Las Vegas Aces Achieve Historic WNBA First

After going 26-10 in 2022 and 34-6 in 2023 en route to consecutive championships, the Las Vegas Aces find themselves in a bit of a pickle heading into this season ... at least on the court. The reigning league champs have gotten off to a middling 7-6 record (4-4 at home, 3-2 on the road), and are currently just the No. 5 seed in the WNBA, behind the rolling Connecticut Sun (13-3) and the Aces' 2023 Finals nemeses, the New York Liberty (13-3), plus the Minnesota Lynx (12-3) and the Seattle Storm (9-6).

That said, the team's legend seems to have preceded it a bit this year. The Aces announced via X on Thursday that the club has become the first WNBA team ever to sell out all of its regular season home contests:

Las Vegas' home venue is the 12,000-seat Michelob Ultra Arena, also the home court for the Las Vegas Desert Dogs of the National Lacrosse League, and briefly for the NBA G League Ignite from 2021-22.

It's heady news, and comes on top of a great run for the league this season that has seen a huge increase in attendance, with multiple games getting moved to bigger venues to accommodate demand; a massive uptick in overall broadcast viewership; and increased centering in the sports media conversation.

This Aces club, coached by Hall of Fame point guard Becky Hammon, is returning all four of its 2023 All-Stars this season. Led by two-time MVP center A'ja Wilson, Las Vegas also boasts five-time All-Star point guard Chelsea Gray, two-time All-Star guard Kelsey Plum, and two-time All-Star wing Jackie Young.

A lot of Vegas' slow start can be attributed to the absence of Gray, who just made her season debut on Wednesday after rehabilitating a left foot injury she incurred during Game 3 of last year's WNBA Finals.

The 31-year-old former Duke Blue Devil, a three-time league champ between her stints with the Los Angeles Sparks and now the Aces, enjoyed a banner season in 2023. She averaged career highs of 15.3 points (on .490/.421/.897 shooting splits), 7.3 assists, and four rebounds per game. Thanks to the 5-foot-11 facilitator's court savvy, Vegas notched the highest offensive rating in the history of the league in 2023 (113.0), per Jack Maloney of CBS Sports.

During the Aces' 94-83 home victory against the Storm on Wednesday, Gray played just 16 minutes off the bench, scoring one point on 0-of-2 shooting from the floor, but dishing out seven dimes (against two turnovers), pulling down four rebounds and blocking two shots.

Young's 32 points on 11-of-19 field goal shooting (including 2-of-6 from deep) and 8-of-8 free throw shooting paced Las Vegas. Wilson scored 27 points on 11-of-18 shooting from the floor and 5-of-7 shooting from the charity stripe, grabbed nine rebounds, swiped four steals, passed for three assists, and rejected three shots.

Can the Aces return to title contention this season, following their uneven pre-Gray start? Time will tell, but at least their loyal fans will be with them every step of the way.