2019 Las Vegas Aces season

The 2020 Las Vegas Aces season was the franchise's 23rd season in the Women's National Basketball Association and the second year the franchise is based in Las Vegas - after relocating from San Antonio and Utah. This was the second season under head coach Bill Laimbeer. The season tipped off on May 26, 2019 versus the Los Angeles Sparks.^[1]

2019 Las Vegas Aces season
Coach	Bill Laimbeer
Arena	Mandalay Bay Events Center
Attendance	4,687 per game
Results
Record	21–13 (.618)
Place	2nd (Western)
Playoff finish	4th Seed, Lost in Conference Finals Washington, 1–3
Team Leaders
Points	A'ja Wilson – 16.5 ppg
Rebounds	Liz Cambage – 8.2 rpg
Assists	Jackie Young – 4.5 apg
Media
Television	KVMY
← 2018 season 2020 season →

The Aces started the season 7–5 and were never able to put together a winning streak of more than two games. However, the Aces improved in July and went 7–2 during that month. Their record included two separate three game winning streaks. One of their two losses actually occurred in August, due to an earthquake delayed game. The Aces cooled off in August, going 6–5. The record included a four game winning streak, and a three game losing streak. The Aces locked up a post season bid on August 18. The Aces went 1–1 in September to finish 21–13 on the year. This record secured them the fourth seed in the playoffs.

As the fourth seed, the Aces hosted the Chicago Sky in their second round match. The Aces won a close game 93–92 to advance to the semifinals. There they faced the top-seeded Washington Mystics. The Aces ended up losing to the Mystics, three games to one.

Transactions

WNBA draft

See also: 2019 WNBA draft

Round	Pick	Player	Nationality	School/Team/Country
1	1	Jackie Young	United States	Notre Dame

Trades/Roster Changes

Date	Details
February 1, 2019	Re-signed F Dearica Hamby[2][3]
February 19, 2019	Signed G Saniya Chong to a Training Camp Contract[4][5]
	Signed C Ruth Hamblin to a Training Camp Contract[4][5]
February 21, 2019	Signed G/F Alex Harden to a Training Camp Contract[6]
April 17, 2019	Signed G Dominique Wilson to a Training Camp Contract[7]
May 12, 2019	Waived C Ruth Hamblin and G Dominique Wilson[8]
May 13, 2019	Signed G Sydney Colson[9]
May 16, 2019	Traded G Moriah Jefferson, C Isabelle Harrison, their first and second round picks in the 2020 WNBA draft to the Dallas Wings for C Liz Cambage[10]
August 28, 2019	Signed G Epiphanny Prince[11]

Roster

2019 Las Vegas Aces roster
Players	Coaches
Pos. No. Nat. Name Height Weight DOB From Yrs C 8 Cambage, Liz 6' 8" (2.03m) 216 lb (98kg) 1991-08-18 Australia 3 G 51 Colson, Sydney 5' 8" (1.73m) 140 lb (64kg) 1989-08-06 Texas A&M 5 F 5 Hamby, Dearica 6' 3" (1.91m) 189 lb (86kg) 1993-11-06 Wake Forest 4 G 21 McBride, Kayla 5' 10" (1.78m) 174 lb (79kg) 1992-06-25 Notre Dame 5 C 19 Park Ji-su 6' 5" (1.96m) 206 lb (93kg) 1998-12-06 South Korea 1 G 10 Plum, Kelsey 5' 8" (1.73m) 145 lb (66kg) 1994-08-24 Washington 2 G Prince, Epiphanny 5' 9" (1.75m) 179 lb (81kg) 1988-01-11 Rutgers 9 G 14 Rodgers, Sugar 5' 9" (1.75m) 161 lb (73kg) 1989-12-08 Georgetown 6 C 4 Swords, Carolyn 6' 6" (1.98m) 215 lb (98kg) 1989-07-18 Boston College 7 C 22 Wilson, A'ja 6' 4" (1.93m) 195 lb (88kg) 1996-08-08 South Carolina 1 F 1 Young, Tamera 6' 2" (1.88m) 175 lb (79kg) 1986-10-30 James Madison 10 G 0 Young, Jackie 6' 0" (1.83m) 165 lb (75kg) 1997-09-16 Notre Dame R	Head coach Bill Laimbeer (Notre Dame) Assistant coaches Vickie Johnson (Louisiana Tech) Kelly Schumacher (Connecticut) Legend (C) Team captain (DP) Unsigned draft pick (FA) Free agent (S) Suspended Injured

Game log

Pre-season

2019 pre-season game log
May: 0–1 (Home: 0–1; Road: 0–0) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record 1 May 19 Minnesota Lynx L 75–79 McBride (18) Swords (8) Plum (6) Cox Pavilion 0–1
2019 pre-season schedule

Regular season

2019 game log Total: 21–13 (Home: 13–4; Road: 8–9)
May: 1–1 (Home: 1–0; Road: 0–1) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record 1 May 26 Los Angeles Sparks W 83–70 Wilson (21) Hamby (14) Plum (6) Mandalay Bay Events Center 7,249 1–0 2 May 31 @ Phoenix Mercury L 84–86 McBride (15) Wilson (9) Wilson (4) Talking Stick Resort Arena 14,090 1–1
June : 6–4 (Home: 4–2; Road: 2–2) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record 3 June 2 Connecticut Sun L 74–80 Wilson (19) Wilson (9) Colson (5) Mandalay Bay Events Center 2,747 1–2 4 June 6 @ Atlanta Dream W 92–69 Tied (15) Hamby (8) J. Young (8) State Farm Arena 2,630 2–2 5 June 9 @ New York Liberty L 78–88 McBride (25) Cambage (10) McBride (4) Westchester County Center 1,447 2–3 6 June 14 New York Liberty W 100–65 Plum (19) Wilson (8) J. Young (8) Mandalay Bay Events Center 4,110 3–3 7 June 16 @ Minnesota Lynx W 80–75 McBride (22) Cambage (9) Hamby (4) Target Center 8,392 4–3 8 June 20 Washington Mystics L 72–95 Wilson (28) Tied (6) Tied (4) Mandalay Bay Events Center 4,416 4–4 9 June 22 Dallas Wings W 86–68 Hamby (27) Cambage (9) J. Young (8) Mandalay Bay Events Center 4,347 5–4 10 June 25 Seattle Storm W 60–56 Cambage (14) Cambage (13) Colson (4) Mandalay Bay Events Center 4,215 6–4 11 June 27 @ Los Angeles Sparks L 74–86 Cambage (18) Hamby (10) J. Young (9) Staples Center 10,295 6–5 12 June 29 Indiana Fever W 102–97 (OT) Wilson (39) Wilson (11) J. Young (10) Mandalay Bay Events Center 4,581 7–5
July : 7–2 (Home: 4–1; Road: 3–1) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record 13 July 2 Chicago Sky W 90–82 3 tied (16) Cambage (9) J. Young (8) Mandalay Bay Events Center 3,516 8–5 14 July 5 Washington Mystics L 70–99 Plum (17) Tied (5) Tied (5) Mandalay Bay Events Center N/A 8–6 15 July 7 @ New York Liberty W 90–58 McBride (24) Cambage (11) Plum (6) Westchester County Center 1,971 9–6 16 July 10 @ Indiana Fever W 74–71 Cambage (19) 3 Tied (6) 3 Tied (3) Bankers Life Fieldhouse 9,247 10–6 17 July 13 @ Washington Mystics W 85–81 Tied (17) Cambage (9) 3 Tied (4) St. Elizabeth's East Arena 4,200 11–6 18 July 19 @ Seattle Storm L 66–69 Cambage (16) Cambage (14) Tied (3) Alaska Airlines Arena 9,000 11–7 19 July 21 Minnesota Lynx W 79–74 Cambage (22) Cambage (13) Plum (8) Mandalay Bay Events Center 4,352 12–7 20 July 23 Seattle Storm W 79–62 Hamby (24) Cambage (12) Cambage (6) Mandalay Bay Events Center 5,193 13–7 21 July 30 Dallas Wings W 86–54 Tied (18) Hamby (11) J. Young (7) Mandalay Bay Events Center 3,756 14–7
August : 6–5 (Home: 4–1; Road: 2–4) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record 22 August 1 @ Los Angeles Sparks L 68–76 McBride (19) Hamby (11) T. Young (6) Staples Center 11,692 14–8 23 August 3 @ Dallas Wings W 75–70 McBride (21) Swords (10) J. Young (5) College Park Center 5,882 15–8 24 August 9 Chicago Sky L 84–87 Cambage (28) Hamby (12) McBride (5) Mandalay Bay Events Center 4,200 15–9 25 August 11 Connecticut Sun W 89–81 Cambage (21) Cambage (12) Tied (6) Mandalay Bay Events Center 4,633 16–9 26 August 13 Atlanta Dream W 94–90 Hamby (23) Hamby (16) Cambage (6) Mandalay Bay Events Center 3,532 17–9 27 August 18 @ Chicago Sky W 100–85 Wilson (25) Cambage (10) T. Young (4) Wintrust Arena 6,072 18–9 28 August 20 Phoenix Mercury W 84–79 (OT) Tied (19) Cambage (15) J. Young (10) Mandalay Bay Events Center 5,032 19–9 29 August 23 @ Connecticut Sun L 85–89 Cambage (18) Hamby (10) J. Young (5) Mohegan Sun Arena 7,483 19–10 30 August 25 @ Minnesota Lynx L 77–98 J. Young (14) Hamby (7) J. Young (5) Target Center 8,834 19–11 31 August 27 @ Indiana Fever L 71–86 Wilson (18) Wilson (8) Plum (6) Bankers Life Fieldhouse 6,958 19–12 32 August 31 Los Angeles Sparks W 92–86 Wilson (24) Tied (12) Tied (5) Mandalay Bay Events Center 8,470 20–12
September : 1–1 (Home: 0–0; Road: 1–1) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record 33 September 5 @ Atlanta Dream L 74–78 Wilson (19) Wilson (8) J. Young (9) State Farm Arena 4,023 20–13 34 September 8 @ Phoenix Mercury W 98–89 Cambage (21) Cambage (9) Tied (4) Talking Stick Resort Arena 13,135 21–13
2019 season schedule

Playoffs

2019 playoff game log Total: 2–3 (Home: 2–1; Road: 0–2)
Second Round: 1–0 (Home: 1–0; Road: 0–0) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Series 1 September 15 Chicago Sky W 93–92 Cambage (23) Cambage (17) Plum (6) Thomas & Mack Center 7,981 1–0
Semifinals: 1–3 (Home: 1–1; Road: 0–2) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Series 1 September 17 @ Washington Mystics L 95–97 Wilson (23) Cambage (12) Plum (9) St. Elizabeth's East Arena 3,968 0–1 2 September 19 @ Washington Mystics L 91–103 Cambage (23) Cambage (10) Plum (10) St. Elizabeth's East Arena 4,200 0–2 3 September 22 Washington Mystics W 92–75 Cambage (28) Wilson (8) Plum (9) Mandalay Bay Events Center 6,175 1–2 4 September 24 Washington Mystics L 90–94 Cambage (25) Cambage (12) Hamby (7) Mandalay Bay Events Center 5,465 1–3
2019 playoff schedule

Standings

#	Western Conference v t e	W	L	PCT	GB	Home	Road	Conf.
1	Los Angeles Sparks (3)	22	12	.647	–	15–2	7–10	10–6
2	Las Vegas Aces (4)	21	13	.618	1	13–4	8–9	11–5
3	Seattle Storm (6)	18	16	.529	4	11–6	7–10	10–6
4	Minnesota Lynx (7)	18	16	.529	4	11–6	7–10	7–9
5	Phoenix Mercury (8)	15	19	.441	7	9–8	6–11	5–11
6	e – Dallas Wings	10	24	.294	12	8–9	2–15	5–11

Notes

(#) – Conference Standing, Playoff Seeds shown to the right of team name

e – Eliminated from playoffs

Playoffs

Main article: 2019 WNBA Playoffs

	First round Single elimination (Sept. 11)					Second round Single elimination (Sept. 15)					Semifinals Best-of-5 (Sept. 17 – 24)					WNBA Finals Best-of-5 (Sept. 29 – Oct. 10)
											1	Washington Mystics	3
						4	Las Vegas Aces	93			4	Las Vegas Aces	1
	5	Chicago Sky	105			5	Chicago Sky	92								1	Washington Mystics	3
	8	Phoenix Mercury	76													2	Connecticut Sun	2
											2	Connecticut Sun	3
						3	Los Angeles Sparks	92			3	Los Angeles Sparks	0
	6	Seattle Storm	84			6	Seattle Storm	69
	7	Minnesota Lynx	74

Note: Teams re-seeded after each round.

• Bold – Game or series winner
• Italic – Team with home-court advantage

Statistics

Legend
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

Regular season

Player	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3P%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
A'ja Wilson	26	25	28.4	47.9	0	79.2	6.4	1.8	0.5	1.7	16.5
Liz Cambage	32	30	25.2	50.4	16.7	74.8	8.2	2.1	0.6	1.6	15.9
Kayla McBride	34	34	29.1	42.5	42.8	90.6	4.2	2.6	1.2	0.1	13.3
Dearica Hamby	34	9	24.8	48.8	32.1	71.8	7.6	1.9	1.0	0.4	11.0
Kelsey Plum	34	30	25.5	36.5	35.7	87.2	2.8	3.0	0.8	0.1	8.6
Jackie Young	34	34	22.6	32.2	31.8	80.8	3.3	4.5	0.8	0.4	6.6
Tamera Young	34	4	18.5	38.0	31.3	63.9	3.6	2.0	0.7	0.1	5.3
Epiphanny Prince	3	0	9.3	50.0	42.9	0	0.7	1.0	0.3	0.3	4.3
Sugar Rodgers	33	0	11.6	36.0	35.7	60.0	1.5	1.2	0.4	0.4	3.4
Sydney Colson	33	0	11.5	44.0	45.0	81.8	0.7	1.8	0.9	0.1	3.3
Carolyn Swords	29	4	8.9	43.8	0	84.6	2.2	0.3	0.2	0.1	2.6
Park Ji-su	25	0	6.5	21.6	0	44.4	1.1	0.4	0.2	0.2	0.8

Awards and honors

Recipient	Award	Date awarded	Ref.
A'ja Wilson	WNBA Western Conference Player of the Week	June 24, 2019	[12]
		July 1, 2019	[13]
Kayla McBride	WNBA All-Star Selection	July 15, 2019	[14]
A'ja Wilson
Liz Cambage
Bill Laimbeer	WNBA Coach of the Month - July	August 1, 2019	[15]
Dearica Hamby	Sixth Woman of the Year	September 15, 2019	[16]
Jackie Young	WNBA All-Rookie Team	September 16, 2019	[17]