Aces prove mettle, help Las Vegas claim 'City of Champions' mantle

Move over Los Angeles, there is a new City of Champions in the West.

Thirteen months to the day after bringing home Las Vegas’ first national championship title in a major professional sport, the Las Vegas Aces did it again — becoming the first team to win back-to-back WNBA titles in 21 years. Moreover, they did it in a style that is befitting Las Vegas.

Just as our city has blossomed in the harsh and unforgiving Mojave, the Aces overcame unimaginable obstacles in their championship run.

At the beginning of the season, a repeat seemed almost inevitable.

After all, the Aces were led by Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame inductee and coach Becky Hammon, two-time league MVP A’ja Wilson; another two-time league MVP, Candace Parker; three other All-Stars, Chelsea Gray, Jackie Young and Kelsey Plum; and rising star Alysha Clark.

The roster was imposing, but injuries and other distractions, including foot surgery that sidelined Parker for the remainder of the season, forced the Aces to adapt.

They finished the regular season with a 34-6 record, the best defensive team in the league.

They were heavy favorites headed into the playoffs and demonstrated their dominance by sweeping the first two rounds and winning two of the first three games of the Finals.

But then, this week, came the news that Gray and starting center Kiah Stokes would both be out for Game 4 with foot injuries. Fortunately, like skilled card players, the Aces knew how to play the hand they were dealt and adapted yet again.

Asked how the team could prevail with two of their starters and three of their top seven players out with injuries, Hammon responded with humor, revealing the secret ace she was hiding up her sleeve.

“I’m toying around with starting Syd at the backpack position,” the Aces coach said of backup guard Sydney Colson. “She’s going to jump on Jonquel (Jones’) back and see if Jonquel can take her up and put her in the basket.”

The media wasn’t quite sure what to make of the comment, but Hammon simply laughed and finished the press conference.

Then, Wednesday night, her team put on a defensive clinic, holding the New York Liberty — a team that averaged more than 89 points per game during the season — to just 69 points in Game 4.

It was good enough for a victory, as the Aces scored 70 to secure their second title in as many years. In the process, they demonstrated some of the most highly skilled and entertaining basketball in the country — including the NBA.

“They’re professionals,” said Wilson after being named the MVP of the Finals. “I know a lot of people see us for the laughs, and we have a good time, but they’re professional basketball players at the end of the day, and they were ready when their name was called.”

“We’ve been facing adversity all season, playing without different players. ... We have some professional fighters,” said Clark, who was the recipient of this year’s WNBA’s Sixth Player of the Year award. “To weather the storm of everything we went through, to show up every single day. To be in this moment right now and do it together, it speaks volumes about us, our chemistry.”

That’s Vegas in a nutshell: a city born of adversity that has overcome everything from the harsh Mojave Desert to the deadliest mass shooting in modern U.S. history. Others may count us out and see us as little more than the adult playground of “Sin City.” Yet, we keep finding ways to come together, to support each other and to build a beautiful city filled with some of the most talented artists, entertainers, hospitality experts and yes, professional athletes, in the country.

We are a city that adapts and evolves to meet the challenges of the day.

These are attributes that ultimately define what it means to be #VegasStrong, a phrase we say so often that it’s almost become cliché, but that is true nonetheless. The Aces proved it yet again this week.

While the details have yet to be announced at the time of writing this editorial, Clark County Commissioner Michael Naft confirmed that Las Vegas would celebrate the Aces’ championship Monday.

We encourage all Las Vegans to join in the celebration.

The Aces raised the stakes in the WNBA and have graced our city with back-to-back championships. Now it’s time for us to raise the stakes of what it means to be fans, what it means to show support for the incredibly talented women who brought us our first professional sports championship and then went back for more.

Congratulations to the 2023 WNBA Champions, our Las Vegas Aces!