How A’ja Wilson led the Aces to a dynasty — and reached GOAT status

PHOENIX – IN THE MORNING after A’ja Wilson made the game-winning shot in Game 3 of the WNBA Finals — the basket that gave her Las Vegas Aces a 3-0 series lead and became the defining image of Wilson’s already storied basketball career — Aces coach Becky Hammon sent her superstar a graphic comparing a moose and a deer.

Hammon had used the comparison for Wilson weeks earlier, but Wilson, like most people, was unaware of the difference between the two. But when you see a bigger, stronger elk, said Hammon, who grew up in the Black Hills of South Dakota, you realize it’s in a class of its own.

Hammon tends to use analogies for Wilson: “You’re running out of adjectives,” she told ESPN. “That’s why I start using animals, mountain peaks and everything else to describe it.”

“I’ve been a gazelle, I’ve been a lion, I’ve been a moose this whole year,” Wilson told ESPN. “If you could put all of that into an animal, I think you’d get A’ja.”

But there’s one metaphorical theme Hammon has touched on often this season: an elk among deer. A great white among mako sharks. No longer on Mount Rushmore, but on Everest.

“By the time it’s all said and done,” Hammon said, “she’ll be the greatest that ever made it.”

Wilson lived up to that bill Friday, leading the No. 2 seed Aces to the 2025 title against the No. 4 seed Phoenix Mercury behind the first four-game sweep in Finals history.

With a 31-point performance in Game 4 (tied for the most title wins in WNBA history), she solidified her case for series MVP – and became the first WNBA or NBA player to win scoring, MVP, Defensive Player of the Year and Finals MVP in the same season.

Wilson celebrated with his Finals MVP trophy in one hand and a hot pink tambourine in the other, the clank of his jingles emanating from the field and into the bowels of the Mortgage Matchup Center late into the night.

Three weeks earlier, the greatest conversation of all time intensified after Wilson received her fourth league MVP award, becoming the first player in WNBA history to win that many.

But on Friday, as the Aces ascended to dynasty status with their third championship in four years, the victory marked Wilson’s official coronation.

Not like a great white or an elk. But as a GOAT.

LONG BEFORE WILSON became the best player in the world, she was heartbroken. Twice.

The 2018 No. 1 overall pick led the Aces to their first Finals appearance in 2020, during the COVID season in the IMG Academy bubble in Bradenton, Florida. Wilson had won his first MVP trophy this season, officially announcing his arrival as a superstar.

“And then I got my ass swept,” Wilson said. “…It motivates me almost every day.”

In the semifinals the following season, Wilson had the opportunity to send the Aces into overtime in a winner-take-all Game 5 against the Mercury. After receiving a pass from Chelsea Gray on the wing, Wilson dribbled toward the basket before being blocked by Brittney Griner — a play, Wilson said, that “broke a little girl’s heart.”

“It was my taste to say, ‘Oh, we could almost make it,’” Wilson said. “But to literally have it thrown back in my face, it was hurtful.”

Shortly after this run, Hammon was hired to replace Bill Laimbeer as coach. When she arrived in Vegas, she saw Wilson as an “incredible” talent who had room to grow.

Even with an MVP award, Wilson was still not considered the best player in the league. Breanna Stewart, already a two-time champion and two-time Finals MVP, was considered the best in the world. Jonquel Jones had just taken the stage in 2021 as MVP. Waiting backstage were Alyssa Thomas and Napheesa Collier.

But during his first year as coach, Hammon remembers telling others that Wilson – then 25 – would be the best to play the sport.

“She has no limits,” Hammon said. “She’s the biggest, she’s the most athletic, her skills, but also her willingness to make the right play.”

The last four seasons – three MVPs and three championships later – have propelled her to the top of the list, in large part because Hammon challenged her not to be put in a box. A dominant scorer and elite defender. An interior force who increasingly knows how to handle the ball, pass and shoot from the 3-point arc. Boasting the grace of a gazelle and the power and ferocity of a lion.

“She can reach a level that most players can’t reach,” said teammate Jewell Loyd. “It’s not just about her MVPs, it’s just the way she plays all the time. If she wants to have a bucket, she’s going to have a bucket. If she wants to stop, she’s going to stop. …

“We know all the work she does. When your best player does all that, we have no reason to cancel games.”

And this year, she brought the Aces back to the top of the mountain.

WHEN THE AS started the season 12-13, combined with their semifinal elimination last season had spectators wondering if their championship core had run its course. Wilson has seen people write off his team – even write him off.

But true greatness, Wilson said, comes when you’re battle-tested and show up for work anyway.

“Greatness is being patient, waiting your turn, waiting for your moment,” she reflected Friday. “And I think that’s what defines us, is you have to be great when the lights aren’t on. You have to be great when no one is in the gym with you. You might not get anything in the end. That’s what greatness is to me, because it’s consistency, and it’s just you doing the right things because it’s right.”

The Aces stayed the course – and ultimately got it all. Wilson propelled the Aces on a 16-game winning streak to end the regular season, opening an MVP race that many had deemed settled. With players tasked with running their own scouting reports, Wilson took the film to a whole new level, developing an even deeper understanding of opposing defenses.

“That’s an area that I think A’ja has really grown in as well, it’s just an ultra-competitive industry,” Hammon said. “She wants to be the best every time she steps on the floor. And I think that kind of competitive spirit is really contagious for your teammate.”

“I definitely developed it this year,” Wilson said. “Losing will take that out of you because you want to do whatever it takes to get there. … I think I had my ‘I’m here now’ kind of year.”

The Mercury learned this the hard way. They were relatively successful in containing Wilson in their three-point Game 1 loss – she shot 44% but still finished with 21 points, 10 rebounds and 5 assists. But even on an off night with Wilson, they couldn’t win – which was bad news for Phoenix.

Because Wilson wouldn’t be denied a championship.

She and Jackie Young took control of the series in Game 2 as Wilson put together a 28-point, 14-rebound performance. Then came Wilson’s masterclass in Game 3: 34 points, 14 rebounds, 4 assists, 3 blocks and 1 game-ending dagger.

Four years after Wilson’s blocked shot in the semifinals, she won the unofficial championship title with 0.3 seconds remaining. Her elevation above Thomas, with her hands outstretched and DeWanna Bonner’s not far behind, again inspired Hammon’s moose comparison: As she texted Wilson the next morning, moose can jump 8 feet in the air.

“The circumstances, the amount of pressure and expectations that she carries with her on a daily basis, it’s just impressive how she handles that, and she continues to progress,” Hammon said. “Whatever the moment calls for, that’s what she does.”

The moment is immortalized by a viral photo: No. 22 above the others with 2.2 seconds on the clock.

With 31 points and nine rebounds in Game 4 – a 97-86 Vegas victory – Wilson increased his point total to 114 in the Finals and 322 in the entire playoffs, both highest in league history.

“Everyone will have their opinion on who is better,” Gray said. “You can do it by post or whatever. But tell me something she hasn’t done. She’s done it all, and done it at a high level.

“You can look at newer players, like Candace Parker and Diana Taurasi, and they’re at the forefront. But A’ja is doing things that have never been done before.”

Hammon first said it when Wilson received his record fourth MVP. But it was even more evident on Friday when Wilson, just two months after turning 29, lifted the trophy for the third time in four years – with plenty of time left to go.

“You have your Mount Rushmore,” Hammon said, “and he’s sitting alone on Everest. There’s no one around.”