A'ja Wilson and the Las Vegas Aces are in rarified air.
The franchise won its third WNBA championship in four seasons, completing a sweep of Phoenix in the best-of-seven Finals on Friday night. Only Houston has done better over a four-season span, winning the first four titles in WNBA history from 1997-2000.
Wilson was a huge reason why the Aces were champions again after falling in the semifinals last season. She became the first player to win the regular-season MVP, Defensive Player of the Year and Finals MVP in the same season. The 29-year-old forward was the best player on the court and is already in the conversation for the greatest in league history.
Wilson averaged 28.5 points, 11.8 rebounds and two blocks in the Finals.
“You have your Mount Rushmore, she’s alone on Everest,” Aces coach Becky Hammon said. “There’s no one around.”
Whether Las Vegas can keep its run going depends a lot on how negotiations for a new collective bargaining agreement go. Most of the Aces, like a majority of players in the league, are free agents. The team could look very different next season if players decide to go elsewhere.
If Wilson, Jackie Young, Chelsea Gray and Jewell Loyd decide to stay, the Aces could keep this run going for a while. With a fourth title, Las Vegas would match Houston, Seattle and Minnesota for the most in league history.
“Vegas is the standard. We’re here for a reason. Took a little bit to get here,” Young said. “Proud to put on a Aces uniform every night.”
This might have been the most difficult of Las Vegas' championships. The Aces had a 14-14 record in early August and were coming off a record-breaking 53-point home loss to Minnesota. That defeat could have torn the team apart, but instead it grew closer, and Las Vegas didn't lose a game during the rest of the regular season, winning 16 straight. Including playoffs, the Aces went 25-3 after that loss.
“This team has been through hell and back,” Gray said. “What a run!”
The team was pushed to the brink in the first two rounds of the playoffs. The Aces needed a late putback by Young in the decisive Game 3 to advance past Seattle and then an overtime victory over Indiana in Game 5 of the semifinals.
“This one hits different because it was different,” said Hammon, who is 10-2 in the WNBA Finals. “There was a lot more adversity then any of us anticipated. At the end of day we’re all humans. We wanted to get it right and get it right together.”
This Finals, which was the first best-of-seven series in league history, only lasted four games. The series was a bit more competitive than the sweep would indicate as Phoenix had a chance in Game 1, missing two late free throws. Wilson hit a game-winner with 0.3 seconds left in Game 3.
Now the WNBA and Aces go into an offseason of uncertainty, with CBA negotiations the major topic of conversation.
AP WNBA: https://apnews.com/hub/wnba-basketball
Las Vegas Aces center A'ja Wilson, right, looks to shoot over Phoenix Mercury forward DeWanna Bonner, left, during the first half of Game 4 of the WNBA basketball finals, Friday, Oct. 10, 2025, in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Rick Scuteri)
Las Vegas Aces center A'ja Wilson (22) reacts after scoring against the Phoenix Mercury during the first half of Game 4 of the WNBA basketball finals, Friday, Oct. 10, 2025, in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Rick Scuteri)
Phoenix Mercury forward DeWanna Bonner, right, fouls Las Vegas Aces center A'ja Wilson, left, during the first half of Game 4 of the WNBA basketball finals, Friday, Oct. 10, 2025, in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Rick Scuteri)
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Police in Ohio's capital city said Wednesday that they have gathered enough evidence to link a man charged in the double homicide of his ex-wife and her husband in their Columbus home last month to the killings.
Columbus Police Chief Elaine Bryant said in an Associated Press interview that authorities now believe Michael David McKee, 39, a vascular surgeon who was living in Chicago, was the person seen walking down a dark alley near Monique and Spencer Tepe's home in video footage from the night of the murders. His vehicle has also been identified traveling near the house, and a firearm found in his Illinois residence also traced to evidence at the scene, she said.
An attorney representing McKee could not be identified through court listings.
His arrest Saturday capped off nearly two weeks of speculation surrounding the mysterious killings that attracted national attention. No obvious signs of forced entry were found at the Tepes’ home. Police also said no weapon was found there, and murder-suicide was not suspected. Further, nothing was stolen, and the couple’s two young children and their dog were left unharmed in the home.
“What we can tell you is that we have evidence linking the vehicle that he was driving to the crime scene. We also have evidence of him coming and going in that particular vehicle,” Bryant told the AP. “What I can also share with you is that there were multiple firearms taken from the property of McKee, and one of those firearms did match preliminarily from a NIBIN (ballistic) hit back to this actual homicide.”
Bryant said that the department wants the public to keep the tips coming. Investigators were able to follow up on every phone call, email and private tip shared from the community to the department and some of that information allowed them to gather enough evidence to make an arrest, she said.
That work culminated in the apprehension of McKee in Rockford, Illinois, where the hospital where he worked — OSF Saint Anthony Medical Center — has said it is cooperating with the investigation. He has been charged with premeditated aggravated murder in the shooting deaths. Monique Tepe, who divorced McKee in 2017, was 39. Her husband, a dentist whose absence from work that morning prompted the first call to police, was 37.
McKee waived his right to an extradition hearing on Monday during an appearance in the 17th Judicial Circuit Court in Winnebago County, Illinois, where he remains in jail. Bryant said officials are working out details of his return to Ohio, with no exact arrival date set. His next hearing in Winnebago County is scheduled for Jan. 23.
Columbus Mayor Andrew Ginther said Wednesday that the city doesn't prioritize high-profile cases any more than others, noting that the city's closure rate on criminal cases exceeds the national average. The city also celebrated in 2025 its lowest level of homicides and violent crime since 2007, Ginther said.
“Every case matters. Ones that receive national attention, and those that don’t,” he told the AP. “Every family deserves closure and for folks to be held accountable, and the rest of the community deserves to be safe when dangerous people are taken off the street.”
Ginther said it is vital for central Ohioans to continue to grieve with the Tepes' family, which includes two young children, and loved ones, as they cope with “such an unimaginable loss.”
“I want our community to wrap our arms around this family and these children for years to come,” he said.
This undated booking photo provided by the Winnebago County Sheriff's Office Tuesday, Jan. 13, 2026, shows Michael David McKee, who was charged in the killing of his ex-wife, Monique Tepe, and her husband Spencer Tepe at their Columbus, Ohio, home on Dec. 30, 2025. (Winnebago County Sheriff's Office via AP)
Spencer and Monique Tepe's home in Columbus, Ohio, on Tuesday, Jan. 6, 2026. (AP Photo/Patrick Aftoora-Orsagos)
This image taken from video shows Michael David McKee walking into the courtroom on Monday, Jan. 12, 2026, in Rockford, Ill. (WIFR News/Pool Photo via AP)
