The Las Vegas Aces win their first-ever WNBA Championship, and WNBA Twitter is losing it over a fantastic WNBA Finals run.ย
The Las Vegas Aces win their first-ever WNBA Championship, and itโs tough to pick a headline.
Thereโs the tear the Aces have been on ever since the All-Star break, which Aโja Wilson spoke to before the WNBA Finals kicked off:
"โBeing the No. 1 seed, considering that people looked at us crazy heading into All-Star break on a losing streak, I think itโs something thatโs pretty special and it speaks about our system here in this franchise.โ"
Wilsonโs season is deserving of a series, hinted at in a recent Nike โRun It Backโ ad. If Wilson won WNBA Finals MVP, she would have become the first person to win Defensive Player of the Year, league MVP and Finals MVP since Hakeem Olajuwon did it in 1994.
But it wasnโt just Aโja who made the dream a reality. Chelsea Gray, the recipient of the WNBA Finals MVP trophy, boosted the Aces offense in key Game 1, 2 and 4 victories.
Chelsea Gray getting buckets to force you to call a timeout and then also accidentally running into you as you try and call that timeout has to be a lot to process. pic.twitter.com/slxZfhZkOq
โ Steve Jones Jr. (@stevejones20) September 18, 2022
Chelsea Gray too smooth with it โจ๏ธ
โ Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) September 18, 2022
Aces lead 25-18
(via @WNBA)pic.twitter.com/UMzPYNcypP
Gray wasnโt named an All-Star this year, but she said she was happy to โkeep the ring.โ
Chelsea Gray said I donโt need to be an all star this year, Iโll just be Commissionerโs Cup MVP, Finals MVP and get a Commish Cup title and @WNBA Championship ๐ ๐พ heard
โ Arielle (Ari) Chambers (@ariivory) September 18, 2022
Today, the Aces are world champions, and announcers are already debating whether or not itโs the beginning of a Sin City dynasty.
Best memes and tweets in incredible Aces WNBA Championship win
The WNBA and news organizations were ready with the perfect graphics to celebrates the Aces win.
๐ CHAMPIONS ๐
โ WNBA (@WNBA) September 18, 2022
For the first time in franchise history, the @LVAces are #WNBA Champs, defeating the Connecticut Sun 3-1 in the #WNBAFinals presented by @YouTubeTV to take the title โผ๏ธ#MoreThan pic.twitter.com/KjErTsQTIM
๐ Congratulations to the @LVAces on becoming the 2022 WNBA Champions! #MoreThan https://t.co/qTSO8H2mZ5
โ NBA (@NBA) September 18, 2022
WNBA CHAMPIONS ๐ @LVAces win their first championship in franchise historyโผ๏ธ pic.twitter.com/0wqpo7e0tc
โ espnW (@espnW) September 18, 2022
THE LAS VEGAS ACES ARE CHAMPIONS!
โ Sports Illustrated (@SInow) September 18, 2022
The Aces defeat the Connecticut Sun in Game 4 to take home the franchiseโs first WNBA championship ๐ pic.twitter.com/77o4TzvhTX
THE LAS VEGAS ACES ARE WNBA CHAMPIONS โ ๏ธ @HighlightHER pic.twitter.com/ehMrhst9Q8
โ Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) September 18, 2022
IT'S ALL COMING UP ACES.
โ Just Womenโs Sports (@justwsports) September 18, 2022
The @LVAces end the 2022 @WNBA on top and win their first title in franchise history. pic.twitter.com/avdzY4QVk6
THE MOMENT THE ACES BECAME WNBA CHAMPIONSโผ๏ธ pic.twitter.com/emC4kITJdw
โ SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) September 18, 2022
THATโS GAME!!!!!! THE LAS VEGAS ACES ARE YOUR 2022 @WNBA CHAMPIONS ๐๐๐ pic.twitter.com/HA2gqVJBOh
โ WSLAM (@wslam) September 18, 2022
THE LAS VEGAS ACES ARE THE 2022 WNBA CHAMPIONS! ๐ pic.twitter.com/JSZJ2PYJPf
โ NBA TV (@NBATV) September 18, 2022
โPoint Gawdโ Chelsea Gray lauded for winning WNBA Finals MVP
Of course, there had to be posts dedicated to the Point Gawd, Chelsea Gray.
https://twitter.com/BleacherReport/status/1571627532235034624?s=20&t=h9H7zeMT8uYEApLjks3yVw
๐ง๐๐ #๐ฃ๐ข๐๐ก๐ง๐๐๐ช๐๐๐๐๐ ๐@cgray209 is the ๐ฎ๐ฌ๐ฎ๐ฎ @WNBA ๐๐๐ก๐๐๐ฆ ๐ ๐ฉ๐ฃ!#RaiseTheStakes // #WNBAChampions pic.twitter.com/2weNJGRaTS
โ Las Vegas Aces (@LVAces) September 18, 2022
https://twitter.com/WNBA/status/1571628229156376592?s=20&t=h9H7zeMT8uYEApLjks3yVw
Now Chelsea Gray does deserve a bigger Finals MVP trophy โ whatโs with the W giving Aces players the smallest trophies? Just another testament to how dominant this team has been in 2022: Kelsey Plum, Aโja Wilson and Chelsea Gray have racked up the accolades.
WNBA gotta invest in bigger trophies weโre begging you ๐ญ pic.twitter.com/QHesGWo8WR
โ Bri Lewerke (@brilewerke) September 18, 2022
Celebrating Wilson and Hammon was a must, as these two worked together to make their mark in WNBA history.
What an absolutely unbelievable season by the Las Vegas Aces and first year head coach Becky Hammon. Aโja Wilson solidifies herself deep in MVP history as a 2x MVP and now WNBA Champ.
โ Rachel Galligan (@RachGall) September 18, 2022
When it sinks in that youโre a WNBA Champ: pic.twitter.com/y1BDhz2HGY
โ The Players' Tribune (@PlayersTribune) September 18, 2022
Becky Hammon proves NBA doubters wrong by winning chip in first season
Leading her team with โTRUSTโ, Aces head coach Becky Hammon deserves to be commended and celebrated for what she accomplished as a first-year WNBA head coach in Las Vegas.
Becky Hammon has led the Aces to a title in her first season as head coach ๐ pic.twitter.com/F08hsNLxv4
โ FanSided (@FanSided) September 18, 2022
Becky Hammon let 'em hear it ๐
โ ESPN (@espn) September 18, 2022
๐ด First year as head coach
๐ด No. 1 Seed
๐ด Coach of the Year
๐ด WNBA Champs @espnW | @BeckyHammon pic.twitter.com/UA2QlU0bSG
The highest-paid coach in WNBA history.
โ Front Office Sports (@FOS) September 18, 2022
Commissioner's Cup Champion.
Coach of the Year.
No. 1 seed.
Becky Hammon just led the Las Vegas Aces to their first-ever WNBA Championship in her debut season ๐ pic.twitter.com/qfQiJvGRvB
Becky Hammon just added a WNBA title to a rookie season that already included being Coach of the Year: pic.twitter.com/7xFsB7GGZl
โ Josh Paredes (@Josh810) September 18, 2022
Congrats to the @LVAces @BeckyHammon on winning the @wnba championship! Job well done!
โ Swin Cash (@SwinCash) September 18, 2022
This all comes after reports that the NBA wanted Becky Hammon to โwait her turnโ to coach in the league, after she spent years coaching with San Antonio Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich and her own playing career in the WNBA.
The NBA: Becky, just wait a little while. We'll get to you.
โ Lyndsey D'Arcangelo ๐ (@darcangel21) September 14, 2022
Becky: Naahhhhh, I'm good. pic.twitter.com/piNzkkyzQW
Unintentionally, Hammonโs face captures it perfectly. For every NBA team who passed on her expertise, may they revel in her immediate success with the Aces.