The Las Vegas Aces, along with the rest of the WNBA, did an unconventional and hilarious schedule reveal for the upcoming 2025 season.
#ALLINLV pic.twitter.com/4p9slE6drX
— Las Vegas Aces (@LVAces) December 2, 2024
On May 17th at noon PDT, the Las Vegas Aces begin their quest against the defending WNBA champs, the New York Liberty.
The last three WNBA championships were won by the Aces and the Liberty which makes them one of the most competitive rivalries at the moment. The teams have ended each other’s seasons the last two years in the playoffs with an even 4-4 win & loss record. The reigning back-to-back regular season MVP, A’ja Wilson and 2x Finals MVP Breanna Stewart look forward to starting their season off in this primetime matchup.
In their seventh game of the season, the Aces will meet the Golden State Valkyries for their first matchup in WNBA history. Golden State is the first franchise to join the league since 2008 and they are led by former Aces’ assistant coach Natalie Nakase. The rookie head coach is the first Asian-American in WNBA history and received high praise and several remorseful social media posts from the Aces when the hiring news broke out in November. In a farewell video, Aces head coach Becky Hammon said that Nakase had a “big hand in everything that we’ve done.”
Caitlin Clark and the Indiana Fever play the Aces on June 22nd at noon PT. Clark set the rookie record for overall scoring and set the total assists record for any player in WNBA history. The Aces were the most difficult team she faced in her rookie year. Last year against the Aces, Clark shot only 31.7% from the field and 20% from 3-point range. Every game needs to be treated and approached the same way, but the world hasn’t seen Clark play her best basketball against the most consistently successful team in the WNBA in the last three seasons.
In November, the Aces lost another coveted assistant coach from their staff. The Chicago Sky hired Tyler Marsh and Aces’ players A’ja Wilson and Sydney Colson both had social media posts expressing their displeasure with this loss.
Marsh won two WNBA championships with the Aces and one NBA championship with the Toronto Raptors in his role as head of player development.
In October and November of this year, the Aces experienced three major changes to their front office. Two assistant coaches are now head coaches for two WNBA teams and the Aces moved on from their general manager, Natalie Williams. With the talent of this league increasing with every draft, it will be interesting to see how the Aces navigate through those challenges this upcoming season.
More must-reads:
Las Vegas Aces superstar and reigning WNBA MVP A'ja Wilson is surely fed up with her team's form this season. After their July 24 defeat to the Indiana Fever, the Aces now have a 12-12 record and are facing the league-leading Minnesota Lynx on Friday. Given that the Aces have arguably been the WNBA's best team ever since they drafted Wilson with the No. 1 pick of the 2018 draft (which is proven by them winning two WNBA championships since then), a .500 record is not the standard that Wilson expects. While she's still playing at an elite level, some of her other teammates aren't performing up to par, at least compared to how they've done in the past. And since Wilson's words of leadership in the locker room don't seem to be making enough of an impression, she's taking her intensity on the court to a whole new level on Friday. A'ja Wilson Sends Kayla McBride Sprawling During Aces vs. Lynx At one point in the first quarter of Friday's Las Vegas vs. Minnesota game, Wilson and Lynx standout (and 2025 WNBA All-Star_ Kayla McBride were jockeying for position in the paint when McBride seemed to get her arms tangled up around Wilson's neck. Wilson responded by shoving McBride backwards, to the point where McBride fell hard backwards onto the hardwood. X user @ShowCaseShabazz posted a video of this exchange with the caption, "". Wilson was only called for a common foul for the shove. While there doesn't appear to be any bad blood between her and McBride at the moment, this exchange might have changed that.
There is not a bigger sporting event in North America than the Super Bowl, and tickets are only getting more expensive every year. There is also a ridiculous secondary market for tickets where seats sell for well above the original face value. It is usually fans or ticket resellers going for a quick profit. But as was reported on Friday, sometimes it can be players in the NFL looking to make a profit. According to multiple reports, including the Associated Press and ESPN, more than 100 players are facing fines and potential suspensions for selling their allotment of tickets to this year's Super Bowl between the Philadelphia Eagles and Kansas City Chiefs for above face value. Players are reportedly facing fines of one-and-a-half times the face value they originally paid for the tickets, while they are also prevented from purchasing tickets to the Super Bowl for the next seasons. The Associated Press obtained a memo from the NFL detailing the violation and investigation. That memo was as follows: “Our initial investigation has determined that a number of NFL players and coaches, employed by several NFL Clubs, sold Super Bowl tickets for more than the ticket’s face value in violation of the Policy. This long-standing League Policy, which is specifically incorporated into the Collective Bargaining Agreement, prohibits League or Club employees, including players, from selling NFL game tickets acquired from their employer for more than the ticket’s face value or for an amount greater than the employee originally paid for the ticket, whichever is less. We are in the process of completing our investigation into this matter, but the investigation has revealed that club employees and players sold their tickets to a small number of ‘bundlers’ who were working with a ticket reseller to sell the Super Bowl tickets above face value.” If players are not willing to pay the fine, they could be facing suspension from the league. It seems unlikely that any of the players — none of whom have been named, or their teams — would refuse to pay such a fine. It's also one of those moments where you can say, professional athletes — they're still normal people trying to make a quick buck. The most logical answer here is perhaps some of the players caught up in this are younger players who have not yet struck it rich on a big contract or perhaps even practice squad players who are not making top dollar.
The Las Vegas Raiders just stunned the league by releasing defensive tackle Christian Wilkins after only one year with the team. After signing a four-year, $110 million contract, he struggled with injuries in 2024. This was supposed to be a big bounce-back year for Wilkins, but after a dispute between the two sides in regard to how to handle his foot injury, the team decided it was best to part ways. Now, a premier interior disruptor is suddenly available. Assuming his medicals get checked out soon, there should be a lot of interest around the league. Where should he land? Dallas Cowboys Dallas has needed a dominant interior presence for quite some time. Osa Odighizuwa is an awesome threat, but he is only solid against the run. Alongside him, the team will be banking heavily on 2023 first-rounder Mazi Smith, who has been disappointing so far. With Dallas looking to return to the playoffs, adding a stud like Wilkins could give Dallas one of the best defensive lines in the NFL. San Francisco 49ers The 49ers added some young bodies in CJ West and Alfred Collins, yet neither offer a proven, all-around talent like Wilkins could if healthy. The 49ers defensive line was horrid outside of Nick Bosa in 2024, but by adding Wilkins, the team would now have a solid cast of starters with Nick Bosa, Mykel Williams, Wilkins and Kevin Givens/Jordan Elliott. Miami Dolphins A return to Miami makes a ton of sense for both sides. The Dolphins know exactly how to use Wilkins, he knows the building and players, and the transition would be very easy. Miami needs help in the interior defensive line; by plugging Wilkins back into his old role, he could offer the quickest path to high-level impact. Detroit Lions With Levi Onwuzurike out with injury and Detroit needing more juice on the defensive line, adding a proven disruptor like Wilkins could make some sense. He could provide more depth while he gets fully healthy, and he can join a legit Super Bowl contender. His energy and mentality could be a good fit for a Dan Campbell-led squad. Jacksonville Jaguars The Jaguars defense is average in the interior, but they have excellent edge-rushers who would benefit greatly from a strong disruptor up the middle. Wilkins could balance the front, help in the run defense and allow more one-on-ones for their premier edge-rushers. For a team that wants to return to the playoffs as soon as possible, adding a veteran like Wilkins could be a worthy bet to make.
Michigan and Ohio State are sure to play another spirited game on the gridiron this season, but it sounds like there will be no flag planting afterward regardless of the outcome. Michigan won its fourth straight game against Ohio State last season, and the Wolverines' latest victory was the biggest upset the rivalry has seen in years. The eventual national champion Buckeyes were ranked No. 2 in the country when an unranked Michigan team went into Columbus and beat them, 13-10. A huge scrum broke out after the game when Michigan players stood on Ohio State's midfield logo and pretended to plant their flag in enemy territory. The brawl got so out of hand that stadium police wound up using pepper spray. While speaking with reporters on Thursday, Michigan head coach Sherrone Moore said his players will not be partaking in any flag-planting activity going forward. "There will be no more flag planting. There will be no more grabbing the flag," Moore said. "We talked about our new tradition and what we do when we win a game is go beat the band, go sing our (fight song) and stay over there until the other team departs. That's how we'll operate — shake hands after the game, show sportsmanship, be cordial." While there has been no formal ban of flag planting, Ohio State coach Ryan Day also expressed opposition to the act after last year's incident. Ohio State and Michigan have one of the best rivalries in sports, so there is always going to be bad blood between the two programs. Moore and Day are doing what they can to make sure things don't get out of hand again the next time their teams meet.
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