LAS VEGAS — A’ja Wilson and Chelsea Gray had Michelob Ultra Arena in the palm of their hands on Saturday.

With the ball wedged behind the backboard, Wilson grabbed a mop used for wiping sweat off the court and went to retrieve it. Then, as she said after the game, the music took over her body.

Wilson started to dance, and Gray joined in. As they moved in unison, the crowd cheered and laughed. It was one of the most genuine and vocal reactions from the crowd at the WNBA All-Star Game, and it had nothing to do with basketball.

The Aces duo took a mundane moment and made it magical.

Yo, we are crying!

Ball got stuck, but first @_ajawilson22 and @cgray209 had to take a dance break before gettin’ it down 😂😂😂@ATT #WNBAAllStar pic.twitter.com/pTjpGgtDXI

— WNBA (@WNBA) July 16, 2023

Over the last two seasons, Las Vegas has captured the attention of the basketball world. And as excitement surrounding the sport increases, the Aces are at the center of it.

“Since I came into the league until now, the increase in media attention, national games, social media has been tremendous,” said Aces guard Kelsey Plum, drafted first overall in 2017. “And I think it’s just going to continue to grow.”

The 2022 playoffs, in which the Aces took home the WNBA title, resulted in the most-watched WNBA postseason in 20 years. This year at the All-Star break, the league is on pace to register the most-watched season in history. Attendance is up 27%, TV viewership is up 67%, and the 2023 All-Star Game hosted in Las Vegas was sold out. It also clocked in as the most-watched All-Star Game in 16 years, with 850,000 average viewers tuning into ABC.

The Aces as a team are also making their mark on the growth of the game.

Halfway through the regular season, Las Vegas is firmly in first place at 19-2. They had four players voted into the All-Star Game — Wilson, Gray, Plum and Jackie Young — and Wilson served as a captain for the second season in a row after garnering the most fan votes. The Aces are also averaging the highest attendance in the league this season, welcoming over 9,000 fans per game, according to Across the Timeline.

“I think that we have some generational talent on this team,” Plum said. “And I also feel like we have some generational personalities. And I think that people connect with people. So growing the game is something that I think is important to us individually and collectively as a team.”

"Why wasn't I invited to the party?" 😂@_ajawilson22 pic.twitter.com/AIaQ771n3L

— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) July 16, 2023

On the court, the Aces have created one of the best teams in history. Their starting five includes four former No. 1 draft picks: Wilson, Plum and Young were selected by the franchise, while the fourth, Candace Parker, joined the squad in the offseason as a free agent. The fifth starter is Gray, who signed with the Aces in 2021 free agency and has since made herself invaluable, earning 2022 Finals MVP after a breakout playoff performance.

Coaching the team is Becky Hammon, a WNBA legend herself who went on to serve as Gregg Popovich’s assistant coach in the NBA before taking over the Aces organization and winning a title in her first season.

“I think with someone like Becky as well at the helm, it brings even more attention,” Plum said. “Las Vegas is like a perfect melting pot, and I think that it’s taken off in a way that’s been super beneficial to the game and to the league. And I think you see other organizations stepping up as well.”

Hammon heads up the Aces on the sidelines, but when it comes to the team’s public image, Wilson leads the way.

The 26-year-old has deals with companies like Ruffles and Starry that help her build her brand. But more than that, it’s Wilson’s personality that draws fans.

Her dance mid All-Star game was just a snapshot of who Wilson is. In press conferences, she professed her love for Bojangles, joked about her team not following curfew leading up to the game, and answered questions while holding assistant coach Tyler Marsh’s baby. When he started crying, Wilson looked into the media room and said: “Where are this baby’s parents?” The remark, as a Wilson joke usually does, elicited laughs from the media.

Wilson holds the attention of every room she’s in, and the same holds true on a basketball court.

She’s been instrumental in the Aces’ success, and there’s been plenty of it.

The two-time MVP has been dominating the WNBA since 2018, when she was named Rookie of the Year after a standout career at South Carolina. For her career, Wilson is averaging 19.2 points, 8.5 rebounds and 1.8 blocks per game.

Las Vegas has finished in the top four of the WNBA standings in each of the last four seasons, and looks primed to finish on top again in 2023. They advanced to the Finals in 2020, appeared in the semifinals in 2021 and won the title in 2022.

“We win,” Wilson said. “It’s easy to cheer on a team when they’re winning. And that’s what it’s gonna take, for people to see us as winning the games, playing the right way and making it entertaining. So, when it comes to growing the league or the game, whatever you want to say, I think we do it in a way that’s like, ‘It’s us.’”

While the Aces are at the forefront of the league’s growth, they aren’t the only team that has a hand in it.

The most-watched game this season so far was between the Dallas Wings and the Los Angeles Sparks, and the most-attended contest was Brittney Griner’s return to Phoenix, when the Mercury took on the Chicago Sky.

The Aces have a personality that’s hard to ignore and is unique to their franchise. The other 11 teams, Wilson says, have their own thing.

“It’s going to look different for different teams, different cities,” she said. “But that doesn’t mean, like, don’t watch it or it’s not as entertaining. It is, it’s there. Give it a chance. And I think that’s what we do. We just go out there and be us.”

Eden Laase is a Staff Writer at Just Women’s Sports. Follow her on Twitter @eden_laase.

Gotham FC's Lynn Williams etched her name into the NWSL history books on Sunday, becoming the all-time leading goalscorer across all NWSL competitions. 

Coming in the 57th minute of Gotham's 2-1 win over Chicago, Williams's 79th goal breaks a tie with Sam Kerr for the league record. The header was her ninth-career headed goal, and her first since 2021.

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"I don’t get the goals without my teammates. I have played with so many incredible people over the 10 years," Williams said after the game. "At the end of the day, I think I just owe it all to the people that are around me — all my teammates, all my family members. I just owe it all to them, and I can’t put any single one of those goals away without them."

Kerr still holds the regular season record, with 77 of her 78 goals having come in the regular season. Williams sits in second place with 66 regular season goals scored, having long been the top-scoring American in the NWSL. 

The USWNT regular has won four championships with the WNY Flash, North Carolina Courage, and reigning champions Gotham FC.

"Her commitment to make sure the team wins, even the last kick of the game is her kicking out of the box, no? She has that commitment, that passion, and that quality to be scoring goals in key moments for us, for the US, for whatever team she’s playing (for)," Gotham head coach Juan Carlos Amorós said on Sunday. "She’s wearing the armband. Having people like her in this club is what we want."

"I’m just really proud of myself. I think that I have exceeded a lot of people’s expectations," Williams added. "For a very long time, I have believed in myself, and a lot of moments along the way I’ve been told, 'No, you’re not good enough.' And I think that every single time I score a goal, every single time I’m put on the field, it’s another moment for me to continue to believe in myself."

The striker even got a shoutout from one of the greatest of all time: Serena Williams. 

"Congrats cuz," she tweeted after the Gotham victory.

The New York Liberty dominated Indiana on Thursday night, winning by a whopping 36 points in the Fever's home opener. 

A sold-out crowd of 17,274 was in attendance to watch as star rookie Caitlin Clark finished the 102-66 defeat with nine points, seven rebounds, and six assists. It’s the first time since January 2021 — her freshman season at Iowa — that Clark's been held to single-digit scoring. 

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"The physicality is definitely up there... I'm easily pushed off screens," she told reporters after the loss. "The game seems a little fast for me right now. The more I play and the more comfortable I get, it's going to slow down a little bit. It will be easier for me to make reads, see things develop."

The Fever were outscored by a combined margin of 57 points in their first two games — the largest two-game point deficit in WNBA season-opening history, according to @ESPNStatsInfo.

"We've got to get to a level of toughness," Fever coach Christie Sides in her own postgame remarks. "When things are going south on us, we're not stopping the bleeding."

"I have great perspective on everything that happens," Clark added. "It was the same in my college career. There were some moments that were absolutely amazing. And there were some moments I was not happy with how I played and how my team performed. That's just life, that's just basketball."

Liberty guard Sabrina Ionescu, who herself experienced a rocky rookie season following a much-hyped college career, offered up some insight on the matter.

"In this league, there are tough defenses all centered around not letting you get the ball, trapping, not letting you score," Ionescu said. "There were many factors that played into what was a tough first season for me in the league, but it helps you be able to figure it out. You have to have those experiences."

But it was reigning league MVP Breanna Stewart that truly stole the show, racking up 31 points, 10 rebounds, four assists, three steals, and two blocks on the night.

"In general, I just wanted to come out more aggressive coming off of last game," Stewart said after putting up the 24th 30-point game in her career.

Stewart she also commended the fans inside Indianapolis's packed Gainbridge Fieldhouse, noting that she hopes that level of support to continue across the WNBA.

"This is how you want every game to be and when it's a sell-out crowd, it gives you a similar playoff atmosphere feel," she said. "People want to be a part of this and the thing now is to continue to sustain it, continue to take the momentum that we have and turn it into something more."

WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert admitted to a "faulty rollout" of the new charter travel initiative on Thursday, the Chicago Sun-Times reported.

Ahead of Tuesday's season opener, it was announced that the only teams flying private this week would be Indiana and Minnesota. The announcement came mere days after the league made a new charter flight program for all WNBA teams public. At the time, they said it would be implemented "as soon as we have the planes."

But as two teams out of 12 chartered to their first games of the season, others like the Atlanta Dream and Chicago Sky were forced to fly commercial.

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A town hall meeting between Engelbert and the players was held in response to the confusion. Everything from the league's new media rights deal to private travel was covered in the meeting, with players submitting their questions ahead of time. Sky center Elizabeth Williams told Sun-Times reporter Annie Costabile afterwards that cross-country flights were prioritized.

"Flights that are across the country like [the Lynx] going to Seattle, crossing multiple time zones, or flights that usually require a connection, those were the priorities," Williams said. "That’s why New York didn’t go to DC with a charter, but Minny goes to Seattle."

What’s unclear under that metric is that the Atlanta Dream played the Los Angeles Sparks on Wednesday, which could technically be classified as a cross-country flight. 

On Tuesday, rookie forward Angel Reese shared a photo on her Instagram story lamenting the league's use of commercial flights.

"Just praying that this is one of the last commercial flights the Sky has to fly," Reese posted. The team still has at least three commercial flights awaiting them in the near future.

"Obviously, I think all teams should be able to get chartered," Reese told the Sun-Times. "But I know moving forward... going in the right direction, being able to have some teams [chartering] is cool. Within the next weeks, everybody will be flying charter, which will be really good."

On Thursday, Lindsay Schnell of USAToday Sports confirmed that the league intends to have all teams on charter flights by May 21st.

Brazil has been named the host for the 2027 Women’s World Cup, with FIFA announced early Friday. 

The decision came after a vote at the 74th FIFA Congress in Bangkok, with Brazil earning 119 votes to the joint European bid’s 78. 

This will be Brazil’s first time hosting the Women’s World Cup, with the country having hosted the men’s World Cup twice before in 1950 and 2014. It will also be the first Women’s World Cup held in South America. The tournament will follow the same 32-team format as the 2023 WWC in Australia and New Zealand.

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Brazil winning the bid was not entirely surprising after FIFA issued a report just last week, stating that the Brazilian bid had pulled ahead as host following technical inspection. After evaluation, Brazil was given a score of 4.0 out of 5, compared to the 3.7 awarded to the Germany, Belgium, and the Netherlands.

Brazil ranked higher in a number of key areas, including stadiums, accommodations, fan zones, and transport infrastructure. Though considered to be a frontrunner, the US and Mexico withdrew their joint bid prior to the technical inspection period, saying they would instead focus their efforts on 2031.

On Friday, Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF) president Ednaldo Rodrigues called it a "victory." 

"We knew we would be celebrating a victory for South American women's soccer and for women," he told reporters. "You can be sure, with no vanity, we will accomplish the best World Cup for women."

"We are working on a transformation, not only for the country but for the continent," added bid team operational manager Valesca Araujo.

Brazil intends to use 10 of the venues utilized at the 2014 men’s World Cup, including holding the final in Rio de Janeiro on July 25th. The CBF's proposal outlines that the 2027 tournament run from June 24th through the end of July. Last summer’s World Cup began at the end of July and concluded on August 19th.

Another notable element of Brazil's newly unveiled plan to grow of the women’s game is that "all [men’s] clubs wishing to take part in high-level national and continental competitions must now provide a structure for a women’s team." While the definition of "structure" was not specifically identified, the country has set targets with CONMEBOL to help increase the number of women’s club teams in the country.

In last week's inspection findings, FIFA noted that selecting Brazil as the next WWC host could "have a tremendous impact on women's football in the region."