Aces Have High Expectations after Semifinals Exit Last Season

In an interview with KTNV, reigning Aces MVP A’ja Wilson sat down with them to talk about the expectations coming into the 2025 season.

The Las Vegas Aces come into the 2025 season with a chip on their shoulder.

After suffering a defeat at the hands of the New York Liberty in the WNBA Semifinals last season, the Aces feel like they have something to prove to not just the league, but themselves.

Aces center A’ja Wilson went into last season with the intention proving that she was league’s best player even if the MVP voters from 2023 thought otherwise.

Wilson then went on to put on a clinic last season. She managed to put up some of the best numbers in WNBA history.

“I want to be the best,” Wilson said. “Normally, you’re classified the best when you win games and you win championships, so that was my whole mentality coming into this offseason. It was a long offseason. It was a long, dull offseason because we lost. Sometimes you need that ‘L’ to wake you up.”

This offseason, the Aces were productive with building their talent to compete with the best of the best that the WNBA has to offer.

Wilson’s A’One signature shoe with Nike was released earlier this month to big fanfare and high demand.

“I am overwhelmed a little bit because it means a lot to me,” Wilson said. “The love, the joy, the positivity behind it, seeing so many people want to buy it, it definitely has my heart full. So I’m grateful. I’m so excited to see what’s more to come.”

Wilson & her teammates are all in agreement that no one wants to feel what they felt after falling short last season.

This season, Wilson feels a different energy in the Aces’ current locker room compared to this time last season. It is a vibe that more closely resembles the team that won back-to-back championships 2022 and 2023.

“It kind of sucks when the mindset (with other players) wasn’t where it is,” Wilson said. “But it’s also human nature. When you come in after winning back-to-back, you have this feeling of, ‘What else do we have to do?’ We’ve already executed and done more than people may have expected us to do.

“I think this year we’ve come in with a different mindset, understanding how hard it is to get there.”