Just a few weeks in the past, I wrote about how A’ja Wilson gave the impression to be the perfect WNBA participant who could move teams in free agency. Each night time her present Las Vegas Aces take the ground, that sentiment feels an increasing number of true. Thursday night time’s sport in opposition to the Indiana Fever gave the impression to be a turning level for this group — and it was a tough flip straight in direction of a all-time low it by no means felt like this group was able to sinking to till now.
The Aces spent the seasons between 2020 and 2022 constructing one of the highly effective WNBA groups the league has ever seen. In 2022, they lastly added the final piece to the puzzle — Becky Hammon as coach — and gained their first championship. It appeared like nothing might carry them down in 2023 both, as they went back-to-back and had been virtually anticipated to three-peat in 2024.
The group not making it again to the WNBA Finals in 2024 was not simply on them, although. Whereas the Aces had been struggling a bit, different groups within the WNBA have constructed rosters particularly to focus on the Aces within the playoffs. The rise of Napheesa Collier and New York’s dynamic trio of Jonquel Jones, Breanna Stewart and Sabrina Ionescu gave the Aces their first true problem within the Becky Hammon period. But, what began as a patchy season that might simply be circled — or simply defined by fatigue from a number of title runs — has was one of the surprising slides within the WNBA this yr.
Las Vegas at present has a shedding report of 8-9, and ranks tenth within the WNBA in factors per sport (79.3), twelfth in subject aim share (40.1%), thirteenth in 2-point share (43.8%), eleventh in rebounds per sport (33.1), and twelfth in assists per sport (16.9).
It’s an extended fall from their 2023 Championship season, when the Aces ranked 1st league-wide in factors per sport (92.8), 1st in subject aim share (48.6%), 1st in 2-point subject aim share (54.9%), fifth in rebounds per sport (34.8), and 2nd in assists per sport (21.7).
After their 81-54 loss in opposition to the Caitlin Clark-less Indiana Fever final night time — their worst offensive output in franchise historical past — Coach Becky Hammon was not happy. It was the primary time her group had shot beneath 30% from the sphere collectively since she took over as coach.
Hammon had a variety of issues to say in her postgame press convention, together with that her group obtained “their ass kicked” and that their play was “a whole lack of professionalism.”
Becky Hammon on Las Vegas Aces
“That’s a whole lack of professionalism…that is a whole lack of focus…I do not understand how you step on the court docket with 20,000 folks within the stands and carry out like that.”
Advertisement. Scroll to continue reading.— Moreau Sports activities Media Prod Co. (@MoreauSportsCo) July 4, 2025
Whereas there is no such thing as a “I” in group, it looks as if A’ja Wilson often is the exception to that rule. In Thursday’s sport, Wilson scored 29 of the group’s 54 factors, taking pictures 9-18 from the sphere. Nobody else on the roster made greater than 2 subject targets. Wilson is in her prime, and at present holds information for many factors in a season (1,021 in 2024) and highest level common in a season (26.9 PPG in 2024). In 2025, she is placing up 22.1 factors per sport (99th percentile league-wide), grabbing 9.4 rebounds per sport, and making 3.6 assists per sport.
Thursday was not the primary time these issues together with her supporting forged have come to gentle, although, and the group has tried to make “win-now” strikes to shake issues up. After all, there was the trade for Jewell Loyd in the offseason, however Loyd is having her worst season since her rookie yr, solely scoring 10.8 factors per sport. The Aces then made the transfer to trade for NaLyssa Smith, an try to provide Wilson some assist in the frontcourt. Kiah Stokes has not been contributing as a lot as she must, and the group is lacking Megan Gustafson with damage and Cheyenne Parker-Tyus because of being pregnant. Whereas the enhancements of creating the transfer for Smith can’t be absolutely calculated in a single sport, even within the best-case state of affairs it’s nonetheless in all probability not sufficient to create seen change.
The kicker right here is that in these two trades, the Aces gave away first-round draft picks for 2026 and 2027. There’s completely no profit for them to not make the playoffs; it might even be known as disastrous in the event that they didn’t, given they don’t have their picks for the following two drafts. There’s additionally the truth that you might have a 3x MVP in your group, who needs to be competing for a championship most years… time is ticking to maintain Wilson invested earlier than she decides it’s time to take her abilities elsewhere.
It’s clear the Aces must do one thing drastic… however what have they got to deal? Loyd, Chelsea Grey, Jackie Younger, and Kiah Stokes aren’t taking part in effectively sufficient to have severe commerce curiosity. They already gave away their first-round picks for the following two years. The bench is fairly decimated to start with, however you don’t have the depth there to get something again that can have sufficient influence to show this season round. Firing Hammon gained’t do something — she’s already misplaced her high assistants in Natalie Nakase and Tyler Marsh this season, and nobody else on the employees goes to make that a lot of a change. A lot of the roster is on expiring contracts anyway, making them very costly leases to different groups.
The Aces are fortunate they’ll each be walking away $100,000 richer after this season, as a result of as of proper now, it doesn’t appear to be they are going to be accumulating another {hardware} in 2025.
