A generational presence with a resume that grows heavier with accolades by the season, A’ja Wilson can not be stopped. Anxious to put to rest a superteam rival that had the gall to win a game in the 2023 Finals, the two-time league MVP posts up into a turnaround jumper for two of her 24 points on the night. In addition to the title-clinching Game 4 victory, Wilson racked up 16 rebounds and earned her first career Finals MVP. Wilson’s short-handed Aces became the first team to win back-to-back titles in 21 seasons.

A'ja Wilson

A'ja Wilson wins 2023 Finals MVP, clinches elusive back-to-back title

You can never have too many Most Valuable Players. When the curtains closed on the 2022 season, the Las Vegas Aces boasted both the league MVP in A’ja Wilson, and thanks to a sterling series against the upstart Connecticut Sun, the WNBA Finals MVP, too. In her squad’s championship-clinching Game 4 victory, Chelsea Gray’s skills are on full display, first tricking an overmatched defender with a crossover move before doubling down with a hesitation fake-out while maintaining her dribble toward the basket. The four-time All-Star — and now two-time champion — finishes with a smooth driving layup, torching the Sun by averaging 18.3 points and six assists in the series while tallying 20 points, five rebounds and six assists in the final matchup on September 18, 2022.

Chelsea Gray

Chelsea Gray battles in title-clinching 2022 Finals game, wins Finals MVP

If it looks like she’s been there before, she has. Spurring her squad to a lopsided victory in Game 2 of the WNBA Finals, reigning Finals MVP Chelsea Gray breaks up a pass to set up a transition opportunity, freezes her defender with a sleight-of-hand yo-yo dribble, then dishes off a dime to a streaking Jackie Young. Gray finished with a 14-point, 11-assist double-double in the October 11, 2023 contest and while an injury would end her 2023 Finals run short in Game 3, it wasn’t before she moved into No. 5 on the WNBA’s all-time postseason assist list.

Chelsea Gray freezes defender with dribble move in 2023 Finals

Double Sabrina Ionescu and you know she’ll make you pay for it. The New York Liberty guard draws two Phoenix Mercury defenders out of a pick-and-roll then threads a one-handed bounce pass through a gap to a streaking Natasha Howard just in time for an easy two. Ionescu finished the first-round tilt - her first career playoff matchup - with 14 points and 11 assists on September 23, 2021.

Sabrina Ionescu

Sabrina Ionescu wires bounce pass to roller in 2021 Playoffs

With an innate ability to get to the hoop, Jackie Young can summon buckets on command. Staring down a set defense in Game 2 of the WNBA Finals, the Las Vegas Aces guard identifies a gap, blows past her perimeter defender, then slips through a converging triple-team for a crafty layup. Young finished with 24 points in the demonstrative victory on October 11, 2023.

Jackie Young

Jackie Young splits through defenders for tough bucket in 2023 Finals

Mere days after being named the WNBA’s greatest player of all time, Diana Taurasi isn’t afraid to prove it. Tied through four quarters in Game 2 of the Finals, the fan-appointed GOAT queues up behind a teammate’s screen, forces her defender into an aggressive close-out, then buries a deep triple through contact. The Phoenix Mercury icon finished the game with 20 points – eight in OT alone – as her squad tied their series against the Chicago Sky on October 13, 2021.

Diana Taurasi

Diana Taurasi converts on four-point play in overtime of 2021 Finals battle

In Sue Bird’s final WNBA game, Breanna Stewart made sure to send her legendary teammate into retirement with an unforgettable performance. Receiving a pass on the elbow, the Seattle Storm superstar immediately shifts into attack mode, posting up a capable Las Vegas Aces defender before somehow drilling an extremely difficult turnaround fadeaway over the challenger’s outstretched fingertips. Although the Storm ultimately came up short, the four-time All-Star and 2018 MVP left everything she had out on the floor, scoring a career-high 42 points — tying the single-game playoff record — along with seven rebounds, two assists and three blocks on September 6, 2022.

Breanna Stewart

Breanna Stewart ties playoff record with 42-point explosion in 2022 Semi-Finals

If not for Jackie Young’s timely heroics, the Las Vegas Aces may still be hunting for the franchise’s first championship. Following a Sue Bird three-pointer that put the Seattle Storm up by two with under two seconds left of a tied semifinal series, the outcome was looking grim for Young and company. But the 2022 Most Improved Player award winner saved her best for last, scrambling for open space on Game 3’s climactic inbound pass. Despite the frenetic circumstances, Young stays poised, using quickness and athleticism to her advantage as she gains the positional advantage on her defender, before corralling the entry pass and flipping up a layup attempt that barely beats the buzzer. The Aces rode the tide-turning clutch shot to a dominant overtime showing, dispatching the Storm and claiming a 2-1 series advantage thanks to Young’s eight points, five rebounds and two assists in the 110-98 win on September 4, 2022.

Jackie Young forces overtime off pinpoint inbound play in 2022 Semi-Finals

As long as Brittney Griner roams the paint, putting one past the Phoenix Mercury is next to impossible. Up by two in the final seconds of Game 5 of their semi-final battle against the Las Vegas Aces, Griner checks A’ja Wilson in the high post, trails her under the hoop, then pins her would-be game-tying shot attempt against the backboard. Griner added 28 points and nine boards in addition to the series-clinching defensive stop on October 8, 2021.

Brittney Griner

Brittney Griner pins layup off glass, clinches series win in 2021 Semi-Finals

Sue Bird saved some of her best work for the final chapter of her Hall of Fame career. In her fifth-to-last WNBA game, the Seattle Storm cornerstone shows she’s still got plenty left in the tank, getting a defender to bite on a pump fake from the halfcourt logo. The rest is easy from there, as the wide-open Bird calmly sinks the triple, one of four makes in Seattle’s opening-round series against the Washington Mystics. The final double-double of Bird’s storybook career  — 18 points and 10 assists, along with four rebounds and two steals — earned the Storm a 97-84 victory and 2-0 series sweep on August 21, 2022.

Sue Bird

Sue Bird baits defender with pumpfake, buries triple in 2022 Playoffs

On the day she picked up her second league MVP award in the past three years, A’ja Wilson had something special planned for the home crowd. With her Las Vegas Aces clinging to a two-point fourth quarter lead in Game 1 of the WNBA Finals, Wilson first proves her mettle on the defensive end by swatting away a Connecticut Sun shot underneath that would have tied the score. Her teammates push the tempo while leading the counterattack as Wilson trails the play up the floor, ultimately using her athleticism to blow by the defense and put herself in the perfect spot to accept a wide-open pass in the lane for an easy bucket. The momentum-swinging sequence kept the Aces in front for good, as the four-time All-Star’s 24 points, 11 rebounds, four blocks and two steals unlocked a 67-64 victory on September 11, 2022.

A'ja Wilson claims MVP trophy, dominates both ends in 2022 Finals match

In a postseason debut that fans have clamored for since the offseason, the New York Liberty – and star guard Sabrina Ionescu – did not disappoint. In the waning seconds of a decided contest, with the whole of Barclays Center on their feet, Ionescu punctuated the highly anticipated victory with a deep triple way beyond the arc. It was Ionescu’s seventh three-pointer on the night, giving her a grand total of 29 points in the First Round battle on September 15, 2023.

Sabrina Ionescu punctuates W from way beyond arc in 2023 Playoffs

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A'ja Wilson

Chelsea Gray

Chelsea Gray

Sabrina Ionescu

Jackie Young

Diana Taurasi

Breanna Stewart

Jackie Young

Brittney Griner

Sue Bird

A'ja Wilson

Sabrina Ionescu