Homeward bound: Aces return focused on three-peat after Olympics

After a monthlong hiatus, Aces basketball is back in Las Vegas.

The WNBA took a monthlong break for the 2024 Olympics in Paris, where six members of the Aces competed for three different countries. A’ja Wilson, Chelsea Gray, Kelsey Plum and Jackie Young competed for Team USA’s 5-on-5 team, Megan Gustafson was a part of Spain’s 5-on-5 team and Tiffany Hayes played for Azerbaijan’s 3-on-3 team.

Back on U.S. soil, here’s how the Aces fared in Paris and what to expect out of them for the second half of the WNBA season.

Friends to foes in a flash

The USA women’s basketball team dominated the competition in Paris, and the biggest reason was the chemistry between Wilson and New York Liberty forward Breanna Stewart — the WNBA’s last two Most Valuable Player award winners.

The pair started every game and paced the Americans' offensive effort for the most part.

In six games, Wilson averaged 19.8 points and 10.2 rebounds while Stewart chipped in 16 points and 4.8 rebounds per game.

Wilson had four double-doubles while Stewart threw down an impressive 26 points in an 87-74 win against Belgium.

The height, speed and court awareness of the pair is what made Team USA special and helped it escape a couple games after rough starts.

The relationship between the two quickly turns back into a rivalry as the Aces will return to play the New York Liberty on Saturday at Michelob Ultra Arena in a rematch of last year’s championship series. They’re the two favorites to win the title again, so their second meeting of the year — New York beat Las Vegas 90-82 in June — looms large.

Darkhorse Olympic star

Young is known around Las Vegas as a “silent but deadly player.” The silent part might be changing as the sixth-year pro is drawing acclaim from far and wide after taking off on the international level in Paris.

She started as USA’s go-to player off the bench before eventually being thrust into the starting lineup. She had a breakout performance in an 81-68 win against Germany, pacing the Americans with a team-high 19 points, making five of eight attempts from 3-point range.

Then, against Nigeria in the Olympic quarterfinals, she was inserted into the starting lineup over veteran Diana Taurasi. Young kept her performance consistent, draining 60% of her shots to finish with 15 points.

Young can change games in an instant with her scoring ability, one of the reasons why she was ultimately included on the Team USA roster.

A strong Olympic performance is another accolade she can add to what’s been her best year so far. Young is averaging 18.5 points and 5.6 assists per game for the Aces.

International anchors

Outside of Team USA, Gustafson and Hayes were critical to their teams’ successes.

Gustafson played a huge role in helping Spain advance to the Olympic semifinals for the first time ever. She averaged 14.3 points and three rebounds over three games as one of Spain’s top scorers.

In 3-on-3 hoops, while Azerbaijan missed the knockout stage, Hayes had an impressive showing over the team’s seven games. She averaged seven points in contests that have a 21-point cap and led Azerbaijan in scoring in six games.

The success of Gustafson and Hayes in the Olympics is a testament to the Aces’ depth coming off the bench. The pair could push for starting roles in the second half of the season.

Resetting after the break

One of the biggest things that Aces coach Becky Hammon preached in the team’s final game before the break, a 93-85 loss to the Chicago Sky, was that it needed to take the time off to mentally reset.

She said the urgency to win has not been there since training camp, which played into a 2-5 slide the Aces went through in June. The team did go 10-2 after Gray returned from a foot injury, but Hammon cautioned that the point guard can’t be seen as the solution to everything.

Time off may have been the best thing for the Aces to get back in their best form.

They may have also avoided rookie standout Kate Martin missing games after she suffered a lower leg injury against the Sky and exited the game.

The initial return to WNBA play doesn’t set up as easy. They play on back-to-back days with the Los Angeles Sparks, a team they’ve struggled against this year, visiting town the day after the Liberty.

Las Vegas then faces another top WNBA team, the Minnesota Lynx, in two straight meetings.

The immediate stretch returning to league play could make or break the Aces when it comes to winning a third straight WNBA championship.

This story appeared in Las Vegas Weekly.