Las Vegas Aces Get A $30k Payday
In what many consider a potential WNBA Finals matchup, the Las Vegas Aces won the second annual WNBA Commissioner’s Cup championship game with a 93-83 victory over the Chicago Sky on Tuesday at Wintrust Arena.
Kelsey Plum led all scorers with 24 points, while A’ja Wilson 17 points, 17 rebounds, 6 blocks and Candace Parker 20 points, 14 rebounds each had double-doubles.
But it was Chelsea Gray who was named the game’s MVP after posting 19 points, 5 assists and 4 rebounds. Gray, the sole Vegas starter not to be named an All-Star and play in the game in Chicago earlier this month, instead experienced her own special moment at Wintrust this week and was embraced by her teammates upon being revealed as MVP.
“At the end of the day, you can talk about the numbers and this and that, but she wins games, and that to me should be the most important thing,” Plum said of Gray. “She’s the MVP tonight, but she has been leading our team the whole season. I feel like, to be honest, she doesn’t get the love and credit she deserves, and I’m really, really glad that people saw that tonight.” She played with so much passion. I alqays say.”When you’re on you’re on!” And Chelsea was defiantly on one last night!
Despite Tuesday’s loss, the defending WNBA champion Sky (21-7) remain in first place in the WNBA standings and the Aces (20-8) in second with less than three weeks remaining in the regular season. The teams, the only two to clinch playoff spots so far, have topped the standings most of the season.
Each player on the Aces was awarded $30,000, with Gray taking home an extra $5,000 for being named MVP. Each Sky player earned $10,000. Coinbase, the presenting sponsor of the Cup, is also awarding an additional cryptocurrency bonus of $5,000 for each player in the championship game.
The Cup also featured $165,000 donated to charities across all 12 franchise markets.
Tuesday’s game was very similar to the Aces’ loss to the Sky in late June, when the Aces blew a 28-point lead, giving the Sky the largest come-from-behind win in league history. This time around, Vegas stayed the course through Chicago’s comeback effort to take care of business. Lets Go Aces!
