There’s a new kid in town, and we don’t mean the Vegas Golden Knights. We’re talking about the city’s newest addition — The Las Vegas Aces. With the Aces’ inaugural season in Sin City underway, let’s a look into the future to see what this season can possibly hold.
Though currently sitting in last place of the Western Conference with a 5-10 record, the Aces have played much improved basketball as of late. With multiple players still playing overseas, it’s easy to see why the beginning of the WNBA season has been so rocky for the team. Thankfully, we have seen all of our ladies come back the last two weeks, which is a breath of fresh air. They still need some time to gel.
Still, the mojo seems to be working. Since opening the season with one win in eight games, the Aces have won four of their last seven games.
The league’s undeniable Rookie of the Year, center A’ja Wilson, has been an absolute monster, making the transition from college to the pros look completely seamless. When you look at this team, you can see a clear standout in Wilson, who is averaging 20.1 points and 8.5 rebounds and 2.3 assists per game. She is definitely looking to get herself an All-Star game nod and has been the darling of the WNBA this season thus far.
Guard Kayla McBride is having a great season as well, the 5-foot-11 Notre Dame product is averaging 17.2 points per game this season. Wilson and McBride are the Aces first and second options for scoring, however this team needs more than two consistent options.
Could we see the likes of Nia Coffey, Dearica Hamby, or Kelsey Plum become the official third option for the Aces? Will we have another star come through for this team or are we just set for a subpar season like so many other inaugural teams? We all know the Aces have a fresh start in Sin City after leaving San Antonio last year with a miserable 8-26 last place record.
They’re already just three wins away from matching last season’s win total under head coach Bill Laimbeer with 19 games to go in the regular season.
The Aces are starting to hit their stride, just three games back of a playoff spot.
All in all, if the Aces want to bring a crowd and compete they need to win and finish strong. Las Vegas has seen how infectious a winning team can be when they’re good and the Aces have an opportunity to do that as well. However, the Aces need to figure out the third scoring option, which could very well end up being former first round pick, Dearica Hamby.
The WNBA season is not very long (34 games) and Laimbeer needs to continue to tweak the lineup to find a matchup that works best to make this team successful. In reality, we can expect the Las Vegas Aces to doo better than mirror their 2017 season as the Stars and maybe end up with a few more wins. A playoff berth and beyond would mark a definitely jump from last season to now. Nonetheless, Sin City is “all-in.” Las Vegas Aces fans will just have to wait and see where it goes.
