It’s been a wild year, sports fans. Here are the seven Greatest Las Vegas Sports Moments of 2022
#7 Kyle Busch comes from behind to claim first Bristol Dirt victory
Las Vegas native Kyle Busch might have been running third on the last lap of the Food City dirt race at Bristol Motor Speedway, but that’s not how it ended. Instead, Busch managed to slip past Chase Briscoe and Tyler Reddick as they spun in the final turn. Busch would go on to collect the victory and guarantee himself a spot in the playoffs.
While Busch looked to have no chance in the closing moments of the race, an irritating slide job on Reddick sent both cars into a spin. This turned out to be one of the best finishes of the 2022 NASCAR season and is one of the most spectacular of Busch’s career.
#6 The Las Vegas Raiders score their first defensive touchdown in three years
The Las Vegas Raiders’ defense has something to celebrate after scoring their first touchdown in three years. The play occurred during an October second matchup against the Denver Broncos, where Melvin Gordon was stripped of the ball. The pigskin fell right into Amik Robertson’s hands, who was more than happy to take it to the house.
The play helped Las Vegas to a 32-23 victory, which was also their first win of the 2022 season.
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#5 Becky Hammon leads the Las Vegas Aces to victory in her first game as head coach
There are some moments people will remember forever and winning your first game as a WNBA coach is one of them. Fortunately for Becky Hammon, she was able to lead the Aces to a 106-88 victory against the Phoenix Mercury to start the 2022 season. She would then go on to defeat the Seattle Storm before falling to the Washington Mystics
While Hammon’s first winning streak would be snuffed out, she would then help the Aces to a seven-game winning streak! This included victories over the Chicago Sky, the Dallas Wings, the Atlanta Dream, and the Connecticut Suns. Hammon really showed her talent early on in the 2022 season and the team looked better than ever.
#4 Kurt Busch wins his final Cup Series career race at Kansas
Las Vegas native Kurt Busch is a grizzled veteran of the NASCAR Cup Series and someone who has accomplished a lot. That’s why when he announced his retirement from the sport due to concussion-like symptoms in 2022, it was a gut punch.
Instead of focusing on that, let’s focus on the high points of his career. In 2022, that honor goes to his win at Kansas in the spring. Busch accomplished this by running down Kyle Larson with only eight laps to go and passing him. Busch then extended his lead to over three seconds to bring home 23XI Racing’s second-ever victory.
#3 Joshua Jacobs runs it in to defeat the Seahawks in overtime
The Las Vegas Raiders haven’t had much to celebrate in 2022, but Joshua Jacobs has been the exception to this! Jacobs already ran his way to fifth on the all-time Raiders rushing list and has come up clutch many times this season. His biggest contribution came during a November 27 game, where he scored the game-winning touchdown.
The Raiders had spent much of the game going back and forth with the Seahawks, leading to a tie to force overtime. In overtime, however, Jacobs would rush from the team’s own 20-yard line to score. He ended the day with 33 carries for 229 yards, 6.9 yards a carry, and two touchdowns! What a performance and proof that he might be a pillar of the franchise going forward.
#2 The Las Vegas Golden Knights go on a nine-game winning streak
There were a lot of questions for the Las Vegas Golden Knights heading into the 2023 season, but they answered them quite quickly with a three-game winning streak. They proved from the onset that this was a much better team than before and capable of great things.
The team then went on a nine-game winning streak that stretched from October 24 until November 12. Las Vegas managed to defeat the Senators, the Sabres, and several other teams during this time. They also propelled to the top of the standings in the Pacific division, where they have stayed for quite a while.
#1 The Las Vegas Aces winning their first WNBA Championship
How could anything top the Las Vegas Aces winning their first championship in 2022? Not only was it a huge moment for the organization, but it was also the city’s first professional title in sports history! A’ja Wilson, Kelsey Plum, Chelsea Grey, Riquna Williams, and Becky Hammon just ran roughshod through the league from the beginning.
The Aces finished the regular season with a 26-10 record and then dominated the playoffs. In fact, Las Vegas went 8-2 in the playoffs and only dropped one game to the Connecticut Suns in the Finals. They are now the defending WNBA Champions.
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