2020 Las Vegas Aces season

Last updated

2020 Las Vegas Aces season
Coach Bill Laimbeer
ArenaOriginally: Mandalay Bay Events Center
Rescheduled to: IMG Academy gymnasiums, Bradenton, Florida
Attendance0 per game
Results
Record18–4 (.818)
Place1st (Western)
Playoff finish1st Seed, Lost 0–3 in Finals to Seattle Storm
Team Leaders
Points A'ja Wilson – 20.5 ppg
Rebounds A'ja Wilson – 8.5 rpg
Assists Danielle Robinson – 3.3 apg

The 2020 Las Vegas Aces season is the franchise's 24th season in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) and the 3rd year the franchise was based in Las Vegas. The regular season tipped off on July 26, 2020 versus the Chicago Sky. [1]

Contents

This WNBA season would’ve had an all-time high 36 regular-season games. [2] However, the plan for expanded games was put on hold on April 3, when the WNBA postponed its season due to the COVID-19 pandemic. [3] Under a plan approved on June 15, the league began a shortened 22-game regular season at IMG Academy, without fans present, which started on July 24. [4] [5]

The Aces got off to a rough start to their season, losing two of their first three games. However, from there, the team would go on a seven-game winning streak and four game winning streak, only separated by a single loss. Their 12–3 record on August 29, would secure them a playoff berth. They lost on September 1, and that would be their last loss of the season. The Aces finished on a six-game winning streak, including a final day victory over the Seattle Storm to finish 18–4. The victory on the final day of the season secured them the first seed in the playoffs by virtue of a tie-breaker.

As the first seed, the Aces received a double-bye into the Semifinals of the playoffs. In the Semifinals, they played the seventh seeded Connecticut Sun. The Aces lost two of the first three games, but rebounded to win the final two games of the series to advance to the Finals. In the finals they faced the second seeded Storm. The Storm swept the best-of-five series three games to none, and the Aces finished runners up.

Transactions

WNBA draft

The Aces will make the following selection in the 2020 WNBA draft.

RoundPickPlayerNationalitySchool/Team/Country
333 Lauren Manis Flag of the United States.svg  United States Holy Cross

Trades and roster changes

DateDetails
February 10, 2020Signed G Angel McCoughtry [6]
February 16, 2020Signed G Danielle Robinson [7]
February 18, 2020Re-signed G Sugar Rodgers [8]
March 2, 2020Re-signed G Lindsay Allen [9]
April 22, 2020Re-signed C Liz Cambage. [10]
May 7, 2020C Park Ji-su will sit out the season and stay in Korea. [11]
May 15, 2020Re-signed G Kelsey Plum. [12]
May 19, 2020Re-signed C Carolyn Swords [13]
June 16, 2020Signed G Alex Bentley [14]
July 4, 2020C Liz Cambage announced that she will be sitting out the 2020 season. [15]
Signed C Avery Warley [16]

Roster

2020 Las Vegas Aces roster
PlayersCoaches
Pos.#Nat.NameHeightWeightDOBFromYrs
G 15 Flag of the United States.svg Allen, Lindsay 5' 8" (1.73m)189 lb (86kg)1995-03-20 Notre Dame 2
F 11 Flag of the United States.svg Burdick, Cierra 6' 2" (1.88m)172 lb (78kg)1993-09-30 Tennessee 3
C 8 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Cambage, Liz 6' 8" (2.03m)216 lb (98kg)1991-08-18 Australia 4
F 32 Flag of the United States.svg Cannon, Emma 6' 2" (1.88m)190 lb (86kg)1989-06-01 Florida Southern 1
F 5 Flag of the United States.svg Hamby, Dearica 6' 3" (1.91m)189 lb (86kg)1993-11-06 Wake Forest 5
G 21 Flag of the United States.svg McBride, Kayla 5' 10" (1.78m)174 lb (79kg)1992-06-25 Notre Dame 6
G/F 35 Flag of the United States.svg McCoughtry, Angel 6' 1" (1.85m)173 lb (78kg)1986-09-10 Louisville 10
G 10 Flag of the United States.svg Plum, Kelsey 5' 8" (1.73m)145 lb (66kg)1994-08-24 Washington 3
G 3 Flag of the United States.svg Robinson, Danielle 5' 9" (1.75m)137 lb (62kg)1989-05-10 Oklahoma 8
G 14 Flag of the United States.svg Rodgers, Sugar 5' 9" (1.75m)137 lb (62kg)1989-12-08 Georgetown 7
C 4 Flag of the United States.svg Swords, Carolyn 6' 6" (1.98m)215 lb (98kg)1989-07-19 Boston College 8
F 22 Flag of the United States.svg Wilson, A'ja 6' 4" (1.93m)195 lb (88kg)1996-08-08 South Carolina 2
G 0 Flag of the United States.svg Young, Jackie 6' 0" (1.83m)165 lb (75kg)1997-09-16 Notre Dame 1
Head coach
Flag of the United States.svg Bill Laimbeer (Notre Dame)
Assistant coaches
Flag of the United States.svg Vickie Johnson (Louisiana Tech)
Flag of the United States.svg Tanisha Wright (Penn State)



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

Game log

Regular season

2020 game log
Total: 18–4
July
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation
Attendance		Record
1July 26 Chicago Sky L 86–88 McCoughtry (25) Wilson (11) Allen (7) IMG Academy 0–1
2July 29 Atlanta Dream W 100-70 Wilson (21) Wilson (11)Tied (3)IMG Academy1–1
3July 31 Phoenix Mercury L 95–102 McCoughtry (18) Wilson (8)Tied (4)IMG Academy1–2
August
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation
Attendance		Record
4August 2 Dallas Wings W 79–70 Wilson (19)Tied (8) Hamby (4) IMG Academy 2–2
5August 5 Washington Mystics W 83–77 Tied (20) Hamby (13) Robinson (3)IMG Academy3–2
6August 7 Los Angeles Sparks W 86–82 Wilson (26) Wilson (11) McCoughtry (5)IMG Academy4–2
7August 9 New York Liberty W 78–76 Wilson (31) Young (7)Tied (3)IMG Academy5–2
8August 11 Indiana Fever W 98–79 McCoughtry (20) Wilson (11)Tied (4)IMG Academy6–2
9August 13 Minnesota Lynx W 87–77 Wilson (23) Wilson (8) Allen (7)IMG Academy7–2
10August 15 Washington Mystics W 88–73 Young (16) Swords (7) Robinson (7)IMG Academy8–2
11August 18 Chicago Sky L 82–84 McCoughtry (17) Wilson (8)3 tied (4)IMG Academy8–3
12August 20 Connecticut Sun W 99–78 McBride (25) McCoughtry (8) Robinson (9)IMG Academy9–3
13August 22 Seattle Storm W 82–74 Wilson (23)Tied (14) Robinson (7)IMG Academy10–3
14August 25 Dallas Wings W 96–92 Wilson (26) Hamby (14) Young (4)IMG Academy11–3
15August 29 New York Liberty W 80–63 Wilson (20) Hamby (10) Robinson (6)IMG Academy12–3
September
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation
Attendance		Record
16September 1 Phoenix Mercury L 85–92 Young (20) Hamby (13) McBride (9) IMG Academy 12–4
17September 3 Connecticut Sun W 93–78 Wilson (24)3 tied (4) Young (9)IMG Academy13–4
18September 5 Atlanta Dream W 89–79 Wilson (21) Hamby (9) Young (6)IMG Academy14–4
19September 8 Indiana Fever W 92–86 Wilson (22) Wilson (16) Young (7)IMG Academy15–4
20September 10 Minnesota Lynx W 104–89 McCoughtry (22) Hamby (11)3 tied (6)IMG Academy16–4
21September 12 Los Angeles Sparks W 84–70 Wilson (19) Wilson (8) McBride (6)IMG Academy17–4
22September 13 Seattle Storm W 86–84 Tied (23) Swords (8) Hamby (8)IMG Academy18–4
2020 season schedule

Playoffs

2020 playoff game log
Total: 3–5
Semifinals
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation
Attendance		Series
1September 20 Connecticut Sun L 62–87 Wilson (19) Wilson (9)Tied (3) IMG Academy 0–1
2September 22 Connecticut Sun W 83–75 Wilson (29) Wilson (7) Young (5) IMG Academy 1–1
3September 24 Connecticut Sun L 68–77 Wilson (20) Wilson (12) Young (7) IMG Academy 1–2
4September 27 Connecticut Sun W 84–75 McCoughtry (29) Wilson (13) McCoughtry (6) IMG Academy 2–2
5September 29 Connecticut Sun W 66–63 Wilson (23) Wilson (11)Tied (4) IMG Academy 3–2
Finals
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation
Attendance		Series
1October 2 Seattle Storm L 80–93 McCoughtry (20) Swords (12)Tied (4) IMG Academy 0–1
2October 4 Seattle Storm L 91–104 Wilson (20) McCoughtry (8) Robinson (10) IMG Academy 0–2
3October 6 Seattle Storm L 59–92 Wilson (18) Swords (10) Wilson (4) IMG Academy 0–3
2020 playoff schedule

Standings

#Team W L PCT GB Conf.
1x – Las Vegas Aces 184.818–8–2
2x – Seattle Storm 184.818–8–2
3x – Los Angeles Sparks 157.68235–5
4x – Minnesota Lynx 148.63644–6
5x – Phoenix Mercury 139.59154–6
6x – Chicago Sky 1210.54566–4
7x – Connecticut Sun 1012.45587–3
8x – Washington Mystics 913.40996–4
9e – Dallas Wings 814.364101–9
10e – Atlanta Dream 715.318115–5
11e – Indiana Fever 616.273124–6
12e – New York Liberty 220.091162–8

Notes

x – Clinched playoff berth
e – Eliminated from playoffs
Home and Away records not shown, as all games played at a neutral location.
Updated to include results from September 13, 2020
Source

Playoffs

First round:
Single elimination
(September 15)		Second round:
Single elimination
(September 17)		Semifinals:
Best-of-five
(September 20–29)		 WNBA Finals:
Best-of-five
(October 2–11)
1 Las Vegas Aces 6283688466
4 Minnesota Lynx 807 Connecticut Sun 8775777563
5 Phoenix Mercury 855 Phoenix Mercury 791 Las Vegas Aces 809159
8 Washington Mystics 842 Seattle Storm 9310492
2 Seattle Storm 888992
3 Los Angeles Sparks 594 Minnesota Lynx 867971
6 Chicago Sky 817 Connecticut Sun 73
7 Connecticut Sun 94

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

Regular season

PlayerGPGSMPGFG%3P%FT%RPGAPGSPGBPGPPG
A'ja Wilson 222231.748.0078.18.52.01.22.020.5
Angel McCoughtry 222220.051.847.188.25.12.51.30.314.4
Dearica Hamby 22028.353.947.471.67.12.71.70.213.0
Kayla McBride 222226.642.534.289.72.32.41.20.112.5
Jackie Young 22025.849.223.185.24.33.00.70.111.0
Danielle Robinson 2217.432.131.375.02.43.30.90.17.4
Sugar Rodgers 22012.032.131.375.01.31.40.30.13.4
Lindsay Allen 212113.541.833.380.01.12.40.303.3
Carolyn Swords 222217.546.0077.34.60.90.20.12.9
Cierra Burdick 1302.228.6000.40.2000.3
Emma Cannon 10000000000

Awards and honors

RecipientAwardDate awardedRef.
A'ja Wilson Western Conference Player of the Week August 10, 2020 [17]
Western Conference Player of the Month – August September 1, 2020 [18]
Bill Laimbeer WNBA Coach of the Month – August [19]
A'ja Wilson Western Conference Player of the Week September 14, 2020 [20]
Western Conference Player of the Month – September September 15, 2020 [21]
Bill Laimbeer WNBA Coach of the Month – September [22]
A'ja Wilson WNBA MVP September 17, 2020 [23]
Dearica Hamby Sixth Woman of the Year September 20, 2020 [24]
Dan Padover Basketball Executive of the Year September 20, 2020 [25]
A'ja Wilson 2nd Team All-Defense September 29, 2020 [26]
All-WNBA First Team October 4, 2020 [27]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">A'ja Wilson</span> American basketball player (born 1995)

A'ja Riyadh Wilson is an American professional basketball player for the Las Vegas Aces of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). Wilson played for the South Carolina Gamecocks in college, and helped lead the Gamecocks to their first NCAA Women's Basketball Championship in 2017, and won the NCAA basketball tournament Most Outstanding Player award. In 2018, she won a record third straight SEC Player of the Year award, leading South Carolina to a record fourth straight SEC Tournament Championship, becoming the all-time leading scorer in South Carolina women's basketball history, and was a consensus first-team All-American for the third consecutive season. Wilson swept all National Player of the Year awards as the best player in Women's College basketball for 2018. In the 2018 WNBA draft, she was drafted first overall by the Aces.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Las Vegas Aces</span> American professional womens basketball team

The Las Vegas Aces are an American professional basketball team based in the Las Vegas metropolitan area. The Aces compete in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) as a member club of the league's Western Conference. The team plays their home games at Michelob Ultra Arena in the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino, and is headquartered in Henderson, Nevada. The Aces won the 2022 WNBA Commissioner's Cup and WNBA Championship. The Aces also won the 2023 WNBA Championship, becoming the first team to win back-to-back championships since 2001-2002, when the Los Angeles Sparks completed that feat.

The 2018 WNBA season was the 22nd season of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). The Minnesota Lynx are the defending champions. The regular season began on May 18, with the Phoenix Mercury hosting the Dallas Wings. The season ended with the Seattle Storm defeating the Washington Mystics 3-0 in the WNBA Finals. This was the third championship for the Storm. Seattle's Breanna Stewart was named regular season and finals MVP.

The 2018 WNBA season will be the 21st season for the Dallas Wings franchise of the WNBA. This will be the franchise's 3rd season in Dallas. The season tips off on May 18.

The 2018 WNBA season was the 22nd season for the Las Vegas Aces franchise of the WNBA. This was the franchise's inaugural season in Las Vegas, after moving from San Antonio during the off season. The season tips off on May 20.

The 2019 WNBA All-Star Game was an exhibition basketball game played on July 27, 2019. The Las Vegas Aces hosted the WNBA All-Star Game for the first time.

The 2019 Chicago Sky season was the franchise's 14th season in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). The regular season tipped off on May 25 and concluded on September 8. On August 22, the team clinched a playoff berth for the first time in three seasons.

The 2019 WNBA season was the 23rd season for the Las Vegas Aces franchise of the WNBA and the 2nd year the franchise was based in Las Vegas. The season tipped off on May 26, 2019 versus the Los Angeles Sparks.

The 2019 WNBA Playoffs were the postseason tournament of the WNBA's 2019 season. The Washington Mystics won the team's first WNBA title in their 22-year franchise history.

The 2020 WNBA season was the 24th season of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). The Washington Mystics were the defending champions. Planned changes to the league's schedule included an increase from 34 to 36 regular season games for each team, the introduction of a mid-season Commissioner's Cup tournament, and more games broadcast on ESPN and ABC. This was the first season under a new Collective Bargaining Agreement between the league and the WNBA Players Association. However, on April 3, the season was indefinitely postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Under a plan approved on June 15, the league began a shortened 22-game regular season at IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida, without fans present on July 25. A'ja Wilson of the Las Vegas Aces was named the league MVP. The Seattle Storm won the 2020 WNBA Finals over the Aces, and Breanna Stewart was named the Finals MVP.

The 2020 WNBA season was the 24th season for the Los Angeles Sparks of the Women's National Basketball Association. The season will tip off on July 25, 2020, versus the Phoenix Mercury.

The 2020 Chicago Sky season was the franchise's 15th season in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). This was the second season under head coach James Wade. The Sky did not improve on their previous season's record of 20–14, but entered the playoffs for the second consecutive season.

The 2020 Seattle Storm season was the franchise's 21st season in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). The regular season was originally scheduled to tip off at home versus the Dallas Wings on May 15, 2020. However, the beginning of the 2020 WNBA schedule was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The shortened season tipped off on July 25, 2020, versus the New York Liberty.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2020 WNBA Finals</span> Championship series of the 2020 WNBA season

The 2020 WNBA Finals, officially WNBA Finals 2020 presented by YouTube TV for sponsorship reasons, was the best-of-five championship series for the 2020 season of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). The Finals feature the top seeded Las Vegas Aces facing off against the second seed Seattle Storm. Despite losing both regular season meetings against Las Vegas, the Storm dominated the series, sweeping the Aces in three straight games. Led by Finals MVP Breanna Stewart, Seattle won all three games by double-digits, claiming their second title in three years and fourth in franchise history.

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2021 WNBA Playoffs</span>

The 2021 WNBA Playoffs was the postseason tournament of the WNBA's 2021 season. The Chicago Sky won their first WNBA championship.

The 2022 Las Vegas Aces season was the franchise's 26th season in the Women's National Basketball Association and the 5th year the franchise is based in Las Vegas - after relocating from San Antonio and Utah. The regular season began on May 6, 2022, at the Phoenix Mercury.

The 2022 Seattle Storm season was the franchise's 23rd season in the Women's National Basketball Association. This was the first season back in the newly renovated Climate Pledge Arena.

The 2023 New York Liberty season was the 27th season for the New York Liberty franchise of the WNBA, and their second season under head coach Sandy Brondello.

The 2023 Las Vegas Aces season was the franchise's 27th season in the Women's National Basketball Association and the sixth year the franchise is based in Las Vegas - after relocating from San Antonio and Utah. This was also the second season under head coach Becky Hammon. They were the defending WNBA champions, after defeating the Connecticut Sun in the 2022 WNBA Finals.

References

  1. ↑ "2020 Las Vegas Aces Scheudle". WNBA.com - Official Site of the WNBA. Retrieved February 13, 2020.
  2. ↑ "Atlanta Dream Announce 2020 Schedule - Atlanta Dream". dream.wnba.com. Retrieved February 1, 2020.
  3. ↑ "WNBA Statement Regarding the Start of the 2020 Regular Season". April 3, 2020. Retrieved April 3, 2020.
  4. ↑ "WNBA Announces Plan To Tip Off 2020 Season". WNBA. June 15, 2020. Retrieved June 17, 2020.
  5. ↑ "WNBA announces plans for 2020 season to start late July in Florida". NBC Sports Washington. June 15, 2020. Retrieved June 15, 2020.
  6. ↑ "Aces Dive Head First Into The Free Agency Pool, Signing Five-Time WNBA All-Star And Two-Time Olympic Gold Medalist Angel McCoughtry". aces.wnba.com. WNBA. February 10, 2020. Retrieved February 13, 2020.
  7. ↑ "Aces Sign Three-Time All-Star Guard Danielle Robinson". aces.wnba.com. WNBA. February 16, 2020. Retrieved February 16, 2020.
  8. ↑ "Las Vegas Re-Signs All-Star Guard Sugar Rodgers". aces.wnba.com. WNBA. February 18, 2020. Retrieved February 19, 2020.
  9. ↑ "Aces Re-Sign Guard Lindsay Allen". aces.wnba.com. WNBA. March 2, 2020.
  10. ↑ "Aces Re-Sign Three-Time All-Star Center Liz Cambage". aces.wnba.com. WNBA. April 22, 2020. Retrieved April 22, 2020.
  11. ↑ "Aces' JiSu Park to skip 2020 WNBA season, return to Korea". AP News. May 7, 2020. Retrieved May 8, 2020.
  12. ↑ "Las Vegas Aces Re-Sign Guard Kelsey Plum". aces.wnba.com. WNBA. May 15, 2020. Retrieved May 19, 2020.
  13. ↑ "Aces Re-Sign Eight-Year WNBA Veteran Carolyn Swords". aces.wnba.com. WNBA. May 19, 2020. Retrieved May 21, 2020.
  14. ↑ "Las Vegas Aces Sign All-Star Guard Alex Bentley". aces.wnba.com. WNBA. June 16, 2020. Retrieved June 18, 2020.
  15. ↑ "Aces Center Liz Cambage Expected To Miss 2020 WNBA Season". aces.wnba.com. WNBA. July 4, 2020. Retrieved July 6, 2020.
  16. ↑ "Aces Sign Center Avery Warley-Talbert". aces.wnba.com. WNBA. July 4, 2020. Retrieved July 6, 2020.
  17. ↑ "Wilson, Vandersloot Earn Players Of The Week Honors For Week 2". WNBA.com. August 10, 2020. Retrieved August 10, 2020.
  18. ↑ "A'ja Wilson, Courtney Vandersloot Named WNBA Players of the Month". wnba.com. WNBA. September 1, 2020. Retrieved September 1, 2020.
  19. ↑ "WNBA Names Bill Laimbeer Coach of the Month". wnba.com. WNBA. September 1, 2020. Retrieved September 1, 2020.
  20. ↑ "Hines-Allen, Wilson Earn Player Of The Week Honors For Week 7". wnba.com. WNBA. September 14, 2020. Retrieved September 14, 2020.
  21. ↑ "WNBA Announces Players Of The Month". wnba.com. WNBA. September 15, 2020. Retrieved September 17, 2020.
  22. ↑ "Bill Laimbeer Earns WNBA Coach Of The Month". wnba.com. WNBA. September 15, 2020. Retrieved September 17, 2020.
  23. ↑ "A'ja Wilson Named WNBA Most Valuable Player". wnba.com. WNBA. September 17, 2020. Retrieved September 18, 2020.
  24. ↑ "Las Vegas' Dearica Hamby Named 2020 WNBA Sixth Woman Of The Year". wnba.com. WNBA. September 20, 2020. Retrieved September 21, 2020.
  25. ↑ "Las Vegas' Dan Padover Named 2020 WNBA Basketball Executive of the Year". wnba.com. WNBA. September 20, 2020. Retrieved September 21, 2020.
  26. ↑ "Two Atlanta Dream Players And Seattle Storm's Alysha Clark Headline 2020 WNBA All-Defensive Team". wnba.com. WNBA. September 29, 2020. Retrieved September 29, 2020.
  27. ↑ "A'ja Wilson And Candace Parker Unanimously Selected To 2020 All-WNBA First Team". wnba.com. WNBA. October 4, 2020. Retrieved October 5, 2020.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.