Can you believe it? Coach Becky Hammon’s squad once hovered around .500 midseason, and now they’re in the Finals. And don’t feel guilty — even their HC had harsh feedback to share as they played. On July 3, when LV lost against Indy, Hammon called it “one of the worst games I’ve ever seen” and “a complete lack of professionalism.” But the Aces flipped the script and entered the playoffs with a 16-game winning streak. After all, the squad is led by four-time MVP A’ja Wilson, and to defeat LV means besting her — which is near impossible!

And that’s exactly how, with the help of A’ja Wilson, the Aces have dominated the Finals and are up 3-0. But winning isn’t enough for the team’s captain. The two-time WNBA champion is ensuring that she gets the championship title in her own unique way. She’s rewriting history while attempting to win. Just consider — she’ll be entering Game 4 against the Phoenix Mercury as the first player in WNBA history to record 300 points in a single postseason, cementing her name among the league’s all-time greats.

Not just that, she’s even moved to 3rd on the All-time postseason point ranking with her 1152 points. And, while doing this, she surpassed Candace Parker’s record of 1149 points. Well, accomplishing this feat is ain’t easy. She’s got to handle it all, pressure, criticism, while ensuring she stands out every time.

Though it was never about individual accolades. Yes, she’s got her fourth MVP title, she’s Co-defensive player of the year, but it all came along the way as she kept her eyes on the championship title.

Remember when she was first asked about Napheesa Collier’s comments? She simply said she didn’t get time to look at them as she was busy with the Finals. That’s the kind of focus she has on helping Aces win.

Even performance-wise, she’s just killing it with her average of 26.5 points with 10.1 rebounds per game in the postseason. For Finals Game 1, she had 21 points with 10 rebounds, whereas in Game 2 she scored 28 points with 14 rebounds. But the most impressive moment of the entire playoffs was her last game performance.

It came in the fourth quarter when the Aces gave up a 17-point lead and the game came down to one possession. Despite the tense situation, the Aces knew they could put the ball in the team captain’s hands. “We give the ball to A’ja and get out of the way,” Coach Becky Hammon said after the game. “That’s all the play was.” And yes, the trust Becky had, Wilson reflected on it. She delivered a turnaround jumper with 0.3 seconds left to lift the Aces to a 90-88 win, even when AT and DB, two guards, were defending her. “I feel like in that moment, if a coach has to tell me what to do, I do my job,” Wilson said. “She just drew up the play.”

This is the kind of phenom A’ja really is. But what makes her great is her mentality, too. Despite delivering a dominant 34-point performance in Game 3, she remained focused on securing the last win her team needed to secure the championship title. “It is for me as a leader — I have to make sure that our locker room isn’t complacent because we know that feeling of next man up,” she shared in the postgame press conference, referring to the injury of Satou Sabally, one of the big three from Phoenix’s roster.

While she offered empathy, she also ensured to warn her teammates. Being a two-time WNBA champion, she’s aware of the effect of losing a player due to injury on the rest of the roster. After all, the Mercury went on an 11-2 run when Sabally came out. So, she sounded the alarm, and her teammates listened.

LV Aces are back on top!

When the Aces entered the PHX Arena for Game 4, they had no mercy on Phoenix — not when Sabally went down, and not even when head coach Nate Tibbetts got ejected in the third quarter. They continued their run toward cementing one of sport’s greatest dynasties.

Finally, with a 97-86 win, the Aces claimed their third WNBA championship in four seasons with a complete four-game sweep. As expected, the team was led by A’ja Wilson, who had 31 points with nine rebounds to reign atop the sport.

She shot 7 of 21 from the field while making 17 of 19 free throws, controlling the game at both ends. All this was just enough to earn her second Finals MVP in three years. “God is good, He’s been working on this team from the jump… For us to be able to celebrate this, it’s truly special. We worked our butts off to get to this point, and now it’s time to have some fun,” Wilson shared while accepting her Finals MVP award.

But yes, it was “we” who got to this point. Even today, her teammates Chelsea Gray and Jackie Young added 18 points each, combining for seven of LV’s 12 three-pointers. Together, the trio combined for 67 of the 97 points the team scored. This is how it all went under the leadership of A’ja Wilson. And now, with a championship title, they’re signing off until next season!