Here again, you’re standing at the gateway to the WNBA season. The shower in April brings May flowers and the meaningful basketball that goes with it. How long has it been since you enjoyed the privilege of watching A’ja Wilson play basketball?
For the first time in two years, the Las Vegas ace has no title to defend. It’s a sentence that dozens of fanbases are terrifying to read, and an exciting sentence for Vegas loyalists.
“There’s a starving mode where we’re in,” Chelsea Gray said. Head coach Becky Hamon conveyed the portrayal between hunger and hunger for another title.
In 2024, Ace was actually hungry for 3 peats, but it was linked to countless factors, many health and fatigue. Jackie Young suffered a leg injury during the Olympics and was not the same when he returned to the WNBA reopening. Chelsea Gray missed the beginning of the season recovering from the broken leg that suffered in the 2023 WNBA Finals and failed to find a shape of her own peak for the rest of the season. Kelsey Plum has recorded her lowest 2 and 3 points field goal percentage since 2019. The Overtax’s supporting cast was the best with stunning plays from Alysha Clark and Tiffany Hayes, but failed to cover the ground in 2022 and 2023, when ACES reigned.
All of this was distracting from Wilson’s third MVP season. This is a sample of 38 games that crushed the league records left and right. Think about it: Wilson sets career-highs on points per game (26.9, WNBA Records), rebound (11.9), block (2.6), steel (1.8), and (minimum) turnover (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 a hero’s thing. When things are moving intermittently, it’s easy to praise great players for their efforts. Deeperful properties become apparent in an era of chaos on the court. Everyone around her fell into the cumulative impact of many deep playoff runs, which often made it feel like Wilson was supporting the Ace on her own. She reached Heights individually, which we didn’t think could be deduced, but it took every ounce of her greatness to reach the semi-finals.
Las Vegas finished fourth in net ratings. This is 2 seconds in offense and 5th in defense. It was a defensive slip that sacrificed head coach Becky Hammon’s crew more than anything else. Wilson covered an average gap of 4.4 strains, but there were too many holes around for ACES to overcome the power of freedom.
Things are entering 2025. For the first time in what feels like age, the Las Vegas ace had a positive offseason of player movements.
Out was plum, moved in a deal that brought Jewelroid to Ace.. There was a consensus among those who knew that both Plum and Loyd were ready to change the landscape after spending their entire professional careers with Las Vegas and Seattle, respectively. Given that Plum is likely on the way anyway, receiving Lloyd in return is a boon for an ace team that needs to make more shots outside the glorious Wilson/Young/Grey trio. With Clark and Hayes gone, Lloyd will return after the 2024 Down Year, becoming essential to Vegas’ third title dream.
There are reasons for optimism outside of the new Core Four. Cheyenne Parker Taius misses at least the first three months of the season due to pregnancy. Las Vegas hopes to strengthen the team’s frontcourt depth when she returns to the court. Ace veteran Kia Stokes is back. Virginia Tech graduate Liz Kitley is also part of the photo, a number that gets a few minutes from the bench while Parker Taius is away. Hamon hoped Megan Gustafson would appear in frontcourt photos after the promising 2024. She’s been indefinitely due to a lower limb injury.
The guards and wing groups are in better shape. Is this the year Dana Evans finds a consistent role in his competitors? Backing up Gray is the perfect gig for Evans at this point in her career. Tiffany Mitchell adds a defensive temper to the boundaries and makes an attack from the bench if he feels 100%. Crystal Bradford succeeded in Atlanta in 2021 at W and thrived with unlimited athletes this winter. She is the type of energy player that Las Vegas needs to deliver sparks during stretches where the core 4 is either resting or funk.
Perhaps most exciting, ACES selected Aaliyah Nye from Alabama on the 13th pick in the 2025 draft. NYE recorded an exceptional 3-point shooting rate in three years at Crimson Tide, with sturdy defenses with fellow security guards and wings. This type of 3-and-D player is exactly what Las Vegas needs when Clark returns to Seattle in the offseason. Don’t be surprised if NYE plays a key role in this team, or if you’re watching with the Core 4 for a while with a small lineup with enemy power forwards dressed in Young or Gray.
What can we expect from the ace in Las Vegas in 2025? The floor is high and the ceiling is known to be “another championship.” Las Vegas ultimately relies heavily on overall health along its spectrum. If Young returns to himself (I’m cautiously optimistic), and Grey continues to introduce this offseason to unparalleled, Ace will be sitting in the top tier of the candidates alongside New York and Minnesota. The misfortune of the injury and its ceiling begin to decrease.
Above all, I am excited to see what the next thing the governing MVP is. Wilson achieved everything you could possibly guess at a basketball game. At this point, it’s back to basics: “How do you get back to the WNBA peak?”
If anyone can solve that puzzle, it’s Aja Wilson.
