The 2023 WNBA season has been headlined by two teams - the Las Vegas Aces and the New York Liberty. And while they may have been upset once or twice by mid-table opponents, the current path this season is on looks like a two-horse race between the two high-powered squads.
While each and every team deserves their flowers, the Aces are clearly a special team. They are the defending champions after all, and have been in the headlines for both wins and losses in the past week of WNBA action.
Let's take a look at some of the biggest stories from around the league.
A'ja Wilson ties WNBA single-game scoring record
MVP, DPOY, WNBA champion, A'ja Wilson has done it all. She has also been instrumental in the Aces' rise to being one of the best teams in the league since she was drafted, and continues to push the envelope with her game.
The latest from Wilson? Tying a WNBA single-game record in points, dropping a career-high 53 points against the Atlanta Dream, scoring nearly half of the Aces' 112 points in the win and going 16-of-23 from the field and 20-of-21 from the free throw line.
Wilson is averaging 21.3 points, 9.6 rebounds and 2.1 blocks, being held under 10 points only three times this season, and has dropped 40 points or more twice in her last six games.
While the Aces' roster is full of surrounding talent like Chelsea Gray and Kelsey Plum, who both contributed at least 16 points in Wilson's big night, the Aces forward is one of the best in the league for a reason and continued to shine as the Aces hit the 30-win mark this season.
Liberty stop Aces repeat in Commissioner's Cup
The third-ever Commissioner's Cup was won by a third different team since its inception as the New York Liberty blocked the Aces from defending their title in a 21-point win as they dominated behind a Most Valuable Player effort from Jonquel Jones.
Jones contributed 16 points and 15 rebounds in the win, but it was three-point specialist Marine Johannes who came off the bench to score a game-high 17 points, going 5-of-7 from beyond the arc, while Breanna Stewart also added 13 points.
Sabrina Ionescu added 12 points and playmaker Courtney Vandersloot recorded a double-double with 11 points and 10 assists as the team went 15-of-35 on three-point shooting, going 42.9 per cent from deep. The Liberty also controlled the boards 49-28 against an Aces team that is usually much more aggressive on the glass.
The Aces could not keep up with New York's ability to score from long range, and as they have figured out Wilson in the past, the Aces kept the forward to just nine points. Of the three games Wilson has been held to less than 10 points this season, New York has done it twice. Instead, Jackie Young led the Aces with 16 points, while Plum and Gray each added 15.
Las Vegas gets the last laugh over New York
Just two days after the Commissioner's Cup, the Aces and Liberty faced off yet again, but this time Las Vegas got the last laugh as Chelsea Gray went off for the second triple-double in Aces franchise history, and first since their move to Las Vegas.
With 22 points, 11 rebounds and 11 assists, Gray and the Aces not only avenged their loss from earlier in the week, but also put an end to a six-game winning streak the Liberty had been on.
The Aces held the Liberty to just two field goals in the opening six minutes of the fourth, and while Ionescu was inevitable from long hitting six three-pointers and scoring 22 points for New York, Las Vegas held the Commissioner's Cup MVP to just eight points and eight rebounds this time around.
Wilson added 21 points in the win but it was Las Vegas' defence that came in clutch in the fourth quarter as the Liberty came as close as within five points, but the Aces forced eight turnovers while Wilson scored 10 of her points in the final frame to extend the team’s home winning streak in regular season games to 21 at the time.
The best of the rest
Speaking of the Aces, the Los Angeles Sparks snapped a 13-game losing streak against them with a 78-72 win led by Layshia Clarendon and Jordin Canada both scoring at least 20 points against the Aces. The Sparks picked up their fourth-straight win while snapping a four-game regular season win streak for Las Vegas.
In news not relating to Las Vegas, Arike Ogunbowale became the second-fastest player to hit the 3,000-point mark against the Minnesota Lynx, trailing only Elena Delle Donne to the mark, who became the fastest to do so back in 2018. Ogunbowale hit the mark in 150 games while Delle Donne did it in 148.
The Chicago Sky snapped a five-game losing streak thanks to the efforts of Dana Evans who put up a monster 23 points on 7-of-11 shooting including going 4-of-6 from the three-point line along with eight assists. The Sky defeated the Seattle Storm 102-79, despite Jewell Loyd putting up 26 points for Seattle.
With much of the talk on New York and Las Vegas, the Connecticut Sun have been looking to get their name back into the conversation as they defeated both the Sky and the Washington Mystics to snap their three-game losing streak. Alyssa Thomas continued to lead the Sun as she scored 22 points in both of the team's last two games while DeWanna Bonner added 17 points in Tuesday's win over the Mystics, including a three-pointer late in the fourth quarter that would help the Sun seal the win and move 2.5 games back of New York.
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