Here we are once again, standing on the doorstep of the WNBA season. April showers bring May flowers, and meaningful basketball along with it. Do you realize how long it’s been since we’ve gotten to enjoy the privilege that is watching A’ja Wilson play basketball?
For the first time in two years, the Las Vegas Aces don’t have a title to defend. That’s a scary sentence for a dozen fanbases to read, and an exciting one for Vegas faithful.
“There’s a starvation mode that we’re in,” said Chelsea Gray, relaying a delineation made by head coach Becky Hammon between being hungry for another title and being starving.
In 2024 the Aces were indeed hungry to three-peat, but worn down by myriad factors, many health and fatigue related. Jackie Young injured her foot during the Olympics and wasn’t the same upon returning for the WNBA’s restart. Chelsea Gray missed the beginning of the season recovering from a broken foot suffered in the 2023 WNBA Finals, and was unable to find her own peak form throughout the remainder of the season. Kelsey Plum posted her lowest two-point and three-point field goal percentages since 2019. An overtaxed supporting cast did its best—led by admirable play from Alysha Clark and Tiffany Hayes—but could not cover the ground it had in 2022 and 2023 when the Aces reigned supreme.
All of this distracted from Wilson’s third MVP season, a 38-game sample which shattered league records left and right. Consider: Wilson set career-highs in points per game (26.9, a WNBA record), rebounds (11.9), blocks (2.6), steals (1.8), and (fewest) turnovers (1.3). She was the most impactful two-way force in the league, carrying Las Vegas to the No. 4 seed with everything she had.
This was the stuff of heroes. It’s easy to laud great players for their efforts when things are moving along without a hitch. In times of on-court turmoil, deeper traits are revealed. It often felt as if Wilson was single handedly propping up the Aces as everyone around her understandably suffered the cumulative effects of many deep playoff runs. While she reached heights individually that we didn’t think were fathomable, it took every ounce of her greatness for Las Vegas to reach the semifinals, where it was overpowered by New York in four games.
Las Vegas finished fourth in net rating—second in offense and fifth in defense. It was the defensive slippage that cost head coach Becky Hammon’s crew more than anything. Wilson averaging 4.4 stocks covered many gaps, but there remained too many holes on the perimeter for the Aces to overcome the might of the Liberty.
Things are looking up entering 2025. For the first time in what feels like ages, the Las Vegas Aces had a positive offseason of player movement.
Out is Plum, moved in a deal that brought Jewell Loyd to the Aces. There was consensus among those in the know that both Plum and Loyd were ready for a change of scenery after spending the entirety of their pro careers with Las Vegas and Seattle, respectively. Given Plum was likely on the way out anyway, receiving Loyd in return is a boon for an Aces squad that needs more shot creation outside of the illustrious Wilson/Young/Gray trio. With Clark and Hayes also gone, Loyd returning to form after a down year in 2024 becomes imperative for Vegas’s dreams of a third title.
There’s reason for optimism outside of the new core four, too. Cheyenne Parker-Tyus will miss at least the first three months of the season due to pregnancy, and Las Vegas hopes she will bolster the team’s frontcourt depth upon her return to the court. Aces veteran Kiah Stokes is back. Virginia Tech graduate Liz Kitley is part of the picture too, and figures to receive minutes off the bench during Parker-Tyus’s absence. Hammon hoped Megan Gustafson figured into the frontcourt picture as well after a promising 2024, but she’s out indefinitely with a lower leg injury.
The group of guards and wings is in better shape. Could this be the year Dana Evans finds a consistent role on a contender? Backing up Gray is the perfect gig for Evans at this juncture of her career. Tiffany Mitchell adds defensive mettle on the perimeter, and some offense off the bench if she’s feeling 100 percent. Crystal Bradford had success in the W with Atlanta in 2021, and thrived at Athletes Unlimited this winter. She’s the type of energy player Las Vegas may need to provide a spark during stretches in which the core four is either resting or in a funk.
Perhaps most excitingly, the Aces selected Aaliyah Nye out of Alabama with the No. 13 pick in the 2025 Draft. Nye posted exceptional three-point shooting percentages in her three years with the Crimson Tide, while playing sturdy defense on fellow guards and wings. This type of 3-and-D player is exactly what Las Vegas needs with Clark returning to Seattle in the offseason. Don’t be surprised if Nye works her way into a significant role on this team, or if she sees some time alongside the core four in smaller lineups with Young or Gray guarding opposing power forwards.
What can we expect from the Las Vegas Aces in 2025? We know the floor is high and the ceiling is “another championship.” Where Las Vegas ends up along that spectrum relies massively on overall health. If Young is back to being herself (I’m cautiously optimistic), and Gray continues the form showcased this offseason at Unrivaled, the Aces sit alongside New York and Minnesota in the top tier of contenders. Any injury misfortune and that ceiling starts to decline.
More than anything, I’m excited to see what’s next for the reigning MVP. Wilson has accomplished everything one could possibly fathom in the game of basketball. At this point, it’s back to the basics: “How do we return to the WNBA’s mountaintop?”
If anyone can solve that puzzle, it’s A’ja Wilson.
