Yeah, I learned the game from William Wesley; you can never check me

Back to back for the ****** that didn’t get the message

Back to back like I’m on the cover of Lethal Weapon

Back to back like I’m Jordan ’96, ’97, whoa

Drake’s “Back to Back” is blaring through the stage speakers at this point of the Las Vegas Aces championship parade, and Finals MVP A’ja Wilson is donning a shirt referencing the tune about the Aces’ consecutive championships. The crowd is lively, with a healthy mix of cheering, yelling, and karaoke-style vibing along to the song. 

The champs have their backs to the crowd, but it’s for good reason. A video montage plays along to the song on a ridiculously large screen. A Wilson jumper here, a drive from Jackie Young there, a behind-the-back dot from Chelsea Gray to Kiah Stokes. 

The track is more than apt for the scene, but in the edited montage, perhaps the lines that speak most to this Aces team and their season were left out…. 

Very important and very pretentious

When I look back, I might be mad that I gave this attention

Yeah, but it’s weighin’ heavy on my conscious 

Yeah, and ****, you left The Boy no options

If there was a theme of the celebration – or in my best guest-preacher, if this message had a title – it’s that the Aces wanted to talk. They wanted to address some things. They wanted to respond to specific messages, narratives that they felt were unfair, and even on-court taunts – things they didn’t want to give attention to during the (post)season.

“I know there’s a lot of talk right now – very controversial, a hot topic – about the Night Night [celebration],” Sydney Colson says at the beginning of her first speech of the night, referencing the taunt from Liberty guard Sabrina Ionescu near the end of Game 3. 

“But the thing is, our team really was quiet all year. The way we could’ve set social media ablaze every day, but we held back and showed restraint. People had so much [expletive] to talk about our team.” 

Alysha Clark mentioned the age and adaptability critiques she received heading into the offseason. Young didn’t have much to say, but popped off in her own way; her “ I’m Silent, But My Rings Loud” shirt was a highlight.

“Issa parade inside my city YEAH”

One word to describe the @LVAces squad… TURNT 🔥 pic.twitter.com/VK0wHbcKXU

— WNBA (@WNBA) October 24, 2023

Chelsea Gray, still in a boot and, by her admission, walking on her injured foot when she isn’t supposed to be, went full “Menace II Society”  during her turn on the mic.

Even Wilson, the W’s leader in “control what you can control” responses this season, capped off her speech by thanking the still-unknown awards voter that slotted her 4th on their MVP ballot. And, of course, she did so while donning a custom shirt with her MVP ballot results on the back.

“I appreciate you because that just means I got a lot more work to do. We’re coming back. We’re coming back, baby. We’re gonna do this [expletive] again.”

Of course, the celebration wasn’t all about vindication – though after a 42-7 record (regular season + postseason) and title win, it would’ve been well within their rights to go that route. 

There was plenty of love shown between the players and the front office, and vice versa. Everyone big-upped the fans for their support, with multiple chants sprinkled throughout the proceedings. “Bec-ky!” “Jac-kie!” and “Syd-ney!” for Colson, who’s become equal parts chief of hype and dance captain throughout the night.

Hammon may have been the non-player MVP of the proceedings, oscillating between showering the front office and players with love, addressing the haters, proclaiming that Wilson, who received plenty of “MVP” chants herself, will be “the GOAT of GOATS” by the time her career is over – followed by letting Wilson know she’s going to be even harder on her – and leading an impromptu game of WNBA trivia as a time filler while waiting on rapper 2 Chainz to show up.

We’ve seen the Aces all year, but the parade felt like the first time we really got to see them. Grateful, fun, funny. But also matter-of-factly, boisterous, petty – and there was room for more petty to be displayed.

Frankly, it was nice to see this version of the group. Not just having fun, not just taking care of business, but mixing in some barbs in the process. This is what it’s supposed to look like. 

At a basic level, this kind of back-and-forth creates more buzz and conversation around the league. With the Aces and Liberty having most of their core locked in for next season, it helps set the stage for their rematches. And if they replicate their success, we could have a repeat Finals matchup. 

Having these two teams become legitimate rivals would be great for the league, both on and off the floor. In the end, we just witnessed one of the greatest basketball seasons of all time. It was spearheaded by multiple future Hall-of-Famers and coached by a Hall-of-Famer who, through two seasons, doesn’t know what a postseason series loss looks like. They had plenty to celebrate, and plenty to say.

WNBA reporter Nekias Duncan writes columns on WNBA.com throughout the season and can be reached on Twitter at @NekiasNBA. The views on this page do not necessarily reflect the views of the WNBA or its clubs.