As the WNBA went into the All-Star break, one of the biggest questions looming over the league was what was wrong with the Aces, who won back-to-back titles in 2022 and 2023 but looked lost and frustrated at 12-12. They looked like they could even be in danger of not making the postseason for the first time since 2018.
Fast forward about a month, and the Aces are the second-hottest team in the WNBA. They are 8-2 in their last 10 games, just behind the league-leading Lynx’s 9-1 record in their last 10. Las Vegas has jumped up to the fifth spot in the WNBA standings, virtually tied with No. 4 Phoenix and just a half-game behind New York. All of a sudden, they’re within striking distance of playoff home-court advantage. Most importantly, the Aces are playing with the same joy that characterized their championship runs. The Aces are a fun team to watch, and they seem to have found that fun on the court again.
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So how did they do it? Let’s break it down:
Moved Jewell Loyd to the bench
The Aces made one of the biggest moves of the offseason in trading for Loyd from the Storm. On a supermax contract, she’s the highest-paid player on the Aces roster, but she just was not producing as a starter. On July 25, she scored zero points in 20 minutes. It was a bad enough game that she asked Aces coach Becky Hammon to get moved to the bench.
On July 27 against Dallas, Kierstan Bell started over Loyd, and Loyd scored 20 points off the bench. Since then, she’s had just one game where she didn’t score in double figures, and her playing time hasn’t dropped significantly. Loyd is shooting 45% from the field and 43% from behind the arc in 10 games off the bench compared to 36% and 35% in 25 games starting.
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It’s not easy for a superstar like Loyd to make this kind of move, nor is it easy for Hammon to move the team’s biggest investment to the bench. But making that change has helped the team.
Started the NaLyssa Smith renaissance
At the end of June, the Aces made a move to strengthen the team’s frontcourt, trading a draft pick to the Dallas Wings for NaLyssa Smith. She had a promising start to her career in Indiana in 2023 and 2024, but was languishing in Dallas, where she was traded during the offseason..
In Las Vegas, Smith was quickly added to the starting lineup over Kiah Stokes. She’s now tallied three double-doubles in 19 games, shooting 53% from the field (compared to 42% in Dallas) and grabbing an average of 6.2 rebounds per game (she had 4.9 in 18 games in Dallas). Smith has also taken pressure off A’ja Wilson in the paint. Speaking of …
They let A’ja be A’ja
Three-time MVP A’ja Wilson famously puts pressure on herself for not just her performance, but also that of her teammates. But with Loyd playing with the team’s second unit, and having more support in the frontcourt, Wilson can be herself. She’s scored at least 30 points in three of the Aces’ last four games, including a historic 30-point, 20-rebound performance, the first in WNBA history. She’s not forcing things; instead, Wilson is playing free and leading her team to wins. She even summed up the difference with a crude but accurate analogy.
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Performer of the week: Kelsey Mitchell, Indiana Fever
Connecticut led by as much as 21 points in its loss to Indiana on Sunday. The reason a shorthanded Fever squad came back to win the game? Kelsey Mitchell. She scored 38, tying her career high, including five 3-pointers and going 11 for 12 at the free throw line.
Game of the week
Minnesota Lynx vs. Atlanta Dream, Thursday at 7:30 p.m. ET on Amazon Prime: While Tuesday’s final regular-season meeting of the Lynx and Liberty is interesting, Minnesota’s Thursday matchup features the top two teams in the league. Every individual matchup should be fun to watch, but Courtney Williams vs. Allisha Gray is the one to keep an eye on. Gray is in the MVP conversation, and the two were teammates on the Lunar Owls in Unrivaled and know each other’s games well.
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