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#ShrinkTheGame: 13 Days of WNBA
Day 7: Las Vegas Aces- for those who stayed in this Saturday Night :)
Fred S
May 10, 2025
With just 13 days remaining until the official start of the WNBA season, I’ll be counting down with a daily mini preview of each of the league’s 13 teams. Stay tuned as we break down what to watch, who to watch, and what to expect from every squad.
Table of Contents
Training Camp and Preseason Reminder
Teams are inviting a ton of players to training camp to battle it out for roster spots. Each team can bring in up to 18 players, so expect to see a lot of additions over the next few days.
To stay updated on who’s in and out of camp, check out Across the Timeline and the WNBA Transaction page.
#ALLIN….?
The Aces are coming off a very uncharacteristic season (for this group), finishing a rocky 4th place and exiting in the semifinals (YERRRRRRR 🗽). We saw A’ja Wilson put together the best season in WNBA history—earning her third MVP, becoming only the second unanimous MVP in league history, and notching the first-ever 1,000-point season. While these are incredible individual accomplishments, they also reflect the heavy burden A’ja had to carry just to keep the Aces remotely competitive.
Chelsea Gray was slowly returning from a broken foot, Kiah was injured (but also still not good), and Jackie had a mystery injury that seriously impacted her performance.
That said, I feel like the Aces are ready to compete again, especially with the newest member of their core four, Jewell Loyd, who was brought in to replace Kelsey Plum. Chelsea Gray looks fully healthy, as we saw from her Finals MVP-level performance at Unrivaled, where she led her team to the inaugural championship. Jackie is moving better and looking strong, and well, Kiah is still Kiah. With Jewell in the mix, this core four looks like it can be competitive this season.
The biggest question facing the Aces is their bench and overall depth. They're extremely limited in who they can sign this offseason, as players like Kiersten Bell and Dana Evans are on guaranteed contracts. KB gets a lot of criticism from the fanbase—some of which I think crosses into mean territory—but it's understandably frustrating to have a player who has shown literally zero improvement in four years. I mean, rookies are already looking better in the preseason games. Anyway, sis is here for the season regardless.
We’ve seen Deja Kelly, Aliyah Nye, and Crystal Bradford have strong showings in training camp, but the Aces likely can’t keep them because of salary cap constraints. Queen Egbo, a viable backup to A’ja and part of last year’s team, was even cut. There is one opportunity for a roster move: the Aces could sign a hardship player while Chyenne Parker-Tyus is on maternity leave. That means keeping 3 instead of 2 training camp players.
Still, I’m skeptical about the Aces’ chances to make a deep playoff run with this lack of depth. A’ja shouldn’t have to carry this heavy of a load every single year. Honestly, I can see why Natalie, their former GM, was fired.
What to Look Out For:
Jewell Loyd is coming off two subpar seasons and a pretty underwhelming showing at Unrivaled. I’m just going to say it: I think Jewell significantly benefited from playing next to Sue Bird and Breanna Stewart for most of her career. Once Sue retired and Stewie left Seattle, Jewell just hasn’t looked the same. Last season even ended with the Aces holding Seattle scoreless for an entire quarter. To add to that, she had a major fallout in the offseason with Skylar, Nneka, Coach Noelle Quinn, and basically the whole Storm organization. Hopefully, this fresh start in Vegas gives Jewell a chance to find her joy again and just hoop freely. Aces desperately need her to match or surpass the production of Kelsey Plum to really be at full strength.
Becky Hammon is heading into what might be the most pivotal season of her coaching career, in my opinion. She's coming off a disappointing year and faced a lot of criticism—mainly for not playing her bench. Yes, there was a talent drop-off, but she didn’t give players a real chance to develop or contribute, which ended up running her starters into the ground. The big question now: can she adapt and manage her rotations better to give the Aces a stronger shot at winning?
Food for thought: Coaches like Becky, Steve Kerr (Golden State Warriors), and Mike Brown (formerly of the Sacramento Kings) all get flak for not playing certain players—sometimes even good ones. I honestly think this might be a flaw in the Coach Pop (Spurs) coaching tree.
Liz Kitley is entering her first official year after rehabbing an ACL injury all of last season (yes, this technically still counts as her rookie year). Becky has said she’ll be easing Kitley into the lineup to give her time to adjust. We did get a glimpse of her during the preseason, where she had a block. If she’s healthy and effective, she could become a solid backup for A’ja, which the Aces desperately need
Question Marks
Will Becky actually play her bench this season?
With Chyenne Parker-Tyus out for most of the year due to pregnancy, will the frontcourt have enough depth?
Does A’ja have another MVP/DPOY season in her?
Will Jewell finally bounce back and have a great year?
CAP SPACE: $217,365
Free Agency and Roster Updates
Signed | Training Camp Contract | Injury/ Preggers | WNBA Draft Pick |
|---|---|---|---|
Queen Egbo-one-year deal for $78,831 | Cheyenne Parker-Tyus- one-year deal for $78,83 ( with child out until late June) | Round 1: | |
Megan Gustafson. (Lower leg injury out indefinitely) | Round 2: #13 Aaliyah Nye (U of Alabama) | ||
Dana Evans (received from Chicago) | Dana Evans (leg/knee) | Round 3: #35 Harmoni Turner (Harvard) | |
Crystal Bradford | Undrafted Invites: Deja Kelly (Oregon), Jordyn Jenkins (UTSA) |
The Coaches + Front Of House Staff
In December 2021, Nikki Fargas announced the hiring of six-time WNBA All-Star Becky Hammon as head coach of the Aces. Becky became the highest-paid WNBA coach in history with a 1 million dollar contract. Just nine months later, Hammon led Las Vegas to its first-ever WNBA Championship. A year later, she repeated the feat, guiding the Aces to back-to-back titles, a historic achievement not seen in over 20 years. In her first two seasons, Hammon helped the Aces post a 60-16 regular-season record and claim the 2022 Commissioner’s Cup. Her journey from playing in the WNBA to making history as the NBA's first female full-time assistant coach to becoming a Hall of Famer reflects her trailblazing legacy both on and off the court.
Veteran coach Charlene Thomas-Swinson joined the Aces in 2022 and has helped lead the team to back-to-back WNBA titles and a Commissioner’s Cup win. A former assistant with the Orlando Miracle (1999–2002), she brought decades of experience, including key player development roles at LSU, Auburn, and Florida, and has been instrumental in the Aces' 60-16 regular season and 16-3 playoff run over the past two years.
Lucas brings four years of NBA coaching to the staff after having worked for the Minnesota Timberwolves from 2017-2019, the Los Angeles Lakers in 2021-22 and the Phoenix Sun during the 2023-24 season. Lucas played professionally from 2005-2017 in the NBA, G League, Italy, China, Spain and Puerto Rico. The journeyman’s career in the NBA saw him play stints over eight different seasons for Houston, Chicago, Toronto, Utah, Detroit and Minnesota, where he got his first coaching nod.
Lewis brings over a decade of coaching experience, including stints with the Sacramento Kings, Lakers, and UCSB—where he helped lead the Gauchos to two Big West titles and NCAA Tournament appearances. A former pro player and Pan Am silver medalist, he’s coached at every level from the G-League to international courts.
Ellis brings a wealth of experience as a former head coach of the G League’s Stockton Kings, where he led the team to two strong seasons and topped the Pacific Division before the 2020 season was cut short. He’s also spent eight years with USA Basketball, including a gold medal run at the 2017 AmeriCup. Off the court, he co-founded The Ellis Performance Group with his wife Ericka, helping teams and individuals build leadership, mindset, and performance skills nationwide.
Hoops & Hype: Media Picks
@wnba DEJA KELLY WINS IT FOR THE @Las Vegas Aces AFTER SCORING 4 CONSECUTIVE BUCKETS AT THE END OF REGULATION! #wnba #gamewinner
@kitleys 🤭🤭🤭 #lizkitley #fyp #foryou #lasvegasaces #wnba
Check out some of the cool podcasts, videos, reads, and fashion I saw this week.
