Tag: Las Vegas Aces

Kelsey Plum posts touching Instagram tribute video to her former team after Aces departure

Grab the tissues.

Veteran guard Kelsey Plum is no longer with the Aces, but that doesn’t mean she’s forgotten what they meant to her.

On Friday, the former Las Vegas staple posted a touching Instagram tribute to her Aces teammates, Becky Hammon and the entire organization. After seven seasons with the franchise, Plum was traded to the Los Angeles Sparks earlier in January.

“It’s been an incredible journey to be part of the Aces organization, and Vegas will always hold a special place in my heart,” Plum said. “The friendships I formed here, I’ll hold onto forever. I was blessed to play and learn from star coaches alongside the best possible teammates.”

Here’s Kelsey’s full goodbye message to her former team and a tear-jerking video. Grab the tissues.

https://www.instagram.com/reel/DFgUMgyStDm/?igsh=MThicjM1eTQzajNuaw==

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Former Notre Dame guard involved in blockbuster WNBA trade

A major shakeup in the WNBA.

The writing for former Notre Dame guard [autotag]Jewell Loyd[/autotag]’s future with the Seattle Storm was on the wall for some time. The relationship between the two sides had deteriorated to the point where they no longer could work together.

Now, Loyd will have a new WNBA address for the first time.

According to an ESPN report, Loyd has been traded to the Las Vegas Aces as part of a three-team deal. The deal sends Kelsey Plum from the Aces to the Los Angeles Sparks. The three teams will swap picks in this year’s draft; the Storm end up with the second overall pick from Los Angeles.

Loyd will join fellow former Irish guard and U.S. Olympic teammate [autotag]Jackie Young[/autotag] in Sin City. She leaves behind a great legacy in Seattle. She was the first pick in the 2015 draft and lived up to that billing. She won two WNBA championships to go with being a six-time All-Star, an All-Star MVP, a three-time All-WNBA selection and the Rookie of the Year.

Aces fans hopefully will get to watch games like this:

Best of luck to Loyd in her new surroundings.

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Los Angeles Sparks acquire Kelsey Plum, Las Vegas Aces nab Jewell Loyd in massive 3-team trade

This is a blockbuster of a trade!

Two-time WNBA champion Kelsey Plum is headed to the Los Angeles Sparks in a massive three-team trade that shook hoops fans on Sunday night. Also part of the deal is Jewell Loyd, — who is getting her wish after requesting a trade from the Seattle Storm — as the two-time WNBA champion in her own right is on her way to the Las Vegas Aces.

The trade is a massive one, sending Plum to the Sparks in an effort to revitalize their franchise after a last place, 8-32 season. Loyd now lands with the Aces, with the team looking to bounce back after falling to the New York Liberty in last year’s semifinals. The Storm, in return for Loyd, are picking up the No. 2 overall pick in 2025 and Li Yueru.

ESPN’s Shams Charania broke the news on Sunday.

Here are the full details of the trade for all three teams:

What a haul!

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A’ja Wilson, Aces share emotions on the Valkyries picking Kate Martin in the WNBA expansion draft

RIP to Kate Martin and A’ja Wilson’s ‘Finding Nemo’ inspired pregame handshake.

In an expansion draft, teams can only protect so many players and can only control so much.

And the Las Vegas Aces had a lot of really good players to protect from being selected by the Golden State Valkyries as they prepare to enter the WNBA next season, from A’ja Wilson to Kelsey Plum to Alysha Clark.

One player that was left unprotected by the Aces was Kate Martin. And the Valkyries swooped in and made the former Iowa Hawkeye one of their selections.

Now, Martin – who famously didn’t expect to be selected in last spring’s draft before the Aces grabbed her in the second round, and just showed up to support Iowa teammate Caitlin Clark – is poised to be one of the faces of the Valkyries. Simply put, Martin’s WNBA journey so far has been a wild ride.

With that, her former Las Vegas Aces teammates – including Wilson – had a lot of mixed emotions about seeing Martin join another team. There was happiness, sadness, a lot of bittersweetness, and of course, jokes.

By the standard of most second-round draft picks, Martin had a pretty solid rookie season. She played in 34 games, started two, and averaged 2.6 points, 1.6 rebounds and 0.9 assists per game in just an average of 11.5 minutes of action. When given extended minutes, she often shined, like when she had 12 points and seven rebounds in a win over Clark and the Fever, or when she had seven points, six rebounds and four assists in a September victory over the Dallas Wings. Along the way, she formed a bond with Wilson, one that including a pregame handshake inspired by “Finding Nemo.”

Martin could play a key role for the Valkyries in their inaugural WNBA campaign.

Former Notre Dame guard Jewell Loyd requests trade from Seattle Storm

There’s trouble in the Emerald City.

After a successful career at Notre Dame, [autotag]Jewell Loyd[/autotag] was selected first overall by the Seattle Storm in the 2015 WNBA draft. She won Rookie of the Year, and her 10 seasons with the Storm also have netted two championships and six All-Star selections, one of which resulted in an All-Star MVP. She also has won two Olympic gold medals.

But Loyd’s tenure with the Storm could be nearing its end. The Chicago Sun-Times is reporting that she is requesting a trade. This comes after the conclusion of an investigation into the coaching staff’s alleged player mistreatment that turned up nothing. Loyd was at the investigation’s center after filing a complaint.

Loyd has one year left on her contract after signing a supermax extension upon the conclusion of the Storm’s 2023 season. That prompted [autotag]Skylar Diggins-Smith[/autotag], another former Irish guard, to sign with the Storm that offseason. While the Storm returned to the playoffs, they promptly were swept by [autotag]Jackie Young[/autotag]’s Las Vegas Aces.

Here’s Young scoring a season-high 34 points against Caitlin Clark and the Indiana Fever:

If it’s time for Young to have a fresh start elsewhere, here’s hoping her first season there is a fruitful one.

Contact/Follow us @IrishWireND on X (formerly Twitter) and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Notre Dame news, notes and opinions.

Follow Geoffrey on X: @gfclark89

Championship eludes former Notre Dame guard Kayla McBride again

Still can’t get it done.

Former Notre Dame guard [autotag]Kayla McBride[/autotag] had her best chance to win a championship yet this season. Her Minnesota Lynx had a 30-10 regular-season record and took the New York Liberty, the only team with a better record, to a winner-take-all Game 5 of the WNBA Finals.

McBride did everything she could, scoring 21 points, the second-most on the Lynx. She also grabbed five rebounds, had a team-high five assists and a game-high four steals.

It was not enough though as the Liberty won their first WNBA championship with a 67-62 overtime victory. The Lynx remain in a three-way tie for the most WNBA titles with four.

McBride is used to just coming up short by now. She made the finals with the Las Vegas Aces in 2020, but the Seattle Storm, one of the other two teams with four championships, swept that series. She went to three national title games with the Irish in the 2010s but lost every single time.

It’s a classic example of always being the bridesmaid but never the bride. Let’s hope that McBride, who turns 33 next season, can become the bride before too long.

Contact/Follow us @IrishWireND on X (formerly Twitter) and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Notre Dame news, notes and opinions.

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The Aces are no longer the WNBA’s standard for championship teams. What’s next for them?

The Aces were once the championship standard, but not anymore.

It’s time for the Las Vegas Aces to return to the drawing board.

The Aces had set the standard for constructing a championship team core. But failure to adapt and a lack of agility cost the franchise a third consecutive title.

In recent years, Las Vegas capitalized on a good draft strategy (plus some luck) and filled the roster with No. 1 draft picks Kelsey Plum (2017), A’ja Wilson (2019) and Jackie Young (2019). The front office then built the remaining pieces with acquisitions like Chelsea Gray, Alysha Clark and Sydney Colson in free agency. With Becky Hammon’s coaching, the Aces created a working system of talent that bulldozed its way through the league.

Las Vegas was sound on both ends of the floor, answering anything teams threw its way. For a while, it worked rather well. The Aces got back-to-back championships out of it. But this year, even an MVP season from Wilson wasn’t enough to secure a third. It became evident that teams adjusted, and Las Vegas, with few answers, found itself out of the playoffs. “We’ve never done exit meetings. We’ve done exit partying,” Hammon recently said after falling to the Liberty.  (Warning: NSFW language)

“You gotta make the moves necessary. Whatever that means,” Hammon continued. “The best product that we possibly can. It’s not [going] to be the same group probably next year. It just won’t.”

Hammon’s correct. Las Vegas can’t afford for it to look the same.

General Manager Natalie Williams will have some decisions to make. Plum, Clark, Colson and Sixth Player of the Year Tiffany Hayes will all be free agents in 2025. After a subpar year and somewhat declining production since 2022, it’s possible that Plum could have played her last game in an Aces jersey. Clark and Colson are both at the tail end of their careers, leaving it unclear if they continue to play. Additionally, Hayes came out of retirement to join the team, leaving her status for next season up in the air.

That doesn’t even consider decisions made ahead of the upcoming Golden State Expansion Draft, where Vegas could lose players or that the Aces need another big, preferably a center or a stretch four, behind Wilson to help replace some of her production when she’s not on the floor.

Vegas did draft Elizabeth Kitley in April, but Kitley, rehabbing from a torn ACL in March, missed the entire year. Having her immediately slide behind Wilson after missing basketball for 12 or more months might not be ideal. So, free agency moves and the 2025 draft could prove paramount in helping to shape Las Vegas’ bench with Kitley.

Ultimately, Las Vegas would be fooling itself if it didn’t admit out loud that the organization is no longer the league’s benchmark and then make moves that support that notion. Undoubtedly, the field has adjusted. Top talent alone isn’t enough to bring another trophy home, and if the Aces aren’t careful, it could be years before the thrill of lifting a trophy is felt again.

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Kelsey Plum and Spike Lee exchanged some heated (but fun!) trash talk

Spike Lee vs. Kelsey Plum might be the best matchup of this series.

Playoff basketball is always fun no matter what setting it comes in. But it always gets a little bit better when some good trash talk is involved. The trash talk is always better when it’s a bit of friendly banter between a fan and a player.

And all of that hits its peak when the trash talker on the sidelines is none other than legendary filmmaker Spike Lee.

Spike attended Game 1 of the WNBA semifinals between the Liberty and Aces. Of course, he got into it with somebody and, of course, that somebody is Kelsey Plum.

The two were going back and forth in the middle of the game.

These two were legitimately going back and forth. Whatever he was saying to Plum sure did light a bit of fire in her. She finished the game with 24 points and 4 assists, with 12 of those points coming after this exchange with Lee.

As far as what was said, Plum spoke about it after the game. She didn’t reveal too much, but it clearly struck a nerve in a good way.

Of course, Spike had to get into it with somebody. It wouldn’t be New York playoff basketball if he didn’t, right?

Bring on Game 2. We need more of this ASAP.

How to buy New York Liberty vs Las Vegas Aces WNBA playoff tickets

Limited tickets for what promises to be an epic semifinal still remain.

It’s the blockbuster of a WNBA playoff matchup between the two teams with the best odds to win the 2024 championship that we’ve all been waiting for, but we’re getting it a round early.

The New York Liberty and Las Vegas Aces will meet in a WNBA playoff semifinal matchup for the ages, a rematch of last year’s WNBA Finals where the Aces defeated the Liberty 3-1.

The Aces were up and down this year, earning the No. 4 seed in the 2024 playoffs, but when you are the two-time defending champs and have the unanimous league MVP in A’ja Wilson, all that matters is the playoffs.

On the other hand, the Liberty were far and away the best team during the regular season, and the team is hungry for revenge following last year’s Finals.

Limited tickets remain for what is sure to be an epic playoff series, so get yours now before the games sell out.

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New York Liberty vs Las Vegas Aces schedule

The Liberty and Aces begin their series on Sunday, Sept. 29. With off days between each game, and an extra day for travel, the series schedule looks like this:

Game 1: Aces @ Liberty – Sunday, Sept. 29 at 3 p.m. ET – Buy tickets

Game 2: Aces @ Liberty – Tuesday, Oct. 1, time TBA – Buy tickets

Game 3: Liberty @ Aces – Friday, Oct. 4 at 9:30 p.m. ET – Buy tickets

Game 4: Liberty @ Aces – Sunday, Oct. 6, time TBA (if necessary) – Buy tickets

Game 5: Aces @ Liberty – Tuesday Oct. 8, time TBA (if necessary) – Buy tickets

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New York Liberty vs Las Vegas Aces ticket prices

As of publication, here are the cheapest tickets available to each game in the Liberty vs. Aces playoff series:

Game 1: $59

Game 2: $57

Game 3: $26

Game 4: $25 (if necessary)

Game 5: $72 (if necessary)

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WNBA Playoff schedule

Sunday, Sept. 29:

  • Aces @ Liberty – Game 1 – 3 p.m. ET
  • Sun @ Lynx – Game 1 – 8:30 p.m. ET

Tuesday, Oct. 1:

  • Aces @ Liberty – Game 2 – time TBA
  • Sun @ Lynx – Game 2 – time TBA

Friday, Oct 4:

  • Lynx @ Sun – Game 3 – 7:30 p.m. ET
  • Liberty @ Aces – Game 3 – 9:30 p.m. ET

Sunday, Oct 6:

  • Liberty @ Aces – Game 4 – time TBA (if necessary)
  • Lynx @ Sun – Game 4 – time TBA (if necessary)

Tuesday, Oct 8:

  • Aces @ Liberty – Game 5 – time TBA (if necessary)
  • Sun @ Lynx – Game 5 – time TBA (if necessary

The WNBA Finals do not yet have a scheduled start date, and will begin following the conclusion of both semifinal series.

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Duke basketball alum Chelsea Gray overcome with emotions after reaching WNBA semifinals

Duke women’s basketball alum Chelsea Gray let out some emotion once she reached the WNBA semifinals despite a foot injury early in the year.

Former Duke women’s basketball star [autotag]Chelsea Gray[/autotag] advanced to the WNBA semifinals on Tuesday night when the Las Vegas Aces took down the Seattle Storm, and Gray made it visibly clear how important this postseason run is to her.

Gray was seen sharing emotional embraces after the 83-76 victory, emblematic of her trying season.

The three-time champion hurt her foot in last year’s WNBA Finals, an injury that kept her out of the first 12 games of this season. She didn’t see the court until mid-June and only played 26.0 minutes per game, her lowest total since her sophomore season in 2016.

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The former Blue Devil averaged 14.0 points and 8.0 assists in Vegas’s two games against the Storm, playing more than 30 minutes in both contests. The emotional victory comes weeks after she became the first Duke women’s basketball alum to win multiple Olympic gold medals with Team USA earlier this summer.

Gray and the Aces now face the top-seeded New York Liberty in a best-of-five series with a spot in the Finals on the line.

https://twitter.com/espn/status/1838789019733291091

The semifinal series begins on Saturday.