A parade of Aces
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Hi, friends. So, last week was a lot. There are many bad things happening in the world right now. Usually, this newsletter focuses on injustices. In fact, I’m working on multiple stories on the subject right now.
But sometimes it is important to press pause on the misery and celebrate the wins. The Las Vegas Aces did just that last week, after they won the WNBA championship with a thrilling 78-71 victory over the Connecticut Sun, partying non-stop from Uncasville to the Vegas strip.
And now we’re going to follow in their footsteps.
Before moving on to more serious matters this week, I want to relive some of my favorite moments from their champagne-soaked festivities.
1. Everything about A’ja Wilson and Chelsea Gray’s post-game press conference.
This compilation of the drunkest and most ridiculous moments from the press conference with the regular season MVP and Finals MVP should definitely be inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame. It’s hard — almost impossible — to pick my favorite moment, but here are three I love a lot:
0:15 — Kelsey Plum’s boom-box cameo
0:58 — Chelsea telling A’ja under her breath, “Isaidnottodrinkrightnow” as A’ja continues to chug champagne.
1:39 A’ja looking for the reporter on Zoom in the room.
(Don’t worry, we’ll get to the “four shots” part soon.)
2. Head Coach Becky Hammon breaking it down.
It was so much fun to see Coach Hammon let loose. What a legend.
3. Sydney Colson’s lives.
Las Vegas Aces reserve guard Sydney Colson went live on Instagram almost non-stop for the 48 hours from the locker-room celebration to the parade after-party, and goodness are we lucky she did.
I hope some enterprising sold saved all the lives and will edit them down to a best-of video, but for now, I’m just going to watch this clip from the post-championship photo shoot on repeat.
Some gems:
“A’ja don’t have no shirt, but it don’t maaaaaaaaatteerrr!!!”
Eva, A’ja Wilson’s mother, DANCING IT UP, as Colson yells, “Yeah mama.
“Look at Jackie smiling, never before seen.”
Sydney pretending like she’s posing in the photo with A’ja and her parents.
4. Amaya saying “night night.”
Steph Curry popularized the “night night” celebration during the Golden State Warriors’ championship run this year, but in the Aces locker room on Sunday, Dearica Hamby’s daughter Amaya made it her own.
Amaya rightly celebrated the championship right along with the Aces — and even managed to get mom to let her sleep in the following morning. Well deserved.
5. A’ja setting a “four-shot minimum” and calling for Four Lokos at 8 am the day of the parade.
In the post-championship presser in Connecticut, A’ja Wilson declared, regarding the upcoming parade in Vegas, “If you ain’t four shots in, don’t come.”
She took things up a notch on Tuesday, asking for Four Loko at 8:00 in the morning.
6. Parade fashion.
Speaking of four shots, peep A’ja’s parade shirt.
A’ja Wilson and Riquana Williams win with their custom-made tees, but everyone looked fabulous.
7. Kelsey Plum and her cigar.
She is the moment.
8. The way Vegas showed up for the parade.
LOOK AT THIS.
I’m very emotional.
9. Local TV cutting to commercial during the speeches because of all the cussing.
Local news in Vegas tried to air the parade live, which was fantastic, but when the Aces players reached the stage and started giving speeches, it quickly became clear that FCC guidelines were in trouble: “Broadcasting obscene content is prohibited by law at all times of the day. Indecent and profane content are prohibited on broadcast TV and radio between 6 a.m. and 10 p.m., when there is a reasonable risk that children may be in the audience.”
10. Dearica Hamby announcing she was pregnant at the championship parade.
In the ultimate mic-drop moment, Aces forward Dearica Hamby corrected the host who referred to her as “Amaya’s mom” by saying, “It’s no longer Amaya’s mom, it’s Amaya and Legend’s mom.”
Her teammates went wild, and if there was for a second any doubt about what Hamby meant, Sydney Colson quickly cleared it up by pantomiming a pregnant belly.
On Instagram Live later that night, Amaya confirmed that she was going to have another brother!
“Legend” is quite the fitting name for a baby in utero during a WNBA championship victory. Just incredible stuff.
Of course, not everyone is impressed.
Thanks so much for supporting Power Plays. Since we’re already are way past the email limit, here are a few more of my favorite tweets/moments from the week:
I waited a minute to read this newsletter for when I had time to savor it. I'm from Illinois, so it was painful to see the Sky lose in the semis. But, I'm also a U of SC grad, so I couldn't be happier for Gamecock great A'ja Wilson. I think my favorite clip here was of the RAiders fans cheering watching the end of the game on the big board. Slowly, but surely, women's sports are chipping away at getting the attention and respect they deserve. Thank you for this newsletter!!
I love how this was put together! Every newsletter is so well researched and entertaining. I don't have social media, so having access to this championship content, alongside your commentary is so valuable! Thanks for this.