The Las Vegas Aces are the WNBA’s winningest franchise since 2019. With two championships, three MVP awards for A’ja Wilson, and the most wins of any franchise this decade, the Aces have cemented themselves as a powerhouse first under the guidance of Bill Laimbeer and now with Becky Hammon at the helm (the latter having led the team to the aforementioned title victories).
The 2025 season has not begun in the same manner for Las Vegas. The Aces dropped to 4-4 Wednesday night following a 97-89 loss to the Los Angeles Sparks. Of course, a .500 mark doesn’t necessarily mean the sky is falling. But there are real problems with this roster that have become apparent just eight games into the season.
So what’s gone wrong for the Aces? You have to start with the biggest move they made over the offseason: the Kelsey Plum trade. In a three team deal with the Sparks and the Storm, Vegas sent Plum to Los Angeles and acquired Jewell Loyd from Seattle.
It’s not so much about losing Plum as it was clear she wanted out of Las Vegas. Sometimes you have to move on from premier players. It’s what they got in return. Loyd, a six-time All-Star and former scoring champion in 2023, was supposed to provide the secondary scoring behind A’ja Wilson that was lost with the departure of Plum.
Instead, Loyd has been extremely disappointing. Shooting a measly 29.9% from the field, she’s averaging just 9.1 points, 4.1 rebounds, and 2.1 assists this season. In her 11th year in the league, this is Loyd’s worst scoring output to date.
Loyd’s always been a high-volume shooter, but the efficiency numbers have been damning this year. Despite being the third highest paid player in the league, Loyd hasn’t nearly been good enough to replace Plums’s production.
Hammon revealed after the game last night that there’s been discussion about bringing Loyd off the bench. “Yes, it’s been talked about. Brought up by her [Loyd],” said Hammon.
It doesn’t seem like any kind of formal decision has been made to move Jewell Loyd to the bench, but according to Becky Hammon, it’s something that has been talked about. https://t.co/uebVRheODw pic.twitter.com/aluC4oLAgk
— Natalie Esquire (@natfluential) June 12, 2025
The team’s struggles don’t fall squarely on Loyd’s shoulders, though. There’s a real lack of depth on this Aces team, something that was a strength in previous seasons. Alysha Clark was the WNBA’s Sixth Player of the Year in 2023 and Tiffany Hayes won the same award the following season.
You can see why Vegas let both Clark and Hayes walk this past offseason. Clark is 37, Hayes is 35, and both of them got significant raises from Seattle and Golden State, respectively. Given the amount of money tied up with Loyd, Wilson, and others, Vegas couldn’t really afford to bring back these veterans that were so crucial to the team’s success across the last two years.
The problem again lies with the replacements. Dana Evans, Tiffany Mitchell, and rookie Aaliyah Nye just haven’t been productive enough off the bench. Evans was acquired from Chicago in exchange for two second round picks but she’s shot a career-low 32% from the field.
Mitchell played last season in Jerusalem before signing a free agent contract with the Aces. She’s struggled greatly in her return to the WNBA, averaging 3.3 points in 13.5 minutes on 26% shooting. Nye, the 13th overall pick in this year’s draft, has shown flashes of great potential and could very well see her usage increase as the season goes on. For now, there just isn’t the same level of firepower on the Aces bench compared to previous seasons.
Even with all these problems, every discussion regarding the Aces will eventually come back to A’ja Wilson. Her numbers are slightly down from last year’s MVP season. 20.9 points and 9.6 boards is still a very good output from Wilson, even if her field goal percentage is currently at a career low of 43%. But with the lack of production from other areas on the roster, team’s have been able to pay more attention to her without having to worry about getting hurt in other places.
To make matters worse, Wilson was forced to exit last night’s game against the Sparks in the third quarter with a head injury and would not return to the contest. There’s yet to be an update on Wilson’s status. Vegas can ill-afford to lose their superstar for any period of time.
Status alert: A'ja Wilson (head) won't return Wednesday.
— Underdog WNBA (@UnderdogWNBA) June 12, 2025
Listen, you always have a chance to compete with a three-time MVP on your roster. Jackie Young and Chelsea Gray are solid supporting pieces. The Aces could very well finish in a playoff spot.
The reality is there’s nowhere near as much juice on the roster as there was on previous iterations of the Aces. Vegas might not have a disastrous season, but their position as one of the premier teams in the WNBA is in serious danger of fading away. Becky Hammon certainly has her work cut out for her in plugging the holes on this Aces teams and getting them back on track.
