{"id":27935,"date":"2025-08-25T05:08:33","date_gmt":"2025-08-25T09:08:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/alofokedeportes.com\/en\/sin-categoria\/aces-resurge-aja-wilson-leads-las-vegas-comeback-in-the-wnba\/"},"modified":"2025-08-25T05:08:33","modified_gmt":"2025-08-25T09:08:33","slug":"aces-resurge-aja-wilson-leads-las-vegas-comeback-in-the-wnba","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alofokedeportes.com\/en\/wnba\/aces-resurge-aja-wilson-leads-las-vegas-comeback-in-the-wnba\/","title":{"rendered":"Aces Resurge: A’ja Wilson Leads Las Vegas Comeback in the WNBA"},"content":{"rendered":"

Las Vegas Aces: From Humiliation to Vindication in the WNBA<\/h2>\n\nLas Vegas Aces, after a painful home defeat, demonstrated their resilience in the WNBA. The team, hurt and ashamed by a historic 53-point thrashing by the Minnesota Lynx, faced the Golden State Valkyries seeking to redeem their honor.\n\n\n

\u201cWe channel all our energy into that,\u201d Aces guard Chelsea Gray said.<\/p>Chelsea Gray<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\nThe Aces tied a franchise record with 18 three-pointers and defeated the Valkyries by 24 points, the largest turnaround in results in consecutive games in WNBA history, according to records.\n\n\n

\u201cWhen things aren’t going well, you question things you maybe thought you were very strong at,\u201d Las Vegas coach Becky Hammon commented.<\/p>Becky Hammon<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

The team, which struggled to make the playoffs during the first two months of the season, suffered a three-game losing streak and remained at .500 heading into the All-Star break. The Aces, who had won consecutive titles in the last 20 years, did not meet pre-season expectations. However, after the loss to Minnesota on August 2, the Aces began a seven-game winning streak, tying with the Phoenix Mercury for fourth place in the WNBA standings. A’ja Wilson, the league’s reigning MVP, has been instrumental in this resurgence, averaging 26.1 points and 13.3 rebounds during the winning streak, and scoring at least 30 points in three of the last four games.<\/p>\n\n\nThe Aces show potential to compete and could host a first-round playoff series. The challenge now is to maintain momentum.\n\n\n

\u201cYou get excited because you see the potential. You see what they’re capable of,\u201d Hammon said. \u201cNow, it’s that consistency. In basketball, anyone can be good for one night. But the greats, they’re good every night.\u201d<\/p>Becky Hammon<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

\"A'ja<\/figure>\n\n\nA’ja Wilson averages 26.1 points and 13.3 rebounds, with 48.8% effectiveness during the Aces’ seven-game winning streak, scoring more than 30 points in three of the last four games.\n\nAfter the defeat against the Lynx, Hammon assigned a new task to the team: the players had to create their own scouting reports. Before each practice session, the Aces, led by Wilson, shared their matchups, schemes, and preferred game flow. Hammon analyzed the presentations and encouraged the Aces to question their preparation.\n\nHammon hoped this collaboration would generate a new level of commitment and attention to detail, which led to immediate success.\n\n\n

\u201cThis has helped us come together so that we can all hold each other accountable,\u201d Wilson said.<\/p>A’ja Wilson<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\nAfter the loss to the Lynx, Hammon called Las Vegas’ defense “atrocious.” Since then, the Aces have had a top-five defense and have been the second-best rebounding team in the league. This helped unlock Las Vegas’ offense, which has led the league in offensive efficiency for the last two weeks.\n\nHammon’s new task has also helped create familiarity and chemistry, something the Aces needed to develop after Kelsey Plum’s departure to Los Angeles in free agency, and the departure of Natalie Nakase and Tyler Marsh, the Aces’ two main assistant coaches, to head coaching positions in Golden State and Chicago, respectively. This trio had helped Las Vegas win WNBA titles in 2022 and 2023.\n\nWith the addition of six-time All-Star Jewell Loyd and four other new players to the team, this year’s team looked and operated differently. However, the Aces did not anticipate how long it would take them to consolidate.\n\n\n

\u201cOur offense and defense are so fluid that we had to take time to learn and understand the new habits,\u201d Gray said. \u201cIt\u2019s only when you learn those habits that you can start to form as a team.\u201d<\/p>Chelsea Gray<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\nLoyd, who set a single-season scoring record with Seattle, struggled to find her rhythm with the Aces. She was limited to single digits in six of 11 games in July, shooting 33.6%. Hammon experimented with different combinations in the starting lineup, but nothing worked. Loyd suggested coming off the bench, but Hammon was reluctant to make the change.\n\nAfter Loyd didn’t score in a loss on July 25, the guard insisted on being removed from the starting lineup.\n\n\n

“I didn’t want her to feel like I was giving up on her or losing confidence in her, because that wasn’t the case,” Hammon said. “I made that very clear. … As a coach, when a player says she needs a change, you have to find a change.”<\/p>Becky Hammon<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\nAlthough Loyd plays five minutes less, he is scoring five more points per game coming off the bench, averaging 14.6 points in 25 minutes during his 10 games as a substitute.\n\n\n

\u201cWe know how to weather the storms at this point. At first, we couldn’t get that. We didn’t understand that we have a completely new group, from top to bottom,\u201d Wilson said. \u201cThat takes time and requires us to give ourselves a lot of grace and a lot of communication\u201d.<\/p>A’ja Wilson<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\nAfter the August 2nd defeat against Minnesota, Wilson sent a group text message to her teammates. The message was simple: forget this game and move on, but don’t forget how it made everyone feel.\n\nIt wasn’t her first motivational speech of the season. The Aces’ early-season struggles led Wilson to become a more vocal leader, which has been one of the most important developments of the Las Vegas season.\n\n\n

\u201cIt’s easy to lead when you’re winning. Winning disguises a lot of different things,\u201d Wilson said. \u201cBut when you’re in the trenches and things aren’t going well, when you feel like everyone has something to say about this Aces team, how do you lead that? How do you get all these minds to agree to stay calm despite the noise?\u201d.<\/p>A’ja Wilson<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\nFor most of her career, Wilson built her leadership style based on her playing skills. The three-time WNBA MVP can dominate games. Last week, she became the first player in WNBA history to record a 30-point, 20-rebound game. This season she is averaging 22.3 points, 10.0 rebounds, 3.3 assists, 2.1 blocks, and 1.6 steals, and has scored at least 27 points in five of the last six games. However, Wilson is making sure not to force the action.\n\n\n

\u201cI told myself, after the All-Star break, to let the game come to me,\u201d Wilson said after a win over Phoenix on Friday. \u201cIt\u2019s going to be what it\u2019s going to be. If I try to press it or force it because I want this win so bad for my team, it\u2019s like forcing a fart. All you get is shit.\u201d<\/p>A’ja Wilson<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\nAccording to Hammon, Wilson’s growth in her game and leadership has kept the Aces’ locker room intact.\n\n\n

\u201cA lot of times it can crumble when you have tough moment after tough moment or you\u2019re so close and you lose another one. It\u2019s easy to lose the locker room, not just with me, but with them amongst themselves,\u201d Hammon said. \u201cThey haven\u2019t. They\u2019ve persevered. My leaders have led when it\u2019s hard and complicated.\u201d<\/p>Becky Hammon<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\nMaintaining confidence allowed the Aces to remain confident as they worked through their issues. With nine games remaining in the regular season, they are on the longest winning streak in the league and are competing to secure home-court advantage in the first round of the playoffs, which begin on September 14.\n\n\n

\u201cThis is what it takes to win championships. You have to get it right nine out of 10 times, 10 out of 10 times,\u201d Hammon said. \u201cYou just keep demanding that greatness.\u201d<\/p>Becky Hammon<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Las Vegas Aces: From Humiliation to Vindication in the WNBA Las Vegas Aces, after a painful home defeat, demonstrated their resilience in the WNBA. The team, hurt and ashamed by a historic 53-point thrashing by the Minnesota Lynx, faced the Golden State Valkyries seeking to redeem their honor. \u201cWe channel all our energy into that,\u201d […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":27936,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[43],"tags":[3740,784,1086,382],"class_list":{"0":"post-27935","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-wnba","8":"tag-aja-wilson","9":"tag-becky-hammon","10":"tag-las-vegas-aces","11":"tag-wnba"},"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/alofokedeportes.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27935","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/alofokedeportes.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/alofokedeportes.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alofokedeportes.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alofokedeportes.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=27935"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/alofokedeportes.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27935\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alofokedeportes.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/27936"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/alofokedeportes.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=27935"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alofokedeportes.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=27935"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alofokedeportes.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=27935"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}