Coming into The WNBA’s 2023 Season, there were a few narratives that were easy to pick up on. The most noticeable was the mystery surrounding current champs The Las Vegas Aces as to whether they would pull off the unthinkable. Back-to-back championships have only happened twice before, and the last one was over 20 years ago. With former MVP winner Candace Parker acquired in a recent trade, one had to imagine they were a Voltron of basketball. Anyone who thought that they could topple the first sports team to bring Sin City a trophy would have a major hill to climb. Sure, there were other controversies leading into the season. Coach Becky Hammon was suspended from the first few games due to conflicts around Dearica Hamby who, as a result, was traded to The Los Angeles Sparks.
Of course, everyone wanted to know if they could topple Voltron. Fans could recognize The Chicago Sky and The Connecticut Sun were preparing themselves for a hefty battle ahead. What few could expect was that during the off-season, the real contender started to emerge. While some proudly declared that The Aces were “built not bought,” there was something exciting about every trade that The New York Liberty made. Whereas they were scrappy underdogs in 2022, they were coming for glory. It could be that Sabrina Ionescu, in less than five years, has become one of the most popular players in the league and earned some impressive endorsements. Everyone wanted to light the torch. What nobody was expecting was that this meant including heavyweights Breanna Stewart, Jonquel Jones, and Courtney Vandersloot. Game set match.
This came with some interesting side effects. Between Stewart’s trade and Sue Bird retiring last year, The Seattle Storm broke their winning streak as one of the best teams in the league. While The Sparks have rebounded a smidge, it’s evident that their unceremonious collapse during 2022 is going to take years to rebuild. Hamby has given them a substantial player who has helped to round out the team and give Nneka Ogwumike a complementary partner. Despite all of these talking points, one of the biggest had to be Brittney Griner returning to the league following her time as a Russian hostage. It was a heartwarming introduction that, much like The Sparks and The Storm, is in the middle of a rebuilding period. Still, the love shared for Griner shows what makes the league a great place to be.
Not only was it evident in the exciting match-ups, but The WNBA has been receiving a lot more respect nationally. There have been more games airing on major networks as well as commercials featuring a mix of NBA and WNBA players. While the public discourse is still as divisive as ever, the fact that players like Ionescu, Bird, Parker, and more all have respective brand partnerships shows some effort to fix the complaints of yesteryear. While there’s still a need to give women the same resources as their male counterparts, the change is rolling in slowly but surely. There’s even talk of expanding the season and, hopefully, creating a sustainable income that would not cause situations like Griner’s that put them in difficult environments just to make a living. The conversation has continued to grow, and the optimism has never been brighter.
But onto the actual season. While there were many narratives that formed, it was always about who could take down The Aces. Even with the mid-season injury of Parker, the team proved to have bench players who could step up and dominate. There’s something about this season that feels like they’re legends in the making. Maybe in 10 years, we’ll look back at The Aces and notice them as one of the greatest teams in WNBA history. It’s hard to say. Even then, it worked for and against them. On the one hand, it meant that games were often predictable and led to seismic outcomes. Until near the end of the regular season, The Aces had an immaculate winning record on their home court. On the other, it was exciting to see how far they could push it. Would A’ja Wilson really lead the team to victory again?
As someone who has considered themselves an Aces fan since 2021, the ascension has been great to watch. I love seeing the team work like a well-oiled machine. They have produced great results so consistently and it helps that they have a team that’s easy to love. You can doubt them out of annoyance that they win too much, but even as I did there was something exciting about witnessing a dynasty in the making. You want to believe that this is still the early chapters of their larger story. More importantly, you want to believe it motivates other teams to step up and really make a move.
As mentioned, The Liberty was sold as the underdogs turned potential super champs. It was evident there in WNBA’s All-Star Weekend where Ionescu broke Steph Curry’s record during The Three Point Contest. While I’d argue she faded more into a role player this season instead of the de facto leader, there was still something thrilling about rooting for her. She’s transitioning into a seasoned vet who knows how to play the league’s best. By the end of the season, she would beat Diana Taurasi’s record for three points made in a regular season. There’s so much potential in seeing where she could go.
It helped that Stewart was putting in big numbers as well. Following an opening game where she acquired a black eye, she slowly found a groove with the team that reminded me why I love her dominance. She controls the basket every time she’s under it. Watching anyone try to steal the ball from her is intense. Jones was slower to gel, but once she did The Liberty began their journey to being the one team that could take down The Aces. They would finish the season as number two with The Sun not trailing far behind. It should be noted that Connecticut’s Alyssa Thomas deserves more credit than she’s likely to get in this two-team rivalry. Her aggression and skill during gameplay were just as enjoyable to watch as any of the aforementioned players.
There are a few caveats that come with judging the post-season. I think if you look at sheer volume, The Aces stood the best chance of winning. However, I’d argue that their five match-ups during the regular season would suggest a different outcome. With their win during The Commissioner’s Cup, The Liberty became the first team to that point to beat The Aces on their home court (it wouldn’t count towards the regular season, meaning The Sparks were technically “the first”). Elsewhere, The Liberty won 3-2. If this was The Finals, that would mean New York had the advantage. As a viewer, the games also felt lopsided, as The Aces often felt like they were playing at half-speed and rarely gave insight into their brilliance.
Even as the second-ranked team in the league, I think watching The Liberty was more exciting because of how uncertain their entire journey was. The Aces would make it to The Finals in a clean sweep. Meanwhile, The Liberty made every game appointment viewing because there was no guarantee. While their winning record was a franchise best, you had to pace yourself for The Sun match-up in The Semifinals. There is a world where The Liberty failed. While this would be the furthest they made it in 20+ years, one had to imagine the myth of Sabrina being formed. She would take the team to The Finals. Her ascension is a narrative I’ve seen building and it’s a much-deserved one, especially in a year like this.
The Liberty lived up to the “Go big or go home” mentality. In both The Semifinals and The Finals, the winner came down to the final minute, even the final shot. Ionescu would push herself so far that in Game 4 of The Finals, she was seen vomiting into a trash can on the home stretch. Injuries were present on both teams. Uncertainty of who would be on the court as the buzzer rang left many wondering what would happen. The Aces had lost Parker, Chelsea Grey, and Kiah Stokes – perceptively their biggest support roles. Wilson was complaining about how Stewart won MVP over her. What was going to happen?
To make matters more interesting, The Finals were just as lopsided as the regular season. The only difference was that The Aces came out with two very aggressive games. In both cases, they won by double digits on their home court. Had they won Game 3, it would be 8-0 run during the post-season. Many were expecting it, especially since it looked like The Liberty wasn’t connecting in the best ways. However, Game 3 proved to be the shock to The Liberty’s system that allowed them to prevail. The Aces maybe didn’t fall apart, but there was a sense that New York found their loophole and was going to exploit it. Given their unprecedented season, some were thinking that they could pull a reverse sweep, becoming the first team in WNBA history to do so. With the recent documentary Unfinished Business (2022) highlighting the team’s significance in the league, every piece was in place to watch Ionescu pull off the unthinkable.
In a different world, Game 4 would end a tad differently. Given that Grey and Stokes were confirmed injured, many speculated as to whether this would be a Golden State Warriors vs. Toronto Raptors situation. Would the disappearance of the big boys make that much of a difference? In one corner, you had The Liberty with unprecedented momentum. In the other, you had a team that now had to prove it was more than two players. Could Voltron collapse when you removed one piece?
As I’ve mentioned, the final minute was one of those nail-biters. The score was 69-70. Hammon had just announced a gonzo defense strategy. Would it pay off? The good news is that The Aces had that one point advantage, but The Liberty had enough time to pull that shot from anywhere. All they had to do was score and we’d be going to Game 5. Everyone leans forward, awaiting the results. As The Aces block the shot, The Liberty overshoots and everything’s over. History would be made either way, but in this case, it was official. The Aces were the first dynasty since The Sparks won Back-to-Back 20 years ago… against The Liberty.
Before diving into The Aces, I want to touch on why it’s exciting for The Liberty. While there’s an argument to be made about the “Built not bought” logic winning in the end, I think that New York has gone much further than anyone would expect them to. While I did believe that Ionescu would be on a championship in her career, I wouldn’t have believed it after last year. The team wasn’t that good. They were largely young players who couldn’t compete against The Aces’ strength. I think it showed on the home stretch as simple mistakes were made. Even then, there was hope that The Liberty would do the unthinkable. It’s the type of underdog story that The WNBA doesn’t often see to this level, and it was incredible to watch. More importantly, to only lose by one point suggests that a rematch hopefully won’t be as lopsided as it originally looked. That one point is fuel. It will motivate and inspire both the team and fans. It will be a point of discussion for years to come. Provided The Liberty aren’t destined to be a flash in the pan like their Barclay Center cohorts, this is the start of something even greater.
And then there’s The Aces. On the one hand, a Back-to-Back championship isn’t that fun to talk about. It’s just copy-pasting what worked last season and finding small ways to improve. It came with acquiring Parker (now a 3x WNBA Champion) and Alysha Clark (current 6th Player of the Year). Even then, I have seen them play on their home court and there’s a genuinely great fan base out in Las Vegas. They really know how to put on a show and they have their own mentality. It’s a real love affair where everyone plays big and gambles difficult shots. With this win, it solidifies a lot of narratives around who the current great players are. It will be enticing to see if a threepeat is possible, marking an even tougher feat that hasn’t been achieved since The Houston Comets in the 90s (again, against The Liberty).
Even as their victory ceremony found a broadcast full of raucous language, there was a sense of hope for the team. They are living through a glory days period that is likely to be unmatched once it's over. Some teams may come along that finally outwit them, but one has to wonder if they will be as rowdy as The Aces. There’s a party atmosphere with them. Even as they drove down The Las Vegas Strip, they were throwing t-shirts everywhere. Kelsey Plum was smoking a cigar. By the time they made it to the stage, they were promising dance-offs. The Aces president told the soundman to “cut that shit out” when the intro music ran too long. I won’t say that being vulgar is necessarily a condemnation, but it’s clear how much this means to them. There’s no conservative thanks here. It’s a full-on celebration. One has to wonder how long it will last.
And with everything, it’s exciting to look forward to next season. Will The Aces make that threepeat a reality? I have no reason to bet against it. That is, unless you take into account how much easier their road there was than The Liberty or even The Sun. Part of it is just having a great team, but also I’d argue The Playoffs were one-sided with where it placed intensity. The Liberty have proven themselves to be worthy foes. They have barely survived, and I’d argue part of that is simply being a younger and inexperienced team. Now that they have tasted The Finals, I’m sure they will be back sooner than later. The Sun will be out for vengeance and I can only hope they deliver. As for the other teams, don’t count them out either. If The Liberty can come back from a first-round loss last year, then absolutely anyone can. All it takes is a little luck and a whole lot of effort.
Comments
Post a Comment