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NFL legend Tom Brady lent his star power to the WNBA opening night, presenting the 2023 WNBA championship rings to finals MVP A’Ja Wilson and her Las Vegas Aces. The celebration, in front of a roaring Sin City crowd, marked the beginning of another season of title defense for the two-time reigning champions.
Brady, a seven-time Super Bowl winner and a minority owner of the team, joined the Aces’ majority owner Mark Davis in presenting the rings to the players, in a ceremony that commenced their 2024 season.
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After giving out the rings, the banner for their second straight WNBA championship was unveiled and raised to the rafters, now together with their 2022 title edition. The crowd sang “We Are The Champions”, serenading the Las Vegas players on the court.
Wilson then dropped 30 points and 13 rebounds in the season-opener to lead the Aces to an impressive 89-80 win against the Phoenix Mercury at Michelob ULTRA Arena. Jackie Young and Kelsey Plum added 23 and 19 points respectively for Las Vegas, snagging their first win of the season despite the Mercury’s late rally down the stretch.
The Las Vegas Aces, however, missed the services of point guard Chelsea Gray, who is still nursing the lower leg injury she sustained in last year’s finals.
Las Vegas Aces owner Mark Davis addressed the crowd - “Let’s three-peat!”
Owner Mark Davis was ecstatic, to say the least when he presented the championship rings and the title banner to the team.
“We’re back,” Davis told the sellout crowd. “Not only are we back, we’re back-to-back world champions.”
Davis then set lofty hopes for the team, saying:
“All I can say is let’s three-peat.”
In the game’s first timeout, it was announced that 10,419 packed the Michelob ULTRA Areba to watch the Aces’ season-opener, the largest crowd in the arena’s history. The Las Vegas Aces also unveiled their new black and silver uniform that resembled Davis’ other Las Vegas team, the Raiders of the NFL.
