Las Vegas Aces fall to New York Liberty in first game since Olympic break

After the Las Vegas Aces 93-85 loss to Chicago Sky going into the Olympic break, Aces coach Becky Hammon emphasized the team's mentality to win had been off since training camp and how important the break needed to be.

31 days after the loss to Sky, the Aces "want to" factor is still not there.

Facing off against the top team in the WNBA on Saturday, New York Liberty, the Aces shot for a poor 36% from the field, leading to a 79-67 loss. It's the Aces' third-worst shooting performance of the season.

A'ja Wilson said it's "what's inside" that the Aces need to improve on.

"It's not an x's and o's thing or a cardio thing, it's inside," Wilson said. "We have to get that back by any means necessary. There are a lot of good teams in this league, and we are one of them. We have to continue to show that we are one of them."

The "want to" is the missing piece to the Aces puzzle. Week after week, it's something that the team has said repeatedly that they needed and something Hammon said she cannot coach out of her players.

"If I could give it to them, believe me, I would give it to them," Hammon said, "They have to bring that aspect because that's internal. I can sit there and try to put band-aids over these little cuts and bruises, but when you're bleeding internally, it doesn't do much."

On the court, it's late passes and what Hammon described as "rouge" play where one player is dribbling the ball in place while others around her aren't doing anything. The ball isn't moving. 

"It looks incredibly selfish because it is," Hammon said.

She said that players like Wilson, Kelsey Plum and Chelsea Gray, all of who broke double-scoring figures against New York, don't like shooting the ball when it's not moving.

"You can't get ball movement if your players are standing in one place, you have to get the ball in player movement," Hammon said. "They are intertwined. One is based on the other."

Wilson is still putting up league-leading numbers despite all the inconsistencies. She had 24 points, 11 rebounds and moved into second place in the Aces all-time steals list.

She even earned a 99 rating in the upcoming NBA 2k25 video game, but her focus remains on getting this team back on track. Wilson said that the Aces still need to harp on the defensive side of the ball.

Las Vegas was torched on the boards by New York, getting outrebounded 46 to 30. Jonquel Jones had 17 boards complimented by 10 points.

"We can't test our luck in these games against this league," Wilson said. "We've got to start on the defensive end. Whether that's being more physical or going back to the want factor."

The turnaround time is less than 24 hours for the Aces, hosting the Los Angeles Sparks on Sunday at 3 p.m. at Michelob Ultra Arena. 

While the Sparks are 6-20 and coming off a 90-86 to the Chicago Sky on Saturday, this a team that has gotten the best of the Aces recently. Las Vegas is 1-3 in their last four meetings against Los Angeles.

Sparks forward Dearica Hamby also filed a lawsuit discrimination lawsuit against the Aces and the WNBA on Aug. 12. This is her first game in Las Vegas since filing the lawsuit. 

It's another mental hurdle the Aces will have to jump over on an elongating road to a hopeful third WNBA Championship.