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Story by Cassandra Cousineau Photos by Hugh Byrne
They waited 250 days for tonight.
The Las Vegas Aces celebrated their WNBA championship Saturday with rings for the champion players and a banner unveiled in the rafters at Michelob Ultra Arena at Mandalay Bay. A record sellout of 10,191 strong packed The House to roar with approval when the title banner was revealed.
The title banner, the first for a major league team in Las Vegas, was draped near Aces coach Becky Hammon’s jersey. Hammon returned to the Aces in their third game of the season after she was suspended for the first two games of the 2023 season.
2022 Finals MVP Chelsea Gray added a second WNBA championship to her trophy shelf. Plus, the Aces’ big addition during the off-season — former WNBA MVP Candace Parker — also has WNBA championships on her resume.
“A lot of players come into this league and it’s hard to win a championship,” Parker said. “There’s a select few in this world that’s won championships. So, to be able to do this with this group you gotta be in this moment and embrace it and have fun with it. You don’t get that moment back, that group back. It’s a short snippet in our life.”
Aces owner Mark Davis, also owner of the NFL Raiders, doled out the stunning rings. The ring is the most expensive championship ring ever made in women’s sports. It features:
Saturday’s Aces vs LA Sparks game had multiple plot lines.
Hammon’s return is a big deal after a WNBA investigation resulted in the coach missing wins against Seattle and Los Angels after claims were made by former Aces forward Dearica Hamby. The league determined Hammon violated “respect in the workplace policies.” The WNBA also rescinded the Aces’ 2025 first-round draft pick for violating league rules regarding impermissible player benefits surrounding trade for Parker.
Hamby’s return to Las Vegas after she was traded included a wrinkle because she also received her 2022 title ring from the Aces after contributing key plays in last season’s championship series against the Connecticut Sun following her injury last year.
Sparks coach Curt Miller said about Hamby, “First thing she did when we got into the locker room was apologize to me because she was worried about how I was impacted by the ceremony. . . She is such a great story for working mothers.”
Las Vegas knows how to throw a party.
Eight-time Grammy winner Anita Baker kicked things off with the anthem, making good on a performance she promised Sydney Colson last year.
The halftime entertainment was supplied by rising superstar diva, Coi Leray.
As for the game, the Aces were winning comfortably over a depleted Sparks squad, 79-51, at the end of three quarters.
Las Vegas improved to 3-0 with the 93-65 win.
After the game, Hammon burst into the post game presser as Aces stars A’ja Wilson and Jackie Young were at the podium.
“C’mon, man. We got a game tomorrow,!” the Aces coach told the two players.
Indeed, it’s Aces vs Minnesota on Sunday.