Coming Up Aces!

09/19/2022

By: Jeff Yoder

Las Vegas Aces Win 1st WNBA Championship With Game 4 Victory (78-71)

Champs in the desert! The WNBA Finals went to Game 4 on Sunday afternoon, and there’s a first-time champion once again. The Aces — who led the series 2-0 before surrendering Game 3 — closed out the Finals with a Game 4 gut-check. Chelsea Gray (20-6-5) led the scoring while Riquna Williams caught fire off the bench with 17 points. Vegas ended the Finals on an 11-2 run in the final two minutes. League MVP A’ja Wilson pulled down the final rebound and dribbled it out before the celebration began. The 2022 WNBA season is coming up Aces!

 

Finals MVP: Chelsea Gray

With 20 points in Game 4, Chelsea Gray led the scoring for Vegas and packaged her third 20-point game of the series en route to the Finals MVP award. Gray averaged 21.7 points and 7.0 assists while shooting 61 percent in the playoffs.

 

Hammon Takes the ‘W’

For years, Becky Hammon made history as the first female assistant coach in the NBA. She shifted to her first WNBA head coaching position before the 2022 season, and it didn’t take long to make her mark. Hammon is the first rookie coach to win a championship in 26 years of league history.

 

Season in Review

The WNBA regular season saw five teams neck-and-neck down the stretch, but the Aces (W4) and Sun (W3) finished the season on hot streaks. Those runs continued through the postseason, but no one could keep pace for Vegas, who went 8-2 in the playoffs to capture the first pro sports championship in the city’s history.

 

Watch: Aces Win 1st WNBA Championship

 

Additional Storylines

B/R: Aces Win 1st Pro Sports Championship in Las Vegas History

ESPN: Aces’ Becky Hammon Silences Doubters, Becomes 1st Rookie Coach to Win WNBA Title

 

Photo: Maddie Meyer / Getty Images