2021 Las Vegas Aces season

Last updated

2021 Las Vegas Aces season
Coach Bill Laimbeer
Arena Michelob Ultra Arena
Attendance2,943 per game
Results
Record248 (.750)
Place1st (Western)
Playoff finish2nd seed, Lost in Semifinals to Phoenix Mercury 2–3
Team Leaders
Points A'ja Wilson – 18.3 ppg
Rebounds A'ja Wilson – 9.3 rpg
Assists Chelsea Gray – 5.9 apg

The 2021 Las Vegas Aces season was the franchise's 25th season in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) and the 4th year the franchise was based in Las Vegas. The regular season tipped off on May 15, 2021 at the Seattle Storm. [1]

Contents

The Aces started the season by splitting a two game set in Seattle in a rematch of last year's finals. After that set, they won four of their remaining five games in May, with their only other loss coming against Connecticut. They lost their opening game in June, but went on a five game winning streak from there. The streak was snapped in Minnesota, in overtime, in a one point loss to the Lynx. The Aces followed the loss with an overtime win against Seattle to finish out June 7–2. They carried their winning streak into July, winning the first two games of July. The streak was snapped, again in overtime, by the Mercury. They rounded out July with a loss and a win to finish 3–2 in the month. The Aces went into the Olympic break with a 15–6 overall record. They returned from the break with a 4–1 record in August, with the loss to the Sun surrounded by two wins. They closed out the season with a 5–1 record in September, including a four game winning streak. They finished the season with a 24–8 overall record, which earned the team the second seed in the 2021 WNBA Playoffs. 24 wins tied their franchise record for regular season wins with 2008.

As the second seed, the Aces earned a double bye into the Semifinals, and awaited the highest remaining seed from the Second Round. After the games of the First and Second Round, the highest remaining seed was the Phoenix Mercury. The Aces had home court advantage in the series, but lost two of their home games, despite a 13–3 home record in the regular season. The Aces couldn't win Game 5 at home, losing by three to end the series and their season.

Transactions

WNBA draft

The Aces made the following selections in the 2021 WNBA draft.

RoundPickPlayerNationalitySchool/Team/Country
112 Iliana Rupert Flag of France.svg  France Tango Bourges Basket (France)
214 Destiny Slocum Flag of the United States (23px).png  United States Arkansas
336 Kionna Jeter Flag of the United States (23px).png  United States Towson

Trades and Roster Changes

DateDetails
December 9, 2020Exercised Team Option on G Jackie Young [2]
January 13, 2021Signed G Lindsay Allen and F Emma Cannon to Training Camp Contracts [3]
Core C Liz Cambage [4]
February 1, 2021Re-Signed F Dearica Hamby [5]
February 2, 2021Signed G Chelsea Gray [6]
February 11, 2021Signed G Riquna Williams [7]
February 15, 2021Traded G Lindsay Allen and the 24th Pick in the 2021 Draft to Indiana in exchange for the 14th Pick in the 2021 Draft. [8]
March 12, 2021Re-Signed C Liz Cambage [9]
April 18, 2021Signed G Destiny Slocum to a Rookie Scale Contract [10]
Signed F Lauren Manis, F Shakayla Thomas and C Kate Cain to Training Camp Contracts [11]
April 19, 2021Signed G Kionna Jeter to a Rookie Scale Contract [12]
April 26, 2021Waived G Kionna Jeter [13]
April 29, 2021Waived C Kate Cain [14]
May 11, 2021Waived F Lauren Manis and F Shakayla Thomas [15]
May 29, 2021Waived F Emma Cannon and signed F Joyner Holmes [16]
June 28, 2021Waived F Joyner Holmes [17]
July 2, 2021Signed C Kiah Stokes [18]
September 2, 2021Signed G Bria Holmes to a 7-Day Contract [19]

Roster

2021 Las Vegas Aces roster
PlayersCoaches
Pos.#Nat.NameHeightWeightDOBFromYrs
C 8 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Cambage, Liz 6' 8" (2.03m)216 lb (98kg)1991-08-18 Australia 4
G 12 Flag of the United States.svg Gray, Chelsea 5' 11" (1.8m)170 lb (77kg)1992-10-08 Duke 6
F 5 Flag of the United States.svg Hamby, Dearica   Cruz Roja.svg 6' 3" (1.91m)189 lb (86kg)1993-11-06 Wake Forest 6
G 32 Flag of the United States.svg Holmes, Bria 6' 3" (1.91m)170 lb (77kg)1994-04-19 West Virginia 4
G/F 35 Flag of the United States.svg McCoughtry, Angel   Cruz Roja.svg 6' 1" (1.85m)173 lb (78kg)1986-09-10 Louisville 11
C 19 Flag of South Korea.svg Ji-su, Park 6' 5" (1.96m)206 lb (93kg)1998-12-06 South Korea 2
G 10 Flag of the United States.svg Plum, Kelsey 5' 8" (1.73m)145 lb (66kg)1994-08-24 Washington 3
G 24 Flag of the United States.svg Slocum, Destiny 5' 6" (1.68m)157 lb (71kg)1997-09-09 Arkansas R
C 41 Flag of Turkey.svg Stokes, Kiah 6' 3" (1.91m)191 lb (87kg)1993-03-30 Connecticut 5
G 2 Flag of the United States.svg Williams, Riquna 5' 6" (1.68m)165 lb (75kg)1990-05-28 Miami (FL) 8
F 22 Flag of the United States.svg Wilson, A'ja 6' 4" (1.93m)195 lb (88kg)1996-08-08 South Carolina 3
G 0 Flag of the United States.svg Young, Jackie 6' 0" (1.83m)165 lb (75kg)1997-09-16 Notre Dame 2
Head coach
Flag of the United States.svg Bill Laimbeer (Notre Dame)
Assistant coaches
Flag of the United States.svg Tanisha Wright (Penn State)
Flag of the United States.svg Vanessa Nygaard (Stanford)
Flag of the United States.svg Sugar Rodgers (Georgetown)
Athletic trainer
Flag of the United States.svg Michelle Anumba (Duke)



Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (FA) Free agent
  • (IN) Inactive
  • (S) Suspended
  • Cruz Roja.svg Injured

Game log

Preseason

2021 pre-season game log
May: 0–1 (Home: 0–1; Road: 0–0)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation
Attendance
Record
1May 2 Los Angeles Sparks L 71–80 Scrimmage Michelob Ultra Arena
No Fans
0–1
2May 8@ Los Angeles Sparks T 85–85 Liz Cambage (21) Dearica Hamby (9) Wilson
Young
Gray
Plum (3)
Los Angeles Convention Center
No Fans
0–1–1
2021 pre-season schedule

Regular season

2021 game log
Total: 24–8 (Home: 13–3; Road: 11–5)
May: 5–2 (Home: 3–1; Road: 2–1)
June : 7–2 (Home: 4–0; Road: 3–2)
July : 3–2 (Home: 1–2; Road: 2–0)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation
Attendance
Record
17July 2@ Los Angeles Sparks W 66–58 A'ja Wilson (20) A'ja Wilson (10) Chelsea Gray (4) Los Angeles Convention Center
959
13–4
18July 4 Atlanta Dream W 118–95 Kelsey Plum (23) Cambage
Hamby (10)
Kelsey Plum (8) Michelob Ultra Arena
2,705
14–4
19July 7 Phoenix Mercury L 90–99 (OT) A'ja Wilson (25) A'ja Wilson (12) Gray
Wilson (6)
Michelob Ultra Arena
3,013
14–5
20July 9 Minnesota Lynx L 67–77 Kelsey Plum (18) Kiah Stokes (12) Chelsea Gray (5) Michelob Ultra Arena
No Fans
14–6
21July 11@ Dallas Wings W 95–79 Hamby
Wilson (22)
A'ja Wilson (13) A'ja Wilson (8) College Park Center
2,533
15–6
August : 4–1 (Home: 2–0; Road: 2–1)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation
Attendance
Record
22August 15 Washington Mystics W 84–83 A'ja Wilson (20) A'ja Wilson (14) Chelsea Gray (11) Michelob Ultra Arena
3,024
16–6
23August 17 Washington Mystics W 93–83 Kelsey Plum (24) A'ja Wilson (14) Plum
Wilson (5)
Michelob Ultra Arena
3,241
17–6
24August 24@ Connecticut Sun L 62–76 Chelsea Gray (15) Camgabe
Williams (6)
Jackie Young (5) Mohegan Sun Arena
4,012
17–7
25August 26@ Atlanta Dream W 78–71 A'ja Wilson (21) A'ja Wilson (12) Kelsey Plum (8) Gateway Center Arena
2,182
18–7
26August 28@ Indiana Fever W 87–71 Riquna Williams (15) Liz Cambage (9) Gray
Plum (6)
Indiana Farmers Coliseum
N/A
19–7
September : 5–1 (Home: 3–0; Road: 2–1)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation
Attendance
Record
27September 2 Chicago Sky W 90–83 Plum
Williams
Wilson (21)
Kiah Stokes (13) Chelsea Gray (5) Michelob Ultra Arena
5,150
20–7
28September 5@ Chicago Sky L 84–92 Kelsey Plum (23) A'ja Wilson (12) Chelsea Gray (5) Wintrust Arena
5,210
20–8
29September 8 Minnesota Lynx W 102–81 Jackie Young (29) Jackie Young (10) Chelsea Gray (14) Michelob Ultra Arena
5,663
21–8
30September 13 Dallas Wings W 85–75 Kelsey Plum (30) A'ja Wilson (12) Kelsey Plum (5) Michelob Ultra Arena
N/A
22–8
31September 17@ Chicago Sky W 103–70 Riquna Williams (22) Kiah Stokes (13) Stokes
Wilson (7)
Wintrust Arena
4,911
23–8
32September 19@ Phoenix Mercury W 84–83 Kelsey Plum (23) Jackie Young (7) Jackie Young (4) Phoenix Suns Arena
9,724
24–8
2021 season schedule

Playoffs

2021 playoff game log
Total: 2–3
Semifinals
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation
Attendance
Series
1September 28 Phoenix W 96–90 Riquna Williams (26) A'ja Wilson (9) Chelsea Gray (12) Michelob Ultra Arena
7,009
1–0
2September 30 Phoenix L 91–117 Kelsey Plum (25) A'ja Wilson (9) Gray
Wilson (7)
Michelob Ultra Arena
6,432
1–1
3October 3@ Phoenix L 60–87 Liz Cambage (13) Dearica Hamby (7) Jackie Young (3) Desert Financial Arena
7,090
1–2
4October 6@ Phoenix W 93–76 Chelsea Gray (22) A'ja Wilson (12) Gray
Plum (6)
Footprint Center
11,255
2–2
5October 8 Phoenix L 84–87 Gray
Plum (22)
Liz Cambage (11) Chelsea Gray (6) Michelob Ultra Arena
9,680
2–3
2021 playoff schedule

Standings

#Team W L PCT GB Conf. Home Road Cup
1xConnecticut Sun 266.81312–315–111–59–1
2xLas Vegas Aces 248.750211–413–311–56–4
3xMinnesota Lynx 2210.688410–513–39–77–3
4xSeattle Storm 2111.65659–611–510–68–2
5xPhoenix Mercury 1913.59476–97–912–45–5
6xChicago Sky 1616.5001010–56–1010–66–4
7xDallas Wings 1418.438127–87–97–93–7
8xNew York Liberty 1220.375146–97–95–115–5
9eWashington Mystics 1220.375147–88–84–124–6
10eLos Angeles Sparks 1220.375142–138–84–121–9
11eAtlanta Dream 824.250186–94–124–124–6
12eIndiana Fever 626.188204–114–122–142–8

Notes

(#) – League Standing
x – Clinched playoff berth
e – Eliminated from playoff contention
Source: Overall standings and Commissioner's Cup Standings

Playoffs

First round
Sept. 23
Second round
Sept. 26
Semifinals
Sept. 28 – Oct. 8
WNBA Finals
Oct. 10 – Oct. 17
2 Las Vegas Aces 9691609384
4 Seattle Storm 805 Phoenix Mercury 90117877687
5 Phoenix Mercury 835 Phoenix Mercury 85OT5 Phoenix Mercury 7791OT5074
8 New York Liberty 826 Chicago Sky 91868680
1 Connecticut Sun 95798369
3 Minnesota Lynx 766 Chicago Sky 1012OT688679
6 Chicago Sky 816 Chicago Sky 89
7 Dallas Wings 64

Note: Teams re-seeded after each round.

Statistics

Legend
  GPGames played  GS Games started MPG Minutes per game RPG  Rebounds per game
 APG  Assists per game SPG  Steals per game BPG  Blocks per game PPG Points per game
 FG%  Field-goal percentage 3P%  3-point field-goal percentage FT%  Free-throw percentage TO  Turnovers per game
 PF  Fouls per gameTeam leaderLeague leader

Source: [20]

Regular Season

PlayerGPGSMPGFG%3P%FT%RPGAPGSPGBPGPPG
A'ja Wilson 323231.944.410087.69.33.10.91.318.3
Kelsey Plum 26025.543.738.694.42.53.61.00.014.8
Liz Cambage 252423.854.335.771.08.21.30.91.614.2
Jackie Young 323231.850.525.083.34.13.21.10.312.2
Dearica Hamby 29024.554.525.065.56.71.71.10.111.6
Chelsea Gray 323228.945.438.088.92.95.91.20.311.1
Riquna Williams 323226.044.441.792.02.61.60.80.410.5
Park Ji-su 2508.932.70.083.31.80.80.10.62.0
Kiah Stokes 15820.558.80.050.06.11.00.40.71.5
Destiny Slocum 2106.431.833.360.00.90.60.10.01.0
Angel McCoughtry 100.00.00.00.00.00.00.00.00.0

Awards and honors

RecipientAwardDate awardedRef.
A'ja Wilson Western Conference Player of the Month - June July 1 [21]
Chelsea Gray WNBA All-Star Selection June 30 [22]
Liz Cambage
Dearica Hamby
A'ja Wilson
A'ja Wilson Western Conference Player of the Week July 6 [23]
Kelsey Plum September 20 [24]
Kelsey Plum Western Conference Player of the Month - September September 20 [25]
Kelsey Plum Sixth Woman of the Year September 30 [26]
Dan Padover Basketball Executive of the Year [27]
A'ja Wilson All-WNBA Second Team October 15 [28]

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References

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  25. "Kia WNBA Players of the Month: Jonquel Jones and Kelsey Plum". wnba.com. WNBA. September 20, 2021. Retrieved September 22, 2021.
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