Sabrina Ionescu and New York Liberty stopped A’ja Wilson and Las Vegas Aces’ three-peat hopes, with the MVP exiting the WNBA playoffs.
ard this year unanimously. Her incredibly dominant performances helped the Las Vegas Aces navigate their toughest stretch this season. In the first round of the WNBA playoffs, she helped them win against the Seattle Storm.
In the second round, the New York Liberty’s Sabrina Ionescu and Breanna Stewart awaited A’ja Wilson as they had some score to settle. In last season’s WNBA finals, the Liberty were the favorite as they had a team capable of beating anyone, especially the Aces.
However, fatigue eventually nullified those strengths as A’ja Wilson dominated all four games. Her performances were enough to overcome the loss of two of her starters. In the rematch this year, Wilson’s performances were not enough. Her team struggled to consistently generate points as the 28-year-old struggled to emulate her regular season points production.
Wilson’s performances were not as dominant as they were during the regular season or in last year’s WNBA finals. Additionally, the Liberty were better defensively this season and they managed to slow down the unanimous MVP.
The MVP walking off the court for the final time this season 🥲 pic.twitter.com/04aalnkiBV
— ESPN (@espn) October 6, 2024
The interior presence of Breanna Stewart and Jonquel Jones was enough to reduce Wilson’s effectiveness. More importantly, it freed up the rest of the New York Liberty team to focus on the other Aces stars. Sabrina Ionescu’s incredible performances from the guard spot also meant that the Las Vegas Aces couldn’t find solutions on the court.
Becky Hammon feels they need some changes after A’ja Wilson does not get help
That lack of solutions plagued the Las Vegas Aces throughout this WNBA season. Head coach Becky Hammon spoke about this during the post-game press conference. She hinted that there might be a squad shuffle before next season.
We have to get better. It’s not going to be the same group probably next year, it just won’t. And I’m sad about that because I really liked that group.
Becky Hammon said
For a team that usually finishes at the top of the standings, the Aces had to depend on Wilson to drag them up to fourth. With this playoff exit, they have a lot to think about.
Becky Hammon was asked about potential offseason moves:
“It’s not going to be the same group probably next year, it just won’t. And I’m sad about that because I really liked that group […]”#AllInLV #WNBA | 🎥: @LVAces pic.twitter.com/8rltl7ehwZ
— Isabelle (@IsabelleMM2) October 6, 2024
Prime on their to-do list is to understand that they need more pieces on both ends of the floor. They cannot solely rely on A’ja Wilson for both offense and defense. Their lack of bench options in the playmaking and rim protection roles were the prime reasons for their downfall.
Watching the other three teams remaining in the playoffs, it has become evident that to win a WNBA title, the Aces will need contributions from all sides. With the expansion draft set to come in a couple of months, it will be interesting to see how they play around with their lineup.
