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]
2021 Las Vegas Aces season | |
---|---|
Coach | Bill Laimbeer |
Arena | Michelob Ultra Arena |
Attendance | 2,943 per game |
Results | |
Record | 24–8 (.750) |
Place | 1st (Western) |
Playoff finish | 2nd 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 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
editWNBA draft
editThe Aces made the following selections in the 2021 WNBA draft.
Round | Pick | Player | Nationality | School/Team/Country |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 12 | Iliana Rupert | France | Tango Bourges Basket (France) |
2 | 14 | Destiny Slocum | United States | Arkansas |
3 | 36 | Kionna Jeter | United States | Towson |
Trades and Roster Changes
editDate | Details | |
---|---|---|
December 9, 2020 | Exercised Team Option on G Jackie Young[2] | |
January 13, 2021 | Signed G Lindsay Allen and F Emma Cannon to Training Camp Contracts[3] | |
Core C Liz Cambage[4] | ||
February 1, 2021 | Re-Signed F Dearica Hamby[5] | |
February 2, 2021 | Signed G Chelsea Gray[6] | |
February 11, 2021 | Signed G Riquna Williams[7] | |
February 15, 2021 | Traded 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, 2021 | Re-Signed C Liz Cambage[9] | |
April 18, 2021 | Signed 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, 2021 | Signed G Kionna Jeter to a Rookie Scale Contract[12] | |
April 26, 2021 | Waived G Kionna Jeter[13] | |
April 29, 2021 | Waived C Kate Cain[14] | |
May 11, 2021 | Waived F Lauren Manis and F Shakayla Thomas[15] | |
May 29, 2021 | Waived F Emma Cannon and signed F Joyner Holmes[16] | |
June 28, 2021 | Waived F Joyner Holmes[17] | |
July 2, 2021 | Signed C Kiah Stokes[18] | |
September 2, 2021 | Signed G Bria Holmes to a 7-Day Contract[19] |
Roster
edit2021 Las Vegas Aces roster | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Players | Coaches | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Game log
editPreseason
edit2021 pre-season game log | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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May: 0–1 (Home: 0–1; Road: 0–0)
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2021 pre-season schedule |
Regular season
editPlayoffs
edit2021 playoff game log Total: 2–3 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Semifinals
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2021 playoff schedule |
Standings
edit# | Team | W | L | PCT | GB | Conf. | Home | Road | Cup |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | x – Connecticut Sun | 26 | 6 | .813 | – | 12–3 | 15–1 | 11–5 | 9–1 |
2 | x – Las Vegas Aces | 24 | 8 | .750 | 2 | 11–4 | 13–3 | 11–5 | 6–4 |
3 | x – Minnesota Lynx | 22 | 10 | .688 | 4 | 10–5 | 13–3 | 9–7 | 7–3 |
4 | x – Seattle Storm | 21 | 11 | .656 | 5 | 9–6 | 11–5 | 10–6 | 8–2 |
5 | x – Phoenix Mercury | 19 | 13 | .594 | 7 | 6–9 | 7–9 | 12–4 | 5–5 |
6 | x – Chicago Sky | 16 | 16 | .500 | 10 | 10–5 | 6–10 | 10–6 | 6–4 |
7 | x – Dallas Wings | 14 | 18 | .438 | 12 | 7–8 | 7–9 | 7–9 | 3–7 |
8 | x – New York Liberty | 12 | 20 | .375 | 14 | 6–9 | 7–9 | 5–11 | 5–5 |
9 | e – Washington Mystics | 12 | 20 | .375 | 14 | 7–8 | 8–8 | 4–12 | 4–6 |
10 | e – Los Angeles Sparks | 12 | 20 | .375 | 14 | 2–13 | 8–8 | 4–12 | 1–9 |
11 | e – Atlanta Dream | 8 | 24 | .250 | 18 | 6–9 | 4–12 | 4–12 | 4–6 |
12 | e – Indiana Fever | 6 | 26 | .188 | 20 | 4–11 | 4–12 | 2–14 | 2–8 |
Notes
- (#) – League Standing
- x – Clinched playoff berth
- e – Eliminated from playoff contention
- Source: Overall standings and Commissioner's Cup Standings
Playoffs
editFirst round Single elimination Sept. 23 | Second round Single elimination Sept. 26 | Semifinals Best-of-five Sept. 28 – Oct. 8 | WNBA Finals Best-of-five Oct. 10 – Oct. 17 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
2 | Las Vegas Aces | 96 | 91 | 60 | 93 | 84 | ||||||||||||||||||||
4 | Seattle Storm | 80 | 5 | Phoenix Mercury | 90 | 117 | 87 | 76 | 87 | |||||||||||||||||
5 | Phoenix Mercury | 83 | 5 | Phoenix Mercury | 85OT | 5 | Phoenix Mercury | 77 | 91OT | 50 | 74 | – | ||||||||||||||
8 | New York Liberty | 82 | 6 | Chicago Sky | 91 | 86 | 86 | 80 | – | |||||||||||||||||
1 | Connecticut Sun | 95 | 79 | 83 | 69 | – | ||||||||||||||||||||
3 | Minnesota Lynx | 76 | 6 | Chicago Sky | 1012OT | 68 | 86 | 79 | – | |||||||||||||||||
6 | Chicago Sky | 81 | 6 | Chicago Sky | 89 | |||||||||||||||||||||
7 | Dallas Wings | 64 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Note: Teams re-seeded after each round.
Statistics
editLegend | |||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
GP | Games 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 game | Team leader | League leader |
Source:[20]
Regular Season
editPlayer | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
A'ja Wilson | 32 | 32 | 31.9 | 44.4 | 100 | 87.6 | 9.3 | 3.1 | 0.9 | 1.3 | 18.3 |
Kelsey Plum | 26 | 0 | 25.5 | 43.7 | 38.6 | 94.4 | 2.5 | 3.6 | 1.0 | 0.0 | 14.8 |
Liz Cambage | 25 | 24 | 23.8 | 54.3 | 35.7 | 71.0 | 8.2 | 1.3 | 0.9 | 1.6 | 14.2 |
Jackie Young | 32 | 32 | 31.8 | 50.5 | 25.0 | 83.3 | 4.1 | 3.2 | 1.1 | 0.3 | 12.2 |
Dearica Hamby | 29 | 0 | 24.5 | 54.5 | 25.0 | 65.5 | 6.7 | 1.7 | 1.1 | 0.1 | 11.6 |
Chelsea Gray | 32 | 32 | 28.9 | 45.4 | 38.0 | 88.9 | 2.9 | 5.9 | 1.2 | 0.3 | 11.1 |
Riquna Williams | 32 | 32 | 26.0 | 44.4 | 41.7 | 92.0 | 2.6 | 1.6 | 0.8 | 0.4 | 10.5 |
Park Ji-su | 25 | 0 | 8.9 | 32.7 | 0.0 | 83.3 | 1.8 | 0.8 | 0.1 | 0.6 | 2.0 |
Kiah Stokes | 15 | 8 | 20.5 | 58.8 | 0.0 | 50.0 | 6.1 | 1.0 | 0.4 | 0.7 | 1.5 |
Destiny Slocum | 21 | 0 | 6.4 | 31.8 | 33.3 | 60.0 | 0.9 | 0.6 | 0.1 | 0.0 | 1.0 |
Angel McCoughtry | 1 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
Awards and honors
editRecipient | Award | Date awarded | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|
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] |
References
edit- ^ "2020 Las Vegas Aces Scheudle". WNBA.com - Official Site of the WNBA. Retrieved April 28, 2021.
- ^ "WNBA Transactions". wnba.com. WNBA. December 9, 2020. Retrieved June 3, 2021.
- ^ "Las Vegas Aces re-sign 2 players". reviewjournal.com. Las Vegas Review-Journal. January 13, 2021. Retrieved June 3, 2021.
- ^ "Aces designate Cambage as a core player, re-sign Allen and Cannon to training camp deals". thenext.substack.com. The Next. January 13, 2021. Retrieved June 3, 2021.
- ^ "Las Vegas Signs Two-Time, WNBA Sixth Woman Of The Year Dearica Hamby To Contract Extension". aces.wnba.com. WNBA. February 1, 2021. Retrieved April 28, 2021.
- ^ "Aces Sign Three-Time WNBA All-Star Guard Chelsea Gray". aces.wnba.com. WNBA. February 2, 2021. Retrieved April 28, 2021.
- ^ "Aces Ink All-Star Riquna Williams To Free Agent Deal". aces.wnba.com. WNBA. February 11, 2021. Retrieved April 28, 2021.
- ^ "Aces Acquire 2021 Second Round Pick From Indiana In Exchange For Lindsay Allen & No. 24 Pick In 2021". aces.wnba.com. WNBA. February 15, 2021. Retrieved April 28, 2021.
- ^ "Las Vegas Re-Signs Three-Time All-Star Center Liz Cambage". aces.wnba.com. WNBA. March 12, 2021. Retrieved April 28, 2021.
- ^ "WNBA Transactions". wnba.com. WNBA. April 18, 2021. Retrieved June 3, 2021.
- ^ "Aces Finalize Training Camp Roster With Addition Of Lauren Manis, Shakayla Thomas, Kate Cain". aces.wnba.com. WNBA. April 19, 2021. Retrieved June 3, 2021.
- ^ "WNBA Transactions". wnba.com. WNBA. April 19, 2021. Retrieved June 3, 2021.
- ^ "Aces Waive Kionna "Melo" Jeter". aces.wnba.com. WNBA. April 26, 2021. Retrieved April 28, 2021.
- ^ "Aces Waive Kate Cain". aces.wnba.com. WNBA. April 29, 2021. Retrieved June 3, 2021.
- ^ "Aces Waive Lauren Manis & Shakayla Thomas". aces.wnba.com. WNBA. May 11, 2021. Retrieved June 3, 2021.
- ^ "Aces Add Forward Joyner Holmes To Roster, Waive Emma Cannon". aces.wnba.com. WNBA. May 29, 2021. Retrieved June 3, 2021.
- ^ "Aces Waive Second-Year Forward Joyner Holmes". aces.wnba.com. WNBA. June 28, 2021. Retrieved July 6, 2021.
- ^ "Aces Sign Six-Year Veteran Center Kiah Stokes". aces.wnba.com. WNBA. July 2, 2021. Retrieved July 6, 2021.
- ^ "Aces Sign Bria Holmes To Seven-Day Contract". aces.wnba.com. WNBA. September 2, 2021. Retrieved September 3, 2021.
- ^ "Stats - Las Vegas Aces". aces.wnba.com. WNBA. Retrieved October 15, 2021.
- ^ "Tina Charles and A'ja Wilson Named Players Of The Month". wnba.com. WNBA. July 1, 2021. Retrieved July 1, 2021.
- ^ "Rosters Set for AT&T WNBA All-Star 2021 on July 14". wnba.com. WNBA. June 30, 2020. Retrieved July 1, 2021.
- ^ "Jones, Wilson Named Players Of The Week". wnba.com. WNBA. July 6, 2021. Retrieved July 6, 2021.
- ^ "WNBA Players of the Week: Natasha Howard and Kelsey Plum". wnba.com. WNBA. September 20, 2021. Retrieved September 22, 2021.
- ^ "Kia WNBA Players of the Month: Jonquel Jones and Kelsey Plum". wnba.com. WNBA. September 20, 2021. Retrieved September 22, 2021.
- ^ "Kelsey Plum Named 2021 Kia WNBA Sixth Player of the Year". wnba.com. WNBA. September 30, 2021. Retrieved September 30, 2021.
- ^ "Las Vegas Aces General Manager of Basketball Operations Dan Padover Named the 2021 WNBA Basketball Executive of the Year" (Press release). WNBA. September 30, 2021. Retrieved October 4, 2021.
- ^ "The 2021 All-WNBA First & Second Team Announced". wnba.com. WNBA. October 15, 2021. Retrieved October 15, 2021.