3 things to watch when Aces return, including Wilson’s shot at history

The first half of the Aces’ season is best told through star forward A’ja Wilson’s historic start.

She leads the WNBA in points (27.2), rebounds (12) and blocks (2.9) per game. She has 12 games with at least 25 points and 10 rebounds, a league first.

Wilson will end the season with the highest scoring average in WNBA history at her current pace. The current record of 25.3 points per game was set by Diana Taurasi in 2006.

That makes Wilson, already a two-time defensive player of the year, the favorite to win MVP honors for the third time in her career. She would become the fourth player to do so after Sheryl Swoopes, Lisa Leslie and Lauren Jackson.

Wilson’s run at history is one of the primary storylines of the Aces’ season with 16 regular-season games remaining. The team’s quest for a third straight title is on pause for the WNBA’s Olympic break, but here are three things to watch when play resumes:

1. Can the team hit the ground running?

The Aces played without point guard Chelsea Gray the first 12 games of the season as she recovered from a foot injury she suffered in the 2023 WNBA Finals.

The team went 6-6 without her for its worst start since 2018. The Aces are 10-2 since and enter the break with the fifth-best record in the 12-team WNBA.

Coach Becky Hammon said after almost every loss before Gray’s return that the point guard can’t fix all of the team’s issues. Hammon’s postgame criticisms often centered on the Aces’ sporadic effort and intensity.

Some of the team’s inconsistency remained even when Gray came back to the starting lineup. That was illustrated during the team’s 95-83 loss to the 10-14 Chicago Sky on July 16.

The team will need to find a more stable approach when the WNBA season resumes, though the schedule won’t offer much breathing room. Wilson (U.S.), Gray (U.S.), Jackie Young (U.S.), Kelsey Plum (U.S.), Megan Gustafson (Spain) and Tiffany Hayes (Azerbaijan) aren’t getting a break since they’re playing in the Olympics. They’ll be welcomed back to the Aces with back-to-back WNBA games Aug. 17-18.

The team’s bench will also be affected by rookie Kate Martin’s status. She suffered a lower right leg injury in the loss to the Sky. Her father, Matt Martin, told Des Moines, Iowa, TV station KCCI she “bruised her Achilles tendon.” The Aces declined to comment on his statement, saying they had yet to receive an official update from their medical staff.

The break will at least give Martin time to rest, as she was drafted eight days after he collegiate career at Iowa ended.

2. State of the roster, price changes

The Aces’ front office has been uncharacteristically active since the end of last season.

The team stuck with the same 11 players all of last year. This season the Aces have explored multiple options to round out their roster after WNBA legend Candace Parker retired before the first day in training camp.

The team does appear to have settled on a group of 11 players after waiving rookie center Jessika Carter on June 30. General manager Natalie Williams told the Review-Journal she doesn’t anticipate the Aces making any moves before the WNBA’s trade deadline Aug. 20.

Williams said the team will focus on the “players (the Aces) would like to re-sign” instead. Plum, Hayes, Alysha Clark and Sydney Colson are free agents at the end of this season.

Williams also said costs for Aces’ season-ticket holders shouldn’t change much next season. That should be welcome news for fans that became worried after the Sky dramatically raised their season-ticket prices for next season.

Aces’ fans can typically renew their packages, which started at $200 last year, at the beginning of August. The club became the first team in WNBA history to sell out it season-ticket memberships this year and has a waiting list for next season.

“I think it’s expected that there would probably be a little (price) increase, but we of course are still going to have family-friendly ticket prices for our upper bowl,” Williams said. “We love our fan base and hope that they continue to come back. We definitely want to sell (out) the season (tickets) again next year.”

3. WNBA investigation

The Aces made waves when the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority presented each of the team’s then-12 players $100,000 sponsorships in May.

The WNBA confirmed soon after it was investigating the offers, likely to determine if they violated the league’s collective bargaining agreement. The LVCVA didn’t wait around for a ruling. President and CEO Steve Hill said Thursday just over half of the roster is receiving monthly payments from the organization, though he did not name specific players.

WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert did not provide an update on the investigation when asked prior to the league’s All-Star Game on Saturday.

“I always let the lawyers do the work before we speak about it. So that work is ongoing. We hired outside counsel,” Engelbert said. “They’re continuing their work. When there’s something to report, we’ll be back to you.”

Contact Callie Lawson-Freeman at clawsonfreeman@reviewjournal.com. Follow @CallieJLaw on X.