After 12 games, the Las Vegas Aces had just five wins. For a team coached by Becky Hammon, a losing record was unthinkable—but there it was. Nothing seemed to click. Hammon’s constant postgame critiques weren’t translating into results, leaving both the team and fans frustrated. Things hit rock bottom when A’ja Wilson and Co. suffered a shocking 111-58 loss to the Lynx. A 53-point defeat? Simply unthinkable. Yet here they are now, just four wins away from claiming their third championship in four years. At the center of it all is A’ja Wilson, and she has a message from her boyfriend ahead of the finals.

“I feel like one thing I did do is send a message to them and just say if you weren’t embarrassed from yesterday, then don’t come into this gym. You’re not needed or wanted here. We need the mindset to shift because that was embarrassing,” said Wilson after the shocking loss to the Lynx — and something finally clicked from that moment on.

Not only did the Aces win 16 straight games to enter the playoffs, but A’ja Wilson led the charge every step of the way. In the 2025 WNBA regular season, she racked up 937 points and 407 rebounds, averaging 23.4 points and 10.2 rebounds per game. And Bam Adebayo couldn’t be prouder of her.

The Miami Heat center had big words for his girlfriend in an interview with Anthony Chiang of the Miami Herald. “That’s the biggest thing I want in life, I want her to win. I want her to keep being and setting a higher standard for everybody to where people think it’s impossible until it’s done. I want people, when she’s done, to be like this is the greatest women’s basketball player to ever touch a basketball. From the time she touched it to the time she left.”

She was rewarded for her outstanding regular season with the WNBA MVP for an unprecedented fourth time. Wilson previously won the award in 2020, 2022, and last season as the unanimous choice. Legends like Sheryl Swoopes, Lisa Leslie, and Lauren Jackson each won it three times. Only Wilson and former Houston Comets star Cynthia Cooper have won the MVP unanimously, with Cooper being the only other player to do so in consecutive years — now A’ja joins that elite company.

The league surprised Wilson by having Bam Adebayo present the MVP award ahead of Game 1 against the Fever in the semifinals. Right now, it’s clear where her focus lies: winning the championship, raising another banner in Michelob ULTRA Arena, and chasing WNBA immortality. Adebayo admitted the nerves he feels watching his girlfriend compete for her third consecutive championship. “A lot of stress, a lot of prayers,” he told Anthony Chiang in the same interview.

It’s not surprising, considering no one gave the Aces much of a chance this season.

A’ja Wilson and Co. defied odds

The Aces heard every doubter — the ones who didn’t even include Wilson in the MVP conversation after her unanimous win. The voices questioning the trade of a future first-round pick for NaLyssa Smith, after her struggles with the Fever and Wings. The critics who thought Las Vegas should just blow it up, believing championship contention had passed them after the team fell below .500 at the halfway point of the season.

“We are so close, we are so close to turning this corner, and let me tell you, when we turn it, we’re going to be scary.” Those were the words Coach Hammon used daily to motivate her team, helping them realize the potential within. The 17-game winning streak — finally snapped in the playoffs — saw Wilson dominate, averaging 26.1 points and 12 rebounds. She then topped 30 points in both elimination games against Seattle and Indiana.

This has been a season to remember for A’ja Wilson, with just four wins standing between her and basketball immortality. She won’t be alone — Jackie Young, the Aces’ No. 2, has been right there with her. Together, they became the first duo in WNBA playoff history to each score at least 30 points in a game, even pushing Indiana to overtime in a contest that refused to be settled.

This Aces team is far from a “one-player” team, as many have claimed. It will be fascinating to see how things unfold when the Mercury and Aces face off. The stage is set — the WNBA Finals are here. Who do you think will come out on top? Share your thoughts in the comments below!