Wilson MVP Honor Well Deserved

Photo: Special to the NY Beacon 

By Samori Benjamin 

The Las Vegas Aces became the first team in 21 years to win back to back championships in the WNBA by closing out the New York Liberty 70-69 at the Barclays Center in Game 4 of the WNBA Finals Wednesday night.  Liberty point guard Courtney Vandersloot badly airballed a three-point attempt in the final seconds, Liberty forward Jonquel Jones rebounded the ball and laid it back in. But the putback was a half second too late. 2020 and 2022 WNBA MVP A’ja Wilson dominated the stat sheet with 24 points and 16 rebounds.  She finished second in a tight MVP vote this regular season to New York’s Breanna Stewart. 

Wilson took her second-place finish as a slight and used these WNBA Finals to prove a point. She thoroughly outplayed Stewart throughout the series and was awarded MVP of the Finals.  Wilson and the Aces handed Stewart her first loss ever in the championship round dating back to college.  Stewie, as she is known to Liberty fans, was 6-0 in such rounds before this defeat. The Aces lost starters Chelsea Gray and Kiah Stokes to injury after Game 3.  But the Aces still had three former #1 overall draft picks in the lineup and they were too much for New York.