"A'ja Wilson's one-of-one season didn't end merely with confetti so much as a deeper confirmation. When her Las Vegas Aces finished off a four-game sweep of the Phoenix Mercury on Friday night to become only the second team in WNBA history to win three titles in a four-year span, the final horn felt less like a climax than a verdict: the best team of the era led by the best player of the era. When the dust settled the 29-year-old from Columbia, South Carolina, had achieved a quadrafecta no player in the NBA or WNBA had ever managed: winning the scoring title, the Most Valuable Player award, Defensive Player of the Year honors and MVP of the finals in the same year."
"But anyone who watched the front half of the season knows this was the least expected of Aces' three banners. For most of the year Las Vegas didn't give the appearance of a playoff team let alone a champion. They staggered through injuries and misfires, dropped coin-flip games and wore the tightness of a group playing beneath its standard. If dynasties are supposed to hum, this one coughed and sputtered."
"To understand how we got here, flash back to 2 August, when the Aces were boat-raced by 53 points by the Minnesota Lynx on national television, the worst loss in franchise history and the ultimate stress test of the culture Becky Hammon has spent four seasons building. Las Vegas were a moribund 1414 then, six weeks from the finish line and barely in the postseason frame. Wilson walked out of Michelob Ultra Arena replaying the wreckage, drafting and redrafting a message she knew had to cut through without burning down what morale remained. She workshopped it with her partner Bam Adebayo, the two-time Olympic gold medallist and Miami Heat captain and then hit send to the team chat: If you weren't embarrassed fro"
A'ja Wilson led the Las Vegas Aces to a decisive championship, becoming the first NBA or WNBA player to win scoring title, regular-season MVP, Defensive Player of the Year and Finals MVP in one season. The Aces overcame a difficult regular season marked by injuries, inconsistent play and a franchise-worst 53-point loss, which tested Becky Hammon's culture. Wilson responded with leadership, crafting a galvanizing message with Bam Adebayo that refocused the roster. Las Vegas regained form down the stretch, swept the Phoenix Mercury in the finals, and secured the franchise's third title in four years, reestablishing the team as the era's premier dynasty.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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