A little over a month ago, the Las Vegas Aces were down in the WNBA standings and sitting with a 14-14 record on the season. Fans were not sure if we'd even been seeing them in this year's postseason after a brutal 111-58 loss against the Minnesota Lynx in early August. But that game became a turning point for their entire season.
After the loss, Vegas star A'ja Wilson made her feelings to her teammates incredibly clear. She stated, "If you weren't embarrassed from yesterday, then don't come into this gym. You're not needed or wanted here." And this motivation seemingly worked wonders, because here we are a month later - the Aces are on a 16-game winning streak and clinched the No. 2 seed in the playoffs, making themselves a real threat.
Aces in the playoffs
This Las Vegas squad is truly looking unstoppable right now. They have four players averaging 10+ points per game, including A'ja Wilson, who leads the league with an average of 23.4 points per game. Wilson has had yet another MVP-like season; she is a massive reason why Vegas is back in the championship conversation. Over their 16-game winning streak, Wilson has scored the team-high in 12 of them - including a three-game streak of putting up 30+ points. As if that's not enough, they also have three dynamic guards in Jewel Loyd, Chelsea Gray, and Jackie Young, who can also shoot the ball from deep - the Aces are third with a 3-point percentage of 35.1.
In the first round of the WNBA Playoffs, the Aces will be facing off against the Seattle Storm. They saw each other four times in the regular season, and the series went an even 2-2. In their last matchup, which took place over a month ago, things went right down to the wire. Wilson had 29 points, while the Storm's bench showed out. Storm rookie Dominque Malonga put up 22 points, and vet Brittney Sykes had 14 of her own. But the bench performance wasn't enough because the Aces were able to hold one of Seattle's most dynamic players, Skylar Diggins, to 0 points in 20 minutes on the court.
If Vegas can maintain that dominant offense mixed with their aggressive defense, Seattle will have a tough time upsetting them in this series. If they advance, they could be facing either the Atlanta Dream or the Indiana Fever in the semi-finals. They were successful against the Dream in the regular season, but had less luck against Indiana - going 1-2 against them this season.
But, if we're being honest, this Aces team feels like an entirely different squad than we saw earlier in the year. They do not seem to be slowing down. And if I were any other team in this playoff pool, Las Vegas is who I'm most afraid of.