LAS VEGAS — At shootaround on Wednesday morning, Chelsea Gray and Alysha Clark had a specific goal in mind: Too $hort was performing at halftime of Game 2, and the pair was trying to convince Becky Hammon to let them back onto the court in time to watch the show.
The way Hammon saw it, that was entirely in the players’ control. Her halftime message would be shorter if there were fewer clips, a.k.a. fewer mistakes, to go through during the break. So if the Aces wanted halftime entertainment, they’d have to be great during the first two quarters.
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As if Las Vegas needed any more incentive to open up a can of whoop-ass on the New York Liberty.
The Aces blitzed the Liberty to the tune of 38 points in the first quarter, a WNBA Finals record for an opening period, en route to a 104-76 victory and 2-0 series lead. They scored on seven of their first eight possessions and 15 of 20 in the first 10 minutes. Kiah Stokes and A’ja Wilson both splashed 3-pointers during that stretch, only the third time this season the frontcourt duo has cashed in on triples in the same game. New York blinked and was trailing by 12 within three minutes. A second-quarter run got the Liberty back into contact, but for the majority of the contest, these teams were operating on dramatically different levels.
It was a masterclass of an effort, arguably the best Las Vegas has looked in a season when the team set the all-time wins record in a WNBA season and maybe the best the group has looked since Hammon took over as head coach in 2022, which includes last season’s championship run. The performance rendered Hammon almost speechless.
“Those girls hooped today,” Hammon said. “Just hooped.”
The @LVAces defeat the New York Liberty, 104-76 to take a 2-0 lead in the finals
They're 1 victory away from being crowned back-to-back CHAMPS ‼️@YouTubeTV pic.twitter.com/Ef42J4l26r
— WNBA (@WNBA) October 12, 2023
All season, the Aces have rejected historical comparisons of their greatness, choosing to focus on the individual task at hand. They wanted to win each quarter and win each game rather than look ahead. Wilson denied the idea that Las Vegas could be defined as a super-team when the franchise had only one title. No one entertained the possibility of chasing the single-season wins record — most of the players weren’t even aware of the target number — or talked about becoming the first team in more than 20 years to repeat. The Aces have been an internally motivated group. Hammon says that she doesn’t coach the score — the goal is for the Aces to be the Aces.
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But there was always an undercurrent, one that Hammon and the coaching staff willingly acknowledged, that if this collection of players lived up to their potential, great things would happen. And with potentially one game remaining in this 2023 season, it is getting harder and harder to ignore the magnitude of the greatness that Las Vegas has put on display this year.
During this series, the Aces have scored the most points (203) through the first two games of a finals series that didn’t involve an overtime period. They’ve tied the Minnesota Lynx for the longest win streak in a single postseason. They haven’t lost a game since Aug. 28.
They won more games than any team in WNBA history this year, albeit in an extended season. They finished with the league’s fifth-best winning percentage of all time. They had four players named All-Stars for the second consecutive year. They had the best 2-point field-goal percentage in WNBA history outside of the bubble season. Wilson won her second defensive player of the year award at the age of 27, becoming the third player ever to win multiple MVPs and DPOYs.
And on Wednesday night, against a team that was theoretically engineered to specifically counter Las Vegas, the Aces ascended to another level. What was billed as a clash of super-teams has turned into one historically dominant group against another team that is chasing its shadow.
The MVP race may have been decided in favor of Liberty star Breanna Stewart, but Wilson has owned the matchup against her on both ends of the floor through two games. Wilson even took on the Jonquel Jones assignment in the second half of Game 2, tapping into her defensive versatility to help shut down both frontcourt players. The backcourt battle has been a total knockout in favor of Las Vegas. Kelsey Plum, Jackie Young and Chelsea Gray are running circles around their counterparts, outscoring them 133-59 over two games.
“Vegas are playing their best basketball at the moment,” Liberty coach Sandy Brondello said. “They rise to the occasion, and they all do. We couldn’t even limit anyone.”
GO DEEPER
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One of the most remarkable features of the Aces is their concentration of talent. For most of the playoffs, Las Vegas has run a rotation that is six deep, which shouldn’t be possible when the game is played with so much physicality and pace. While other teams around the league have worn down, even during the course of the regular season, this group’s superpower is its ability to keep digging in.
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When Candace Parker suffered a season-ending injury in July, Stokes took on the challenge as the starting center and was an integral force in the league’s best defense. When opponents played off of her, Stokes became more active with the ball in her hands, keeping the offense moving with her quick handoffs and screens, culminating Wednesday in her most productive offensive performance of the season. Without a capable scoring guard off the bench, as they had in the 2022 Finals, the Aces relied more heavily on their starting trio, and the three of them have consistently shown up. When the Aces felt that Wilson was snubbed for MVP, the whole team rallied on her behalf so that she didn’t have to defend alone.
Off the court, Las Vegas tries not to take itself too seriously. Even within games, the Aces plays with a flair and enjoyment that belies how talented and successful they are.
The results speak for themselves, though. And with one more win, it will be even harder to deny their place in history.
This much is clear: What we have seen from the Aces this season is undeniable greatness. No matter what Too $hort did at halftime, this is the best show in Las Vegas, and in the WNBA.
(Photo, from left, of Kelsey Plum, Jackie Young and Chelsea Gray: Ethan Miller / Getty Images)