2022 Las Vegas Aces season

The 2022 Las Vegas Aces season was the franchise's 26th season in the Women's National Basketball Association and the 5th year the franchise is based in Las Vegas after relocating from San Antonio and Utah. The regular season began on May 6, 2022, at the Phoenix Mercury.^[1]

2022 Las Vegas Aces season
WNBA champions
Coach	Becky Hammon
Arena	Michelob Ultra Arena
Attendance	5,607 per game
Results
Record	26–10 (.722)
Place	1st (Western)
Playoff finish	WNBA Champions (Defeated Connecticut Sun 3–1 in WNBA Finals)
Team Leaders
Points	Kelsey Plum – 20.2 ppg
Rebounds	A'ja Wilson – 9.4 rpg
Assists	Chelsea Gray – 6.1 apg
← 2021 season 2023 season →

On December 31, 2021, the Aces named former WNBA great and San Antonio Spurs assistant coach Becky Hammon as their new head coach.^[2]

The Aces started the season under Hammon in strong fashion, winning their first two games before losing a game. The team then went on a seven game winning streak to end May 9–1. The winning streak ended on the first of June, but the Aces then won their next four straight games. The end of June was not as kind to the team, as they lost three of their last four games, to finish the month 5–4. July got off to a rocky start, with the team losing two of its first three games, but then they won three of their next four before finishing the month on a four game winning streak. The winning streak would be five including the Commissioner's Cup Final. The Aces beat the Chicago Sky 93–83 to win their first Commissioner's Cup. Excluding that cup, the team finished July 8–3, and secured a berth into the 2022 WNBA Playoffs on July 24. They started the final month of the season on a two game losing streak, but won their last four games to finish the month 4–2 and secure the first seed in the playoffs. Their win in the penultimate game of the season gave them the better head-to-head record with Chicago and secured the tiebreaker for the top seed. Their final record of 26–10 in the regular season, was the highest win total in franchise history and their winning percentage of .722 was the second highest.

As the first seed in the playoffs, they had home court advantage against the eight seed Phoenix Mercury in the first round. The Aces won the first game 79–63 and cruise to a game two victory 117–80 to win the series two games to zero. In the second round they faced off against the fourth seeded Seattle Storm. Las Vegas lost the first game at home 73–76. However, they won game two 78–73 to send the series to Seattle tied. The Aces prevailed in over time in game three of the series and also won game four in Seattle to take the series three games to one. The Aces would again have home court advantage in the WNBA Finals where they matched up against the third seed Connecticut Sun. Las Vegas won the first two games at home 67–64 and 85–71 respectively. The Aces lost game three in Connecticut 76–105. However, they came back and won game four to win the series three games to one and finish as WNBA Champions. This was the first championship in franchise history. This also marked the first time a team won both the WNBA Commissioner's Cup and the WNBA Finals.

During the postseason, A'ja Wilson was named MVP, Jackie Young won Most Improved Player, Chelsea Gray was Finals MVP, and Coach Becky Hammon was named Coach of the Year in her first season.

Transactions

WNBA draft

See also: 2022 WNBA draft

Round	Pick	Player	Nationality	School/team/country
1	8	Mya Hollingshed	Puerto Rico	Colorado
1	11	Kierstan Bell	United States	Florida Gulf Coast
2	13	Khayla Pointer	United States	LSU
2	23	Aisha Sheppard	United States	Virginia Tech
3	35	Faustine Aifuwa	United States	LSU

Trades and Roster Changes

Date	Details
December 31, 2021	Hired Becky Hammon as head coach
January 7, 2022	Extended Qualifying Offers to A'ja Wilson and Ji-Su Park[3]
January 15, 2022	Renounced the rights to Clarissa dos Santos[4]
February 2, 2022	Re-Signed A'ja Wilson to a Two-Year Deal[5][6]
February 3, 2022	Re-Signed Kiah Stokes to a One-Year Deal[7]
	Re-Signed Riquna Williams to a Two-Year Deal[8]
February 15, 2022	Signed Kalani Brown to a training-camp contract[9]
February 24, 2022	Hired Natalie Nakase as an Assistant coach[10]
March 2, 2022	Signed Sydney Colson to a training-camp contract[11]
March 3, 2022	Signed Theresa Plaisance to a training-camp contract[12]
March 14, 2022	Hired Tyler Marsh as an Assistant coach[13]
April 8, 2022	Waived Destiny Slocum[14]
	Hired Natalie Williams as General Manager[15]
April 10, 2022	Traded a First and Second Round pick in the 2023 WNBA Draft to the Minnesota Lynx in exchange for the #8 and #13 Picks in the 2022 WNBA draft[16]
April 13, 2022	Signed Kierstan Bell, Aisha Sheppard, Faustine Aifuwa, and Mya Hollingshed to rookie-scale contracts
	Signed Deja Winters to a training-camp contract[17]
April 16, 2022	Signed Khayla Pointer to a rookie-scale contract
	Signed Nancy Mulkey to a training-camp contract[18]
	Hired Charlene Thomas-Swinson as assistant coach[19]
April 18, 2022	Waived Kalani Brown[20]
April 19, 2022	Waived Faustine Aifuwa and Deja Winters[21]
May 2, 2022	Waived Mya Hollingshed, Khayla Pointer, and Nancy Mulkey[22][23]
May 3, 2022	Signed Victoria Macaulay to a training-camp contract[24]
May 5, 2022	Waived Victoria Macaulay
	Temporarily Suspend Kiah Stokes due to Overseas Commitments
May 16, 2022	Signed Jackie Young to a contract extension [25]
May 17, 2022	Activated Kiah Stokes from her Temporary Suspension
May 23, 2022	Signed Chelsea Gray to a Contract Extension[26]
June 19, 2022	Signed Iliana Rupert to a rookie-scale contract[27]
June 29, 2022	Signed Dearica Hamby to a Contract Extension[28]
July 17, 2022	Signed Kelsey Plum to a 2-Year Contract Extension[29]

Roster

2022 Las Vegas Aces roster
Players	Coaches
Pos. No. Nat. Name Height Weight DOB From Yrs F 1 Bell, Kierstan 6' 1" (1.85m) 176 lb (80kg) 2000-03-16 Florida Gulf Coast R G 51 Colson, Sydney 5' 8" (1.73m) 140 lb (64kg) 1989-08-06 Texas A&M 7 G 12 Gray, Chelsea 5' 11" (1.8m) 170 lb (77kg) 1992-10-08 Duke 7 F 5 Hamby, Dearica 6' 3" (1.91m) 189 lb (86kg) 1993-11-06 Wake Forest 7 F 55 Plaisance, Theresa 6' 5" (1.96m) 200 lb (91kg) 1992-05-18 LSU 8 G 10 Plum, Kelsey 5' 8" (1.73m) 145 lb (66kg) 1994-08-24 Washington 4 C 21 Rupert, Iliana 6' 4" (1.93m) 189 lb (86kg) 2001-07-12 France R G 4 Sheppard, Aisha 5' 9" (1.75m) 145 lb (66kg) 1993-03-30 Virginia Tech R C 41 Stokes, Kiah 6' 3" (1.91m) 191 lb (87kg) 1993-03-30 Connecticut 6 G 2 Williams, Riquna 5' 6" (1.68m) 165 lb (75kg) 1990-05-28 Miami (FL) 9 F 22 Wilson, A'ja 6' 4" (1.93m) 195 lb (88kg) 1996-08-08 South Carolina 4 G 0 Young, Jackie 6' 0" (1.83m) 165 lb (75kg) 1997-09-16 Notre Dame 3	Head coach Becky Hammon (Colorado State) Assistant coaches Natalie Nakase (UCLA) Tyler Marsh (Birmingham–Southern) Charlene Thomas-Swinson (Auburn) Athletic trainer Michelle Anumba (Duke) Legend (C) Team captain (DP) Unsigned draft pick (FA) Free agent (S) Suspended Injured

Depth

Pos.	Starter	Bench
C	Kiah Stokes	Iliana Rupert
PF	A'ja Wilson	Dearica Hamby Theresa Plaisance
SF	Jackie Young	Kierstan Bell
SG	Kelsey Plum	Riquna Williams Aisha Sheppard
PG	Chelsea Gray	Sydney Colson

Schedule

Preseason

2022 pre-season game log
May: 0–1 (Home: 0–0; Road: 0–1) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record 1 May 1 @ Minnesota L 86–89 Kelsey Plum (16) A'ja Wilson (7) Kelsey Plum (5) Target Center N/A 0–1
2022 pre-season schedule

Regular Season

2022 game log Total: 26–10 (Home: 13–5; Road: 13–5)
May: 9–1 (Home: 6–0; Road: 3–1) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record 1 May 6 @ Phoenix W 106–88 Dearica Hamby (24) A'ja Wilson (11) Kelsey Plum (7) Footprint Center 7,167 1–0 2 May 8 Seattle W 85–74 A'ja Wilson (20) Dearica Hamby (19) Kelsey Plum (7) Michelob Ultra Arena 6,212 2–0 3 May 10 @ Washington L 76–89 Jackie Young (19) A'ja Wilson (11) Chelsea Gray (5) Entertainment and Sports Arena 3,082 2–1 4 May 13 @ Atlanta W 96–73 A'ja Wilson (15) Dearica Hamby (13) Kelsey Plum (11) Gateway Center Arena 3,138 3–1 5 May 17 Phoenix W 86–74 Kelsey Plum (20) A'ja Wilson (10) Chelsea Gray (9) Michelob Ultra Arena 2,536 4–1 6 May 19 Minnesota W 93–87 Jackie Young (25) Dearica Hamby (12) Chelsea Gray (7) Michelob Ultra Arena 3,640 5–1 7 May 21 Phoenix W 100–80 Kelsey Plum (24) Theresa Plaisance (9) Gray Young (5) Michelob Ultra Arena 5,572 6–1 8 May 23 Los Angeles W 104–76 A'ja Wilson (24) Jackie Young (9) Kelsey Plum (8) Michelob Ultra Arena 4,092 7–1 9 May 28 @ Chicago W 83–76 A'ja Wilson (22) A'ja Wilson (16) Gray Plum Young (6) Wintrust Arena 6,812 8–1 10 May 31 Connecticut W 89–81 A'ja Wilson (24) A'ja Wilson (14) Kelsey Plum (7) Michelob Ultra Arena 4,693 9–1
June : 5–4 (Home: 2–3; Road: 3–1) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record 11 June 2 Connecticut L 90–97 Jackie Young (26) Hamby Wilson (7) Kelsey Plum (8) Michelob Ultra Arena 3,801 9–2 12 June 5 Dallas W 84–78 Kelsey Plum (32) Dearica Hamby (8) Hamby Plum (5) Michelob Ultra Arena 4,814 10–2 13 June 11 @ Los Angeles W 89–72 A'ja Wilson (35) A'ja Wilson (11) Kelsey Plum (8) Crypto.com Arena 8,200 11–2 14 June 15 @ Dallas W 92–84 Kelsey Plum (27) Dearica Hamby (12) Chelsea Gray (8) College Park Center 4,375 12–2 15 June 19 Minnesota W 96–95 A'ja Wilson (25) A'ja Wilson (8) Chelsea Gray (8) Michelob Ultra Arena 4,603 13–2 16 June 21 Chicago L 95–104 Jackie Young (23) A'ja Wilson (11) Gray Plum (7) Michelob Ultra Arena 4,951 13–3 17 June 25 Washington L 86–87 (OT) Plum Young (20) A'ja Wilson (14) Chelsea Gray (6) Michelob Ultra Arena 7,171 13–4 18 June 27 @ Los Angeles W 79–73 Kelsey Plum (29) A'ja Wilson (11) Jackie Young (7) Crypto.com Arena 4,200 14–4 19 June 29 @ Seattle L 78–88 A'ja Wilson (17) A'ja Wilson (16) Chelsea Gray (8) Climate Pledge Arena 9,499 14–5
July : 8–3 (Home: 2–2; Road: 6–1) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record 20 July 1 @ Minnesota W 91–85 Chelsea Gray (21) A'ja Wilson (12) Kelsey Plum (10) Target Center 6,104 15–5 21 July 3 @ Minnesota L 71–102 Kelsey Plum (12) A'ja Wilson (7) Kelsey Plum (5) Target Center 7,603 15–6 22 July 6 New York L 107–116 A'ja Wilson (29) A'ja Wilson (9) Chelsea Gray (6) Michelob Ultra Arena 8,405 15–7 23 July 12 @ New York W 107–101 Kelsey Plum (27) A'ja Wilson (14) Jackie Young (7) Barclays Center 5,201 16–7 24 July 14 @ New York W 108–74 A'ja Wilson (25) Dearica Hamby (7) Jackie Young (9) Barclays Center 9,896 17–7 25 July 17 @ Connecticut W 91–83 Kelsey Plum (22) Hamby Wilson (7) Chelsea Gray (9) Mohegan Sun Arena 6,814 18–7 26 July 19 Atlanta L 76–92 A'ja Wilson (22) A'ja Wilson (10) Kelsey Plum (7) Michelob Ultra Arena 5,952 18–8 27 July 21 Indiana W 90–77 A'ja Wilson (23) Dearica Hamby (9) Chelsea Gray (12) Michelob Ultra Arena 5,737 19–8 28 July 23 Los Angeles W 84–66 Kelsey Plum (29) Jackie Young (9) Jackie Young (6) Michelob Ultra Arena 7,522 20–8 CC Final July 26 @ Chicago W 93–83 Kelsey Plum (24) A'ja Wilson (17) Kelsey Plum (6) Wintrust Arena 8,922 N/A 29 July 29 @ Indiana W 93–72 Plum Wilson (22) Jackie Young (7) Gray Young (5) Hinkle Fieldhouse 1,828 21–8 30 July 31 @ Indiana W 94–69 Kelsey Plum (26) Kiah Stokes (10) Chelsea Gray (7) Hinkle Fieldhouse 1,822 22–8
August : 4–2 (Home: 3–0; Road: 1–2) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record 31 August 2 @ Washington L 73–83 A'ja Wilson (22) A'ja Wilson (12) Kelsey Plum (5) Entertainment and Sports Arena 4,200 22–9 32 August 4 @ Dallas L 80–82 Chelsea Gray (28) A'ja Wilson (9) Kelsey Plum (7) College Park Center 3,492 22–10 33 August 7 @ Seattle W 89–81 A'ja Wilson (29) Kiah Stokes (9) Chelsea Gray (9) Climate Pledge Arena 18,100 23–10 34 August 9 Atlanta W 97–90 A'ja Wilson (24) A'ja Wilson (14) Kelsey Plum (8) Michelob Ultra Arena 5,151 24–10 35 August 11 Chicago W 89–78 Kelsey Plum (25) Kiah Stokes (7) Kelsey Plum (5) Michelob Ultra Arena 6,055 25–10 36 August 14 Seattle W 109–100 Chelsea Gray (33) A'ja Wilson (10) Chelsea Gray (9) Michelob Ultra Arena 10,015 26–10
2022 season schedule

Playoffs

2022 playoff game log
First Round vs. Phoenix Mercury Won Series: 2–0 Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Series 1 August 18 Phoenix W 79–63 Kelsey Plum (22) Kiah Stokes (13) Gray Plum (4) Michelob Ultra Arena 8,725 1–0 2 August 21 Phoenix W 117–80 Chelsea Gray (27) Riquna Williams (5) Chelsea Gray (8) Michelob Ultra Arena 9,126 2–0
Second Round vs. Seattle Storm Won Series: 3–1 Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Series 1 August 28 Seattle L 73–76 Chelsea Gray (21) A'ja Wilson (12) Gray Young (5) Michelob Ultra Arena 9,944 0–1 2 August 31 Seattle W 78–73 A'ja Wilson (33) A'ja Wilson (13) Chelsea Gray (7) Michelob Ultra Arena 9,755 1–1 3 September 4 @ Seattle W 110–98 (OT) A'ja Wilson (34) Kiah Stokes (12) Chelsea Gray (12) Climate Pledge Arena 15,431 2–1 4 September 6 @ Seattle W 97–92 Chelsea Gray (31) A'ja Wilson (13) Chelsea Gray (10) Climate Pledge Arena 11,328 3–1
Finals vs. Connecticut Sun Won Series: 3–1 Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Series 1 September 11 Connecticut W 67–64 A'ja Wilson (24) A'ja Wilson (11) Chelsea Gray (3) Michelob Ultra Arena 10,135 1–0 2 September 13 Connecticut W 85–71 A'ja Wilson (26) A'ja Wilson (10) Chelsea Gray (8) Michelob Ultra Arena 10,211 2–0 3 September 15 @ Connecticut L 76–105 Jackie Young (22) Kiah Stokes (7) Chelsea Gray (7) Mohegan Sun Arena 8,745 2–1 4 September 18 @ Connecticut W 78–71 Chelsea Gray (20) A'ja Wilson (14) Jackie Young (8) Mohegan Sun Arena 9,652 3–1
2022 playoff schedule

Standings

#	Team v t e	W	L	PCT	GB	Conf.	Home	Road	Cup
1	x – Las Vegas Aces	26	10	.722	–	15–3	13–5	13–5	9–1
2	x – Chicago Sky	26	10	.722	–	15–3	14–4	12–6	9–1
3	x – Connecticut Sun	25	11	.694	1.0	11–7	13–5	12–6	5–5
4	x – Seattle Storm	22	14	.611	4.0	10–8	13–5	9–9	6–4
5	x – Washington Mystics	22	14	.611	4.0	11–7	12–6	10–8	5–5
6	x – Dallas Wings	18	18	.500	8.0	8–10	8–10	10–8	5–5
7	x – New York Liberty	16	20	.444	10.0	10–8	9–9	7–11	6–4
8	x – Phoenix Mercury	15	21	.417	11.0	7–11	11–7	4–14	3–7
9	e – Minnesota Lynx	14	22	.389	12.0	8–10	7–11	7–11	4–6
10	e – Atlanta Dream	14	22	.389	12.0	5–13	8–10	6–12	3–7
11	e – Los Angeles Sparks	13	23	.361	13.0	6–12	7–11	6–12	3–7
12	e – Indiana Fever	5	31	.139	21.0	2–16	3–15	2–16	2–8

Notes

(#) – League Standing

x – Clinched playoff berth

e – Eliminated from playoff contention

Source: Overall standings and Commissioner's Cup Standings

Playoffs

See also: 2022 WNBA Playoffs

	First round Best-of-3					Semifinals Best-of-5					Finals Best-of-5
	1	Las Vegas Aces	2
	8	Phoenix Mercury	0
						1	Las Vegas Aces	3
						4	Seattle Storm	1
	4	Seattle Storm	2
	5	Washington Mystics	0
											1	Las Vegas Aces	3
											3	Connecticut Sun	1
	2	Chicago Sky	2
	7	New York Liberty	1
						2	Chicago Sky	2
						3	Connecticut Sun	3
	3	Connecticut Sun	2
	6	Dallas Wings	1

• Bold – 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
Kelsey Plum	36	36	32.8	.460	.420	.839	2.7	5.1	1.0	0.1	20.2
A'ja Wilson	36	36	30.0	.501	.373	.813	9.4	2.1	1.4	1.9	19.5
Jackie Young	34	34	33.2	.476	.431	.859	4.4	3.9	1.4	0.2	15.9
Chelsea Gray	35	35	29.7	.491	.340	.910	3.2	6.1	1.6	0.3	13.7
Dearica Hamby	34	32	26.5	.466	.219	.720	7.1	1.1	1.1	0.1	9.3
Riquna Williams	21	0	18.0	.381	.366	.762	2.0	1.2	0.4	0.1	6.7
Theresa Plaisance	31	2	12.9	.371	.348	.700	2.6	0.5	0.3	0.4	4.0
Iliana Rupert≠	17	0	13.1	.463	.368	.333	2.3	0.9	0.4	0.0	3.8
Kiah Stokes	31	4	15.3	.426	.208	.813	4.4	0.6	0.5	0.8	2.3
Sydney Colson	18	0	6.8	.313	.273	1.000	0.4	1.0	0.1	0.0	1.6
Aisha Sheppard	23	0	7.6	.238	.273	.750	0.6	0.3	0.2	0.0	1.5
Kierstan Bell	21	1	5.8	.303	.136	1.000	0.9	0.3	0.1	0.1	1.3

^‡Waived/Released during the season
^†Traded during the season
^≠Acquired during the season

Playoffs

Player	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3P%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
Chelsea Gray	10	10	34.0	.611	.544	.833	3.8	7.0	1.2	0.6	21.7
A'ja Wilson	10	10	37.2	.552	.143	.791	10.4	2.0	1.0	2.4	20.3
Kelsey Plum	10	10	33.3	.409	.286	.891	3.9	3.8	0.9	0.0	17.1
Jackie Young	10	10	34.5	.432	.474	.926	4.1	3.0	0.8	0.1	12.5
Riquna Williams	10	0	20.3	.348	.358	1.00	2.7	1.0	0.8	0.2	6.9
Kiah Stokes	10	10	25.9	.486	.200	1.00	7.2	0.4	0.6	0.8	3.7
Kierstan Bell	4	0	4.8	.667	.600	0.00	1.3	0.3	0.0	0.0	2.8
Iliana Rupert	7	0	7.0	.313	.357	0.00	0.4	0.0	0.0	0.1	2.1
Theresa Plaisance	4	0	5.0	.400	.333	0.00	1.3	0.5	0.3	0.5	1.3
Dearica Hamby	6	0	8.5	.600	0.00	0.25	1.5	0.8	0.2	0.2	1.2
Sydney Colson	4	0	4.8	0.00	0.00	0.00	1.0	1.0	0.0	0.0	0.0
Aisha Sheppard	4	0	4.0	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.0	0.8	0.0	0.0	0.0

Awards and honors

Recipient	Award	Date awarded	Ref.
A'ja Wilson	Western Conference Player of the Week	May 16	[30]
		May 31	[31]
		June 21	[32]
		July 25	[33]
		August 15	[34]
	Western Conference Player of the Month - May	June 1	[35]
	Western Conference Player of the Month - July	August 2	[36]
	WNBA All-Star Starter & Co-Captain	June 22	[37]
	WNBA Defensive Player of the Year	August 30	[38]
	All-Defensive First Team		[39]
	WNBA MVP	September 7	[40]
	All-WNBA First Team	September 15	[41]
Jackie Young	Western Conference Player of the Week	May 23	[42]
	WNBA All-Star Starter	June 22	[37]
	WNBA Most Improved Player	August 29	[43]
Kelsey Plum	Western Conference Player of the Week	June 6	[44]
		August 1	[45]
	WNBA All-Star Starter	June 22	[37]
	All-Star Game MVP	July 10	[46]
	All-WNBA First Team	September 15	[41]
Dearica Hamby	WNBA All-Star Selection	June 28	[47]
Chelsea Gray	Commissioner's Cup Final MVP	July 26
	WNBA Finals MVP	September 18
Becky Hammon	WNBA Coach of the Month - May	June 1	[48]
	WNBA Coach of the Year	August 26	[49]