Getty WNBA star A'ja Wilson
This is not something the Las Vegas Aces, two-time defending champs of the WNBA, know much about. And it’s certainly not something that star and Finals MVP A’ja Wilson knows a whole lot about. But the Aces have dropped three straight games now with a disappointing 100-84 loss June 11 to Minnesota, marking the franchise’s first three-game losing streak since 2019.
Wilson scored 28 points to run her record streak of 20-plus-point scoring games to 15, but she was quick to point out that scoring was not the issue for the Aces, and has not been the concern when it comes to their 5-5 start.
The problem: The Aces gave up 100 points in a loss for the first time in the regular season since July 12, 2022. While Las Vegas has traditionally had a high-powered offense, it was their defense, which allowed 80.3 points per game, third in the WNBA last year, that fueled their 34-6 season.
This year, the Aces are eighth out of 12 teams defensively, allowing 83.4 points per game.
“It’s our defense,” Wilson said, per ESPN. “That’s what we’ve always hung our hat on. We’ve won [championships] the last two years because of defense.”
WNBA Finals MVP A’ja Wilson: ‘This Is a Long Season’
Wilson, though, did try to shine some positivity on the team’s outlook, with only one quarter of the WNBA season gone.
“This is a long, long, long season,” she said. “I’m not going to press the panic button. I’m still going to bet on us. I know exactly what’s in that locker room. …
“It’s not going to get easier. It has never been easy for us. We’re going to continue to be us, continue to grind it out.”
Still, it has been difficult to pinpoint what has gone wrong with the Aces to this point. They have the same core back, with Wilson, Kelsey Plum and Jackie Young leading the way in scoring, but they’ve clearly missed guard Chelsea Gray, who is out with a leg injury she suffered in the Finals.
Gray averaged 15.3 points and 7.3 assists, and was a 42.1% 3-point shooter last year.
But her absence does not fully explain how out of sorts the Aces have been on both ends of the floor. It’s possible the team is simply undergoing an early season championship hangover, not playing with the same togetherness and camaraderie they had last year.
“We are fighting for joy right now,” Plum said. “Losing sucks.”
Aces Not Playing Up to Defensive Standard
When coach Becky Hammon was asked what is going on with her team, she suggested that there is a combination of factors, that there is a malaise about the team which particularly shows itself on the defensive end.
“Quite frankly, I have not felt good about the vibe since Day 1. I think our defense has sucked from day one,” Hammon said Tuesday, per CBS Sports. “I mean, I’ve had them in defensive stances doing slides like they’re in second grade … but at a certain point, throw the schemes out — you have to play hard. Every moment you’re out there, you have to play hard. You have to play the right way. It’s not like a suggestion. It’s mandatory. And we have not done it for 40 minutes.”