A'ja Wilson reveals the one reason 2025 WNBA championship is special

The Las Vegas Aces are the WNBA's newest dynasty -- but their path to reaching that hallowed status has been far from straightforward.

Take the 2025 season, for example. After acquiring All-Star guard Jewell Loyd in a blockbuster trade with the Seattle Storm, the Aces had reinforced with a former WNBA scoring champion to replace Kelsey Plum, and Las Vegas -- led by three-time MVP A'ja Wilson -- was firmly expected to be among the championship favorites.

But the Aces struggled for most of the regular season, which hit its nadir on Aug. 2. That day, Wilson and the Aces suffered a humiliating 111-58 home loss to the Minnesota Lynx, and even making the playoffs appeared uncertain.

Yet the Aces' response to the second-largest loss in league history was strong enough to propel them back to the WNBA Finals. Las Vegas ended the season on a 16-game winning streak; Wilson was named MVP a record-shattering fourth time, and the Aces swept the Phoenix Mercury in the championship series after struggling through the first two rounds.

Wilson: No one believed the Aces could win it all again

During an appearance Tuesday on "The Jennifer Hudson Show," Wilson revealed that this championship -- the third of her Hall of Fame career -- is her favorite, specifically because of the valley that Vegas hit during the first days of August.

"No one expected us to do it," Wilson said. "And what better way of, like, 'na-na, na-na, boo-boo' than to win it?"

A'ja Wilson says this past championship is her favorite one 🔥pic.twitter.com/t62Gn2KsCm

When the lights were brightest, Wilson was at her best. In a Finals MVP-winning turn, Wilson averaged 28.5 points, 11.8 rebounds and 2.0 blocks per game. She particularly dominated Games 3 and 4 in Phoenix; she sank the game-winning shot in the dying seconds of a 90-88 win in Game 3 before knocking down 17 free throws in a 31-point, nine-rebound, four-assist display in Game 4.

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