Candace Parker sees a lot of similarities between the Las Vegas Aces and the 2016 Los Angeles Sparks team she played for that won a WNBA title.
A lot of it has to do with the friendships players share off the field.
“Our team was really, really close,” said Parker, who came to Las Vegas as a free agent in the offseason. “I don’t think it’s a coincidence that you succeed on the field when you’re calm on the field.”
The aces sit at 15-1 after defeating both New York And Connecticut, which has the two best records in the league. This is the best start to a season since Los Angeles went 20-1 in 2016.
“In terms of the mentality of this team, it reminds me a lot of 2016,” Parker said. “It was just a business-like game. It didn’t matter the outcome, it was about whether we did what we were supposed to do.”
If the Aces keep playing as they are, they have a chance of closing in on the 1998 Houston Comets that went 27-3 for the highest winning percentage in league history.
With the starting lineup of Aja Wilson, Chelsea Gray, Kelsey Bloom and Jackie Young signed until 2024, this squad could be really good for the long haul. aces Wilson announced a two-year extension last friday. Wilson, Gray and Young started the All-Star Game in Las Vegas on July 15th His name is reserve Saturday.
Las Vegas wins by an average of 15.6 points per game and plays a very unselfish style of basketball, averaging 22 assists – second in the league behind New York.
“We absolutely love sharing the ball,” said aces keeper Chelsea Gray. “We have a lot of good passers and really good goalscorers.”
The Aces, who have won eight straight games, are undefeated at home this season and remain at the top of the WNBA AP poll.
AP WNBA Poll
New York moved into second place in the poll after beating Connecticut last week. The sun fell to third place. Washington, Dallas and Atlanta are being devoured. Chicago finished seventh with Minnesota and Los Angeles next. Indiana was ranked 10th with Seattle and Phoenix closing in on the poll.
Training carousel
James Wade in Chicago He resigned as head coach and general manager on Saturday to take over as an assistant coaching position with the Toronto Raptors. This means that Cheryl Reeve is the only head coach to have held her current position for more than two years. took over in 2010. Every other team in the WNBA has changed its head coach since Seattle hired Noel Quinn in June of 2021.
Wade’s departure marked the second coaching change in the past two weeks after Phoenix fired Vanessa Nygaard on June 25.
player of the week
Minnesota’s Navisa Collier averaged 26.7 points, nine rebounds and 2.3 blocks to help the Lynx win all three of their games last week. The Lynx swept the home-and-home set with Seattle and beat Phoenix. Other players receiving votes include Kelsey Bloom from Las Vegas, Brenna Stewart from New York, Sato Sabali from Dallas and Courtney Williams from Chicago.
windmill clock
Brittney Griner and the Phoenix Mercury have a two-game road trip to New York and Minnesota this week before playing at home against Los Angeles on Sunday. Griner did not play on the team’s final trip to New York a few weeks ago due to a hip injury. She returned on June 24 and continued her stellar season, averaging 19.8 points, 6.1 rebounds and 2.1 blocks.
Game of the week
Dallas in Las Vegas, Wed. The Aces can almost certainly seal a Western Conference spot in the Commissioner’s Cup with a win over the Wings. Las Vegas will have a three-game lead over Minnesota with three games remaining. The Aces beat the Lynx in the first meeting and lead by 164 points in the points difference between the two teams.
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