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Alexa Filippo
Phoenix – morning after Aja Wilson Hit the game-winning shot in Game 3 of the WNBA Finals – the basket that gave her Las Vegas Aces A 3–0 series lead—and what became the defining image of Wilson’s already distinguished basketball career—Aces coach Becky Hammon sent her superstar a graphic comparing an elk and a deer.
Hammon had used the comparison to Wilson a few weeks earlier, but like most people, Wilson was not aware of the difference between the two. But when you see a big, strong elk, said Hamann, who grew up in the Black Hills of South Dakota, you realize it’s in a class of its own.
Hammon has a habit of using analogies for Wilson — “You’re out of adjectives,” he told ESPN. “That’s why I started using animals, mountain peaks and everything else to describe him.”
“I’ve been the deer this whole year, I’ve been the lion, I’ve been the elk,” Wilson told ESPN. “If you could put all this into one animal, I think you’d get Aja.”
But there is a theme of metaphor that Hamann has expressed often this season: an elk among deer. A great white among the mako sharks. No longer on Mount Rushmore, but on Everest.
Hamann said, “By the time it’s all said and done, she’ll be the greatest person to ever do it.”
Wilson lived up to that billing on Friday, helping the No. 2 seed Aces win the 2025 title over the No. 4 seed. phoenix mercury Coming off the back of the first four-game sweep in Finals history.
With a 31-point performance in Game 4 (tied for the most title-clinching wins in WNBA history), she strengthened her case for series MVP – and became the first WNBA or NBA player to win the scoring title, MVP, Defensive Player of the Year and Finals MVP in the same season.
Wilson celebrated with his Finals MVP trophy in one hand and a bright pink tambourine in the other, its clang echoing across the court and inside the Mortgage Matchup Center well into the night.
Three weeks ago, the greatest-of-time conversation intensified when Wilson was awarded her record-fourth league MVP, becoming the first player in WNBA history to win that many titles.
But on Friday, as the Aces reached dynasty status with their third championship in four years, the win marked Wilson’s official coronation.
Not as a great white or elk. But in the form of a goat.
long before wilson After becoming the best player in the world, she got heartbroken. twice.
The 2018 No. 1 pick led the Aces to their first final in 2020, during the COVID season in the bubble at IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida. Wilson won his first MVP trophy that season, officially announcing his arrival as a superstar.
“And then my ass got wiped out,” Wilson said. “…It inspires me so much every day.”
In the next season’s semifinals, Wilson had the opportunity to send the Aces to overtime in a winner-take-all Game 5 against the Mercury. after receiving an inbound pass from chelsea gray On the wing, Wilson took a dribble towards the basket before being blocked brittany griner – a play that, Wilson said, “crushed a little girl’s heart.”
“I felt like, ‘Oh, we can almost get there,'” Wilson said. “But it was sad to have it literally hit me in the face.”
Shortly after that race, Hamann was hired to replace Bill Laimbeer as coach. When she arrived in Vegas, she saw an “incredible” talent in Wilson, with room for growth.
Even with the MVP, Wilson was still not viewed as the league’s best player. Breanna StewartAlready a two-time champion and two-time Finals MVP, he was considered the best in the world. Jonquel Jones Came on stage as MVP in 2021. alyssa thomas And Nafeesa Collier Waited in the wings.
But in his first year as coach, Hammon remembers telling others that Wilson – then 25 – would be the greatest to ever play the game.
“He has no limits,” Hamann said. “She’s the biggest, she’s the most athletic, her skill set, and then also her desire to make the right play.”
The last four seasons – three MVPs and three championships later – have supercharged him to the top of the list, largely because Hammon has challenged him not to put him in a box. A leading scorer and elite defender. An interior force who can handle the ball, pass and shoot quickly from beyond the 3-point arc. The grace of a gazelle and the pride of strength and ferocity of a lion.
“She can reach a level that most players can’t,” teammate jewel lloyd Said. “It’s not just about her MVP – it’s just how she plays all the time. If she wants to get a bucket, she’ll get a bucket. If she wants to get a stop, she’ll get a stop. …
“We know how much work she puts in. When your best player is doing all that, there’s no reason for us to stop any plays.”
And this year, she brought the Aces back to the top of the mountain.
when aces The season began 12–13, with a semi-final exit the previous season, leaving spectators whispering about whether their championship core had finished the job. Wilson noticed that people were denigrating his team – even denigrating him.
But true greatness comes when you’re tested hard and you’re still willing to keep going, Wilson said.
“Greatness is being patient, waiting your turn, waiting your moment,” he said Friday. “And I think that’s what defines us, is you have to be great when the lights aren’t on you. You have to be great when there’s no one in the gym with you. In the end you can get nothing. That’s what greatness is to me, because that’s consistency, and that’s you’re doing the right things because it’s right.”
The Aces stayed the course – and got it all in the end. Wilson powered the Aces to a 16-game winning streak to end the regular season, reopening an MVP race that many had considered decided. By tasking players with conducting their own scouting reports, Wilson took film to a whole new level, developing an even deeper understanding of opposing defenses.
“I think that’s an area that A’Ja has really evolved in as well, it’s absolutely hyper-competitive,” Hammon said. “Every time she steps on the field she wants to be the greatest. And I think that kind of competitive spirit is really contagious to your teammates.”
“I’ve definitely developed it this year,” Wilson said. “Losing will bring all that out because you want to do anything to get to that point. …I think I’m having a year of being like ‘I’m here now.’
Mercury learned this the hard way. They were relatively successful in containing Wilson in their three-point Game 1 loss – she shot 44% but still finished with 21 points, 10 rebounds and 5 assists. But even on Wilson’s “off” night, they couldn’t win – which was bad news for Phoenix.
Because Wilson will not be denied the championship.
he and jackie young Seized control of the series in Game 2 as Wilson turned in a 28-point, 14-rebound performance. Then came Wilson’s masterclass in Game 3: 34 points, 14 rebounds, 4 assists, 3 blocks and 1 game-ending dagger.
Four years after Wilson’s blocked shot in the semifinals, he provided the unofficial championship-clincher with 0.3 seconds remaining. His rise above Thomas, with his hands outstretched and crazy bonerHammon’s elk comparisons were inspired again, and he’s not far behind: As he texted Wilson the next morning, the elk could leap 8 feet into the air.
“The circumstances, the pressure and the expectations that she carries with her day to day, it’s impressive how she handles it, and she continues to move forward,” Hammon said. “Whatever the moment demands, she does it.”
The moment has been immortalized with a viral photo: No. 22 stands above the rest with 2.2 seconds on the clock.
With 31 points and nine rebounds in Game 4 – a 97–86 Vegas win – Wilson increased his total points to 114 in the Finals and 322 in the entire postseason, both the most in league history.
“Everyone will have their own opinion about who is the greatest,” Gray said. “You can do it by position or whatever. But tell me something he hasn’t done. He’s done it all, and done it at a high level. …
“You look at recent players like Candace Parker and Diana Taurasi, and they’re at the top level. But A’Ja is doing things that haven’t been done before.”
Hammon first said this after Wilson was awarded his record fourth MVP. But it was even more evident on Friday when Wilson, just two months after turning 29, hoisted the trophy for the third time in four years – and there was plenty of time to come.
“You have your Mount Rushmore,” Hammon said, “and she’s sitting alone on Everest. There’s no one around.”
