This year’s Las Vegas Aces team isn’t performing quite like last year’s championship team. This became apparent on Saturday in the game against the New York Liberty.
Behind a career-high 34 points from Jonquel Jones, the Liberty defeated the Aces 90-82 in a rematch of the 2023 WNBA Finals. The loss dropped the Aces’ record to 6-6, meaning they now have as much have lost games as their 34-6 team last season.
It’s not that the game wasn’t competitive, as Las Vegas trailed just 45-43 at halftime and took a six-point lead at one point in the third quarter. Unfortunately, that was followed by a 14-0 New York run that took control of the rest of the game.
We witnessed a MONSTER performance by Jonquel Jones 😳
Everything went her way in today’s match against the Aces, going 12-16 from the field and 4-5 from three. JJ led the @nyliberty to a rematch victory following from last year’s final 🔥
STATS: 34 PTS, 8 REB#WelcometotheW pic.twitter.com/OGhdcysVIZ
— WNBA (@WNBA) June 15, 2024
Behind Jones, who made her 34 on hyper-efficient 12-for-16 shooting, were Sabrina Ionescu with 15 points and a season-high 12 assists and Breanna Stewart with 14 points and 12 rebounds. Kelsey Plum led the Aces squad with 22 points, while A’ja Wilson had 21 points and nine rebounds, tying a WNBA record of eight straight games with at least 25 points.
Needless to say, it’s been a rough start for the Aces, who entered this season as the clear WNBA title favorite. Many of those issues are due to the absence of starting point guard Chelsea Gray, who has yet to make her season debut due to a foot injury. She is likely nearing a return and the Aces will undoubtedly be happier to have her back on the field.
However, the Aces’ problems may go beyond Gray. They have largely the same personnel as last year — the biggest exception being the retired Candace Parker, who played only half the regular season — but they had a defense that led the WNBA in defensive rating last year to ninth on Saturday. Their offense is still elite, but they have now lost five of their last seven.
Wilson confronted those struggles after the game and tearfully discussed what responsibility on a team like the Aces means to her. The whole thing was an impressive display of leadership:
Wilson’s answer:
“I put myself in front… it’s hard. It’s really, really hard, but I live so much with my teammates that I’ll take every hit from them, good, bad, ugly. I’m going out there and trying to to be the best – I understand you all say the best player in the world and that sounds great and looks great – but I want to be the best person, the best teammate, because that’s how I get the best out of my teammates.”
While the Aces have struggled, it’s not because Wilson has taken a step back. She is currently averaging 28.6 points and 11.5 rebounds per game in her career and remains a top candidate for her third WNBA MVP award.
