On Sept. 18, the Las Vegas Aces beat the Connecticut Sun 78-71 to win the WNBA Finals 3-1giving the city of Las Vegas its first major professional sports championship, ESPN reported.
"We didn't like that feeling we had last year," said Aces guard Chelsea Gray, who was named Finals MVP. "It was a tough moment, but it built character. It was setting something up for the following year."
It is also a first for the Aces franchise, which started as the Utah Starzz in 1997, when the WNBA made its debut as a league. The team moved to San Antonio in 2003 and appeared in the WNBA Finals in 2008, getting swept. As the Aces, the franchise appeared in the 2020 WNBA Finals and was swept again.
The Aces tied for the league's best regular-season record at 26-10 (with the Chicago Sky) and got the No. 1 seed for the playoffs.
Aces coach Becky Hammon is the first person in WNBA history to win a title in her first season as a head coach.
The WNBA finals between the Connecticut Sun and Las Vegas Aces had a particular LGBTQ+ spin to it, according to Outsports. At least eight out players are competing and both head coachesthe Sun's Curt Miller and the Aces' Hammonare publicly out. Miller is the only out gay male head coach in professional sports.
Also, the Sun have more out LGBTQ+ players on their roster (six) than any other WNBA team. For example, the Sun's Jonquel Jonesthe reigning WNBA MVP and Outsports Female Athlete of the Yearaveraged 14.6 points per game this season to go along with 8.6 rebounds per contest.