What's wrong with the Aces? Breaking down Las Vegas' 5-6 start

The Las Vegas Aces person had six consecutive winning seasons, including 2 WNBA titles. But that's not the squad we are seeing successful 2025.

The Aces are 5-6, having mislaid 4 of their past five, and are tied for seventh place. They are ninth successful the WNBA successful scoring average, violative and antiaircraft standing and nett rating.

Three-time MVP A'ja Wilson has missed the past 3 games successful concussion protocol. Jewell Loyd, whom the Aces obtained successful an offseason trade, is scoring 11.2 points per game, her lowest mean since her 2015 rookie season. She has career-worst shooting percentages from the tract (35.4) and the foul enactment (75.0).

Coach Becky Hammon said of the Aces' deficiency of consistency: "We're inactive searching for that 40-minute game. It's similar a damn unicorn."

Is Las Vegas conscionable going done a unsmooth stretch? Or is it thing much that could impact its full season? As Las Vegas prepares to big the Seattle Storm connected Friday (10 p.m. ET, ION) and the Indiana Fever connected Sunday (3 p.m. ET, ESPN) and attempts to halt its losing ways, ESPN's Michael Voepel, Alexa Philippou, Kendra Andrews and Kevin Pelton analyse immoderate of the factors that could person played into this situation.

Championship windows typically don't past long

There are circumstantial things the Aces aren't doing arsenic good this season, and we volition code those. But the existent concern besides warrants looking astatine the large picture. In nonrecreational sports, astir teams' title windows don't thin to past much than a fewer years owed to wage caps, subordinate question and the infusion of younger endowment via drafts.

There are a fewer exceptions, peculiarly successful a league with a hard wage headdress similar the WNBA wherever franchises tin get caught flat-footed by their ain success. It's astir unavoidable. They walk to support their halfway radical successful place, don't person precocious draught picks and past go a people for the remainder of the league, which catches up to them.

The Aces had 3 consecutive No. 1 picks: defender Kelsey Plum (2017, erstwhile the franchise was inactive successful San Antonio), halfway Wilson (2018, erstwhile it moved to Las Vegas) and defender Jackie Young (2019). That trio were unneurotic for 5 years, though Plum didn't play successful 2020 due to the fact that of an Achilles injury. Still, the Aces reached the 2020 WNBA Finals.

The title halfway was completed nether then-general manager Dan Padover and manager Bill Laimbeer with Chelsea Gray successful 2021 -- their biggest interaction escaped cause addition. Hammon came successful with caller beforehand bureau unit successful 2022 and brought with her a much modern discourtesy that helped the Aces flourish and triumph back-to-back WNBA titles successful 2022 and 2023.

But Plum wanted retired of Las Vegas aft past play -- she was portion of the multiteam commercialized that sent her to the Los Angeles Sparks and brought Loyd successful from Seattle -- and the Aces haven't been arsenic bully without her.

What we're seeing successful galore ways is simply a earthy progression. Wilson is inactive arsenic elite a subordinate arsenic determination is successful the WNBA. But the Aces person relied precise heavy connected her arsenic their superior station scoring menace for a agelong time. They brought successful escaped cause Candace Parker successful 2023, but she was injured astir midseason, didn't instrumentality to enactment and past retired.

The Aces person a president successful Nikki Fargas but haven't had a wide manager since October, erstwhile Natalie Williams was fired. They're approaching a crossroads wherever they volition either request to upgrade with capable endowment to enactment arsenic contenders oregon person a fewer unsmooth years -- resulting successful higher aboriginal draught picks.

Overall, Las Vegas has excelled astatine taking vantage of the title model that Wilson, much than anyone else, opened. But the Aces mightiness yet beryllium facing immoderate pugnacious times, for which determination aren't needfully speedy fixes. -- Michael Voepel

The Aces are underperforming projections

Despite each the reasons for concern, the expectations for Las Vegas entering the play were inactive moving high. The Aces' 29.5 triumph over/under full was the 4th highest astatine ESPN BET, with lone the defending champion New York Liberty much than 1 crippled ahead.

Certainly, Wilson's wounded has been a factor. But adjacent earlier she exited past week's nonaccomplishment to Los Angeles aft being deed successful the head, she wasn't playing astatine the violative level we've travel to expect from the three-time MVP. She's making 46% of her 2s, having deed them astatine astir a 55% clip implicit the past 3 seasons.

So acold this year, Wilson has faced much double-teams than she's utilized to seeing. Per GeniusIQ, defenses person sent a 2nd defender connected 31% of Wilson's post-ups, astir treble the 16% complaint successful 2024 -- the archetypal play for which we person camera tracking data. It explains Wilson averaging a career-high 4.0 assists, up from 2.3 successful 2024, arsenic good arsenic the driblet successful her usage complaint from a career-high 32% to 30% this season.

The Aces' antiaircraft drop-off is adjacent much surprising. Wilson has remained ascendant connected that end, with 2.6 blocks and 2.0 steals per game. And connected paper, swapping Plum for Loyd looked similar an upgrade. Yet opponents are hitting 51% of their 2-point attempts against Las Vegas, 3rd worst successful the WNBA.

Besides Wilson, nary different Aces subordinate has much than six blocks this season. Opponents are shooting 73% successful the restricted country astir the basket, according to GeniusIQ, worst successful the WNBA and up from 64% a twelvemonth ago. -- Kevin Pelton

Aces' deficiency of extent is showing

While this isn't a caller issue, it has proved acold much problematic than successful the past.

Last season, the Aces had Tiffany Hayes -- named the Sixth Player of the Year -- to fell a batch of their struggles. They were ninth successful the league successful seat scoring astatine 15 points per game, 8.5 of which came from Hayes erstwhile she joined the radical astatine midseason. This year, they fertile 2nd to past successful seat scoring, up of the Sparks.

The Aces were besides playing a choky six subordinate rotation by the clip the 2024 postseason came around. And portion an offseason extremity was to amended their depth, someway it got worse.

They opted to permission then-rookie Kate Martin unprotected successful the enlargement draft, adjacent though she was viewed arsenic having All-Star potential. She was selected by the Golden State Valkyries. Hayes besides joined Golden State during escaped agency. Las Vegas besides mislaid Alysha Clark to Seattle. Those 3 accounted for the Aces' most-played seat players past season, with Hayes and Clark being their apical two. That duo besides was the Aces' starring scorers disconnected the bench.

To effort to hole the issue, Las Vegas brought successful Tiffany Mitchell, Cheyenne Parker-Tyus and Dana Evans and utilized its No. 13 draught prime to prime Aaliyah Nye. But Parker-Tyus is connected maternity permission and hasn't played, portion Mitchell, Evans and Nye person combined for 13.1 points. None are shooting supra 35.7% from the floor. As a afloat 2nd unit, the 16.2 points mean disconnected the seat is simply a spot higher than its accumulation from past season, but its 32% tract extremity shooting is the worst successful the league. The radical is besides playing the ninth-fewest minutes among 2nd units successful the league. -- Kendra Andrews

Mind implicit matter?

Even dating backmost to the Aces' struggles past season, earlier the nine fell abbreviated of a three-peat, Hammon would often constituent to her team's issues being the effect of a deficiency of subject oregon atrocious habits. She has echoed that sentiment this season. After Las Vegas' nonaccomplishment to the Valkyries, she said the squad was "soft mentally" and "not lone [has] a bosom issue, but it's [becoming] a caput issue."

What's striking astir Hammon's position is that she paints the Aces' problems arsenic things that tin beryllium controlled: Improve your habits, treble down connected your effort and determine to bash what needs to beryllium done. But arsenic my colleagues elaborate above, possibly the team's issues -- mostly owed to roster operation -- are yet not each fixable.

It inactive feels similar these Aces tin beryllium a amended mentation of what we've seen: Wilson volition hopefully beryllium backmost soon; eventually, Parker-Tyus volition instrumentality from pregnancy; their guards, peculiarly Loyd, person different level they tin reach. But aft an offseason wherever truthful galore teams made large moves to amended -- not conscionable contenders similar New York and the Minnesota Lynx but newcomers specified arsenic Indiana, the Atlanta Dream and Phoenix Mercury -- we person yet to spot this radical level up to support up with the remainder of the league. And stronger intangibles inactive mightiness not beryllium capable to compensate for it. -- Alexa Philippou

What's adjacent for the Aces?

Obviously, it volition assistance erstwhile Wilson returns. The Aces person won 1 crippled without her: 88-84 against the Dallas Wings past Friday. But their lone awesome victory, with Wilson, was astatine Seattle, 102-82 connected May 25.

After the Aces ruled the league successful 2022 and 2023, different teams are anxious to get successful their shots. But Hammon knew this was coming.

It besides means immoderate of the unit is off. Rather than driving the car that's up of everyone other successful the race, Hammon present has to motivate her squad and strategize successful antithetic ways.

As a player, Hammon was a tiny defender known for her grit and savvy arsenic an underdog who ne'er backed down. She volition bring that vigor to the Aces.

The Aces request Loyd to play much similar the champion mentation of herself -- and with much clip with this group, possibly that volition come. As Kendra detailed, they besides request much accumulation from the bench. And the instrumentality basal needs to beryllium there, to support the vigor going successful Las Vegas adjacent if the victories are harder to earn.

Las Vegas has clip to enactment connected what isn't going good and it inactive projects arsenic a playoff team. -- Voepel