Dynasty in the desert: Aces sweep Mercury for 3rd WNBA title in 4 years

PHOENIX — Champagne soaked on her shirt and goggles on her head, A’ja Wilson walked into the postgame news conference at Mortgage Matchup Center on Friday holding a pink tambourine.

It was gift from Aces trainer Jerrica Thomas. It helped Wilson, the South Carolina native, feel right at home.

“Y’all know me. I’m a Southern girl from the Baptist church,” Wilson said as she shook the tambourine with her mother, Eva, laughing while sitting with reporters. “I think this was just letting everybody know that the word was strong today.”

It once seemed like nothing could top the boombox the Aces brought to the podium in Brooklyn two years ago when they put a stamp on the greatest season in WNBA history in 2023.

But you can do whatever you want when you’re a dynasty.

Wilson had 31 points and grabbed nine rebounds, and the Aces completed a four-game sweep of the Phoenix Mercury to win their third championship in four years with a 97-86 win in Game 4 of the WNBA Finals on Friday.

Wilson, who was named league MVP for the fourth time in her career this season, averaged 28.5 points, 11.8 rebounds, four assists and two blocks per game in the series to earn her second Finals MVP. She’s the first player in WNBA or NBA history to win the scoring title, MVP, defensive player of the year and Finals MVP in the same season.

Wilson now has three championships and two Finals MVPs in eight seasons. The talk of her being the WNBA’s greatest player is only going to grow louder from here.

“I still got a little bit more winning to do before you put me in that conversation,” Wilson said when asked if she considers herself the WNBA’s version of Michael Jordan. “But when you’re compared to the greats, when you’re compared to legends, that means you’re doing something right. And I’m so grateful.”

A season to remember

This season may have been Wilson’s greatest accomplishment yet.

The Aces were 14-14 and scrounging for answers three months ago. They lost a game by 53 points on Aug. 2 to the Minnesota Lynx, the WNBA’s best team in the regular season. The Aces weren’t playing to coach Becky Hammon’s standards, or the standards they set themselves during their back-to-back championship runs in 2022 and 2023.

But the team showed its mettle down the stretch. The Aces won their final 16 regular-season games and finished the year on a 25-3 run, including the playoffs.

“To be here right now and where we were in May and June, there was a lot of doubt besides in that locker room,” point guard Chelsea Gray said. “We had confidence in each other. I’m just really proud of how we stayed the course and trusted the process the entire time.”

Gray had 18 points in the championship-clinching win. Guard Jackie Young added 18 points, seven rebounds and eight assists.

Dynasty?

The Aces became the first team to win three titles in a four-year span since the Houston Comets won the first four championships in WNBA history from 1997-2000.

“Houston was amazing,” Hammon said. “They had a jump on the league. Those ladies did the groundwork, showed how winning should be done. But the skill set and the level that (the Aces) are at is not comparable.”

This postseason wasn’t easy for the Aces. They needed to win winner-take-all games against Seattle in the first round and Indiana in the semifinals to get back to the WNBA Finals.

Then they had to contend with a Phoenix team that defeated defending champions New York in the first round and upset the top-seeded Lynx in the semifinals.

Games 1 and 3 were decided by just two points. Wilson needed to hit a jumper with 0.3 seconds left to give the Aces a 3-0 series lead with a 90-88 win in Mortgage Matchup Center on Wednesday.

The Aces led by as many as 20 points Friday, but the short-handed Mercury cut their deficit to six in the fourth quarter despite playing without leading scorer Satou Sabally due to a concussion.

Overcoming adversity

Mercury coach Nate Tibbetts was ejected in the third quarter after receiving double technical fouls. Phoenix went on a 16-7 run to keep it close, thanks to a team-high 30 points from guard Kahleah Copper before she fouled out.

The Aces overcame a rough 7-of-21 shooting night from Wilson. She made up for it by going 17-of-19 from the free-throw line. The Aces shot 39 percent as a team.

But they found a way to climb the mountain for a third time. This journey was tougher than the first two, but the Aces found it sweeter this time around.

That much was clear when Hammon, who never lets her emotions get the best of her in public, let tears flow when talking about her team.

“I love being their coach. I love being their friend. I love being a phone call for them,” Hammon said. “I push them probably sometimes to dislike you a little bit, but I’m invested in their greatness and getting that out of them every day.”

Contact Danny Webster at dwebster@reviewjournal.com. Follow @DannyWebster21 on X.