by: Alana Brown-Davis
The Las Vegas Aces are red hot, living off the incredible high of an 11-game winning streak. After a mid-season slump this summer, the Aces have finally found their footing. This paradigm shift has clenched them a spot in the WNBA Playoffs. They are ranked second in the Western Conference and third overall. Forward A’ja Wilson earned her third consecutive Western Conference Player of the Week Award. She is now tied with Candace Parker for the second most honors in league history at 27.
The Las Vegas Aces are On a Roll
The Las Vegas Aces face the Atlanta Dream this Wednesday at the Gateway Center Arena. They are one win shy of tying a franchise record set in 2012 and will potentially host a first round game. Earlier this month, the Aces had been obliterated by 53 against the Minnesota Lynx. It seemed to be their much needed wake up call, because the following day they bested the Golden State Valkyries 101-77. Head coach Becky Hammon was explicit in her disappoint me with the team calling their defense “atrocious”.
To assuage this problem, she had the team draft their own scouting reports according to ESPN. This helped them to form a sense of camaraderie after the exit of Kelsey Plum to the Los Angeles Sparks this year. In addition to Plum’s leave, assistant Natalie Nakase and Tyler Marsh took head coaching positions at Golden State and Chicago. All three of them were key components in their back to back championships in 2022 and 2023.
Although the season has been on since May, it seems that the Aces are operating more holistically than individually. “We know how to weather storms right now. In the beginning, we couldn’t get that. We didn’t understand that we have a whole new group, top to bottom,” Wilson said in an ESPN article. “That takes time and it takes giving each other a lot of grace and a lot of communication.”
Ever since, they’ve been on an adrenaline rush that doesn’t seem to let up. The Aces have nine games left in the regular season and maintaining positive locker room culture will be their guiding light. Now that they’ve done the grunt work its simply mentality that will continue to bring them through.
Coach Hammon said it best. “You get excited because you see the potential. You see what they are capable of,” Hammon said. “Now, it’s that consistency. In basketball, anyone can be good for a night. But the great ones, they are good every night.”