. They can win rock fights, too, defeating the Connecticut Sun in a defensive struggle in Game 1 of the WNBA Finals.
Becky Hammon played 16 seasons in the WNBA but never won a championship. She’s back in the finals now as coach of the Aces, who will play the Connecticut Sun.
Never before in WNBA playoff history had a lead changed hands three times within the final three seconds of regulation.
Aces forward A’ja Wilson played one of the best games of her career, finishing with 33 points, 13 rebounds and three blocks in a Game 2 victory over the Seattle Storm.
In a WNBA playoff game matching two former MVPs, the Aces’ A’ja Wilson scored just eight points and took only 10 shots, and was outplayed by the Seattle Storm’s Breanna Stewart.
Like the record 10,015 who attended the Aces’ regular-season finale Sunday, the Wednesday crowd was enthralled by the team that’s one win away from the WNBA semifinals.
Becky Hammon knows the best team doesn’t always win. But as the WNBA playoffs begin, she’s confident that her top-seeded Aces can win their first championship.
A’ja Wilson’s gaudy statistics are among the WNBA’s best, but even they tend to belie how her improvements have helped the Aces in Becky Hammon’s first season as coach.
The Aces are 15-7 at the All-Star break and talented enough to win the WNBA title, but their defense needs to improve and they are selfish at times on offense.
Wilson is staring down her second MVP because she’s so focused on the one thing missing from her increasingly impeccable resume, a WNBA championship.
He retires an unimpeachable advocate for the league and its players. The architect of the championship caliber team coached now by Becky Hammon.