Aces Defense Shows Up Against Sky in Commissioner’s Cup Victory

In what could be a potential WNBA finals preview, Las Vegas set the tone early with a strong defensive outing in the wire-to-wire win.

Before the Aces and Sky took the floor inside Wintrust Arena for the Commissioner’s Cup game, Becky Hammon continued her candid outlook of wanting a strong defensive outing from her team.

With $500,000 on the line, Las Vegas engineered its 93–83 victory against the Sky using its defense to set up its offensive firepower that included massive performances from A’ja Wilson, Kelsey Plum, Jackie Young and a clutch performance from the Commissioner’s Cup MVP Chelsea Gray, who Hammon considers an “extension” of herself on the court.

Hammon’s squad is peaking again as the Aces entered the in-season exhibition having won five of their last six games since the All-Star break, with defense becoming the team’s biggest priority. 

In that timespan, Las Vegas ranked second in defensive rebounding percentage (76.9), first in opponents points off turnovers (13.9), first in limiting opposing teams’ points in the paint (35.7) and fifth in defensive rating (99.0) per 100 possessions. “We had a little bit of a coming-to-Jesus moment after All-Star,” Hammon said after the game.

Leading up to the All-Star break, the Aces went 2–5 from June 21 to July 6, which included Las Vegas squandering a 28-point lead to the Sky and Chicago completing the largest comeback in WNBA history on the Aces’ floor. However, prior to the slump, Las Vegas had won 13 of its first 15 games.

With a Commissioner's Cup victory, the Aces look—as my colleague Ben Pickman wrote—damn near unstoppable again. But, the work is not done for Las Vegas. 

Here are three takeaways from the Commissioner's Cup.

Charles Rex Arbogast/Associated Press

Aces spectacular first quarter set the tone

Las Vegas executed flawlessly on both sides of the ball in the opening quarter. The Aces are at their best when they are pushing the ball up the floor, scoring in transition, knocking down open and contested three-pointers and scoring in and around the basket. In the 13–0 run by Las Vegas to start the game, Plum notched three three-pointers, Wilson scored on a layup that was set up by her moving without the ball, and active hands defensively from Young and Hamby led to a scoring opportunity for Hamby. The hot start helped the Aces increase their lead to as many as 22 in the first quarter with 11 of those points coming off five Chicago turnovers. “Vegas is too good of a team to get behind like that,” Sky coach James Wade said after the game. “We can’t give a team 33 points in the first quarter.”

It also played into Aces’ favor that Chicago missed all eight of its three-pointers in the first quarter and finished 6 of 30 from beyond the arc in the game.

Chelsea Gray joins the Aces’ offensive party

Plum came into Tuesday’s game with plans of letting the game come to her. In orchestrating the Aces’ offense, 12 of her team-high 24 points came off the benefit of getting wide open looks.

Even when the Sky made their big runs—an 8–0 run early, 10–1 run in second quarter and a 14–5 late in the third quarter—timely buckets from Young (who finished with 18 points) and Gray in the second quarter helped manage Chicago’s offense. Gray scored nine of her 19 points in the third quarter and Wilson notched a double-double performance in the fourth quarter as she finished the night with 17 points, 17 rebounds, six blocks, (a new record for most rebounds and blocks in a Commissioner’s Cup), two assists and two steals. While many thought Plum or Wilson would be named this year’s MVP, seeing Gray earn the honor with the support of her teammates spoke volumes, especially after she was not selected for this year’s All-Star game in Chicago. Gray, who lost someone close to her in recent weeks, said winning the award was “amazing” but credited her teammates for her success.

Was this a potential finals preview?

In a perfect world, the Aces and the Sky playing in the WNBA finals is a very plausible matchup. However, silently turning back the hands of time to 2021, the Storm defeated the Sun in the inaugural Commissioner’s Cup and both were eliminated from the playoffs. Prior to last year’s in-season tournament, Chicago was 10–10 and was No. 2 in the Eastern Conference behind the Sun while Phoenix was 9–10 and fourth in the Western Conference before both teams met in the finals.

However, this year, the league’s playoff format will not include two single-elimination games or playoff byes. Instead, the eight teams with the highest winning percentages over the league’s 36-game regular season will be seeded.

Las Vegas has no plans for its championship aspirations to end solely with a Commissioner’s Cup victory. “We’re going to enjoy this but we know what’s ahead,” Wilson said. Plum has aspirations of the team holding a much bigger trophy than the one she earned as MVP of this year’s All-Star game or the one WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert jokingly surprised her with on Tuesday. Cayden, Hammon’s son, will also need another reason to stay up past his bedtime to watch his mom’s team compete for a WNBA championship. 

But for now, let the final portion of the season begin.