It was what the Las Vegas Aces got accomplished in 2022 and 2023 that began so much of the conversation about if this team was the next WNBA dynasty alongside those of the Houston Comets in the late 1990s and the Minnesota Lynx of the 2010s.
Winning back-to-back championships – both on the road – both indicated that the Aces following the move from San Antonio, the drafting of A’ja Wilson and the acquisition by Mark Davis from MGM Resorts – were becoming a model WNBA franchise.
In 2024, Las Vegas was ousted from the playoffs at the hands of the New York Liberty which went on to defeat the Lynx in a thrilling five-game WNBA Finals to win its first-ever championship.
So much of the conversation around that time period was regarding the creation of a new WNBA rivalry between the Aces and Liberty – both of which have become model WNBA franchises. The Aces defeated the Liberty in four games in the previous Finals.
In many ways, New York was supposed to win in 2024 – and it was only fitting that the Liberty had to go through the Aces to get to the Lynx – and to history.
Las Vegas ultimately parted ways prior to the 2025 season with a franchise cornerstone in Kelsey Plum. The Aces traded Plum to the Los Angeles Sparks in a three-team deal which saw Jewell Loyd join Vegas.
Entering the season, the Aces were up there with the Lynx and Liberty as championship contenders. But, throughout much of 2025 – as was also the case in 2024, Las Vegas’ play did not meet expectations.
At one point, Becky Hammon’s team was 14-14. One did not have to strain to find a piece written on if the Aces were still the dynasty Aces we viewed in 2022 and 2023.
After all, one of those pieces appeared right here at Beyond The W.
But much more than the fingertips of any WNBA pundit did, what woke the Aces out from their slumber was a 53-point thrashing at the hands of the Lynx on the Aces’ own home floor. A team with one of the WNBA’s greatest ever in Wilson looked like a glorified lottery team in front of its home fans.
The final score was 111-58.
Following that embarrassing loss, something happened to this team because it took that defeat to Minnesota for Las Vegas to remember who and what it is. For many teams, they will look at that loss and begin greatly tempering their expectations for a potential postseason run.
The 2025 version of the Las Vegas Aces should send “thank you” cards to coach Cheryl Reeve, Carley Knox, Marc Lore, Alex Rodriguez and every player on that Minnesota roster – especially Napheesa Collier. Without that defeat, we are likely not talking about the Aces as our 2025 WNBA champions.
Someone ought to shout out Minnesota in a speech when the Aces have their parade this coming Friday in Las Vegas.
Without that loss, the Aces do not play their best basketball down the stretch. Without that loss, Las Vegas does not propel itself from being on the playoff bubble to the second overall seed in this season’s playoffs.
Without that loss, the Aces do not find a winning formula that sees Jewell Loyd coming off the bench as a compliment to Wilson, Chelsea Gray and Jackie Young.
Without that loss, Wilson does not go on a generational run that nets her a fourth MVP award. She also was co-Defensive Player of the Year and made the WNBA’s All-First Team. Young earned All-Second Team honors.
Ironically enough, Las Vegas’ Sept. 4 matchup with the Lynx was the biggest statement throughout this season. It told the rest of the WNBA that the Aces were back.
While Wilson did Wilson things and tallied 31 points, Collier was held in check as she only scored 12. That game was what sealed a fourth MVP award for South Carolina’s very own.
The Aces may not have had to officially go through the Lynx to earn a third championship – but in many ways, Las Vegas does not win this championship without the trials and tribulations sent their way thanks to the Lynx.
The 2025 version of the Aces are a masterclass in resilience. It is also a masterclass as to why it helps to be as battle-tested as Las Vegas is in postseason play. The Seattle Storm gave the Aces a major scare and Young’s late putback in Game 3 of that series saved Las Vegas’ season after collapsing in Game 2.
Then it was the semifinals where the Caitlin Clark-less Indiana Fever still gave the Aces problems because of how Odyssey Sims’ play complimented that of Kelsey Mitchell and Aliyah Boston. Las Vegas persevered.
And even though this Finals series will be in the record books as a Las Vegas sweep, we must remember that the Phoenix Mercury still had several players in Alyssa Thomas, DeWanna Bonner and Kahleah Copper who have been under the bright lights of the Finals before. In fact, Copper is a Finals MVP from the 2021 Chicago Sky.
But as we often say – the Aces have A’ja Wilson.
The Aces have Chelsea Gray.
The Aces have Jewell Loyd.
The Aces have Jackie Young.
The Aces also have Dana Evans and NaLyssa Smith.
And now, the Aces have a third championship.
Stakes were raised. And a dynasty has been declared.
