For A'ja Wilson and the Aces, a second championship might just be the beginning

This is For The Win's daily newsletter, The Morning Win. Did a friend recommend or forward this to you? If so, subscribe here. Have feedback? Leave your questions, comments and concerns through this brief reader survey! Now, here's Mike Sykes.

Good morning, Winners! Happy Thursday! I hope you're having a great week so far. Let's talk a little hoops.

A'ja Wilson and the Las Vegas Aces won their second consecutive WNBA title on Wednesday night in a close game that legitimately made my heart race. We got a photo finish, folks. If there was half a second still left on the clock, Jonquel Jones' final putback would've counted and we'd be having a different discussion this morning.

But it didn't. The Aces survived 70-69. And, now, this team has cemented its place in history as one of the few greatest basketball teams we've ever seen touch a court.

It's not just the fact that the Aces won, though. Really, it's how they won.

RELATED: See the Aces celebrate their championship through these 10 photos

I'm not going to sit here and tell you Vegas struggled with this season — you don't amass a 34-6 record by struggling. But nothing about winning a championship is easy. So it's fitting that this team's biggest challenge came in its final game of the season.

The Aces were down two starters in Chelsea Gray — who is arguably the best point guard in the WNBA — and Kiah Stokes at center. They'd turned the ball over eight times in the first quarter and fell down by 12 points in the third. Still, somehow, through it all on the road, Vegas managed to dig this one out. Now Vegas is the league's first back-to-back champions since the Sparks back in the early 2000s.

This team doesn't remind me of those Sparks, though. This feels like it has Houston Comets potential, doesn't it?

I know, I know. Those are some big shoes to fill. The Comets won the WNBA's first four championships from 1997 to 2000. It's one of the greatest dynasties of all time in any sport. It had some of the WNBA's best on it —Cynthia Cooper, Sheryl Swoopes, Tina Thompson. The talent was incredible.

But don't sleep on these Aces, man.

A'ja Wilson is just 27 years old. But she's now a two-time champion, a Finals MVP, a two-time WNBA MVP and a five-time All-Star through just six seasons. Flanking her, you've got Jackie Young (26) and Kelsey Plum (29), who are still just getting started in their primes. Chelsea Gray (31) is the cagy vet of the group but still feels like she somehow gets better every year.

This team is going to be here for a while. I've got two words for the rest of the league: Night Night.

MORE ACES CONTENT:

— I hate that owners get to bask in championships more than players sometimes, but it at least gets us hilariously awkward moments like this from Mark Davis. I'll take it, I guess.

— Kelsey Plum did the thing again to A'ja Wilson. This team is the best.

— The emotion poured out for Alysha Clark after the Aces' win. She dedicated the win to her dad. It was so sweet. I'm crying in the club.

The Astros find home on the road

We have a series, folks. The Astros beat the Rangers in a pretty convincing 8-5 win to get their first lick in on the series.

The road team has won every game of this series so far. That didn't change on Wednesday. Truth be told, we probably should've known this was coming.

First, there was no way Houston was ever going to just run away with its tail between its legs. This team has gone to the ALCS for seven straight seasons. I'm sure nothing phases them at this point — except, you know, maybe bringing up that whole cheating thing.

Second, this team is also really good at Globe Life Field so far this year. Houston is 6-1 on the Rangers' home turf and has scored the most runs of any opponent who has played there, according to Baseball Reference.

This series is far from over. We might be in for a classic.

Victor Wembanyama is a cheat code

Listen, man. It's already bad enough that this dude is seriously out here displaying guard skills at *checks notes* 7-foot-4.

But nah. I'm convinced someone made Victor in a lab. Because this dude out here throwing no-look passes like this. Even the freeze frame is incredible.

The wildest part is that that's probably not his most impressive play of the night. I mean, it might be. But there are others to pick from! Bryan Kalbrosky has three for you right here.

Here's Bryan on that pass from above:

"Go ahead and watch this video ten times and tell me you can comprehend any element of what you just watched. He used all of his flexibility to save the ball from going out of bounds, then completed a no-look pass to Devin Vassell who was spotting up in the corner. WHAT?!"

Yeah, I don't know what you're supposed to do with that. All I know is it's time for me to re-up my league pass subscription because I cannot miss any of this.

Quick hits: The Heisman trophy race ... Super Bowl contenders and pretenders ... and more

— Blake Schuster has you covered with Heisman odds for college football. Michael Penix Jr. is in the lead today, but there's still plenty of time left in the race.

— Robert Zeglinski has his Super Bowl contender rankings for Week 7 and, folks, WE ARE ALL DRINKING THE DAN CAMPBELL KOOL-AID.

— Prince Grimes comes bearing good news! The NBA All-Star game might go back to East-West. I'll miss the All-Star draft, but I also miss that classic format. I need it.

— Mecole Hardman is back on the Chiefs and they're officially the New England Patriots. Christian D'Andrea has more.

— Bryan Kalbrosky has some sage advice for the Clippers. Go get James Harden, y'all.

— Here's Christian again with your picks for Week 7's NFL action.

That's all, folks! Thanks so much for reading. Catch you again tomorrow.

We out. Peace.

-Sykes ✌️