The Las Vegas Aces are the reigning WNBA champions having won back to back titles, and this season they're eyeing a rare three-peat. They have one of the top rosters in the league with the top head coach in Becky Hammon. And now it appears as if they'll have a key player in the fold. The Aces have reportedly signed starting point guard Chelsea Gray to a contract extension as per Matthew Walter of The Next.
The contract extension ensures that Chelsea Gray will not hit unrestricted free agency as she was set to do following this season. The Aces will likely turn their attention to other key players in Kelsey Plum and Jackie Young, both of whom are also set to become unrestricted free agents following the 2024 season. The team has A'ja Wilson signed through the 2025 season.
Chelsea Gray has become the top WNBA point guard with the Aces
Chelsea Gray joined the Aces in the 2021 offseason signing a multi-year contract. Since then, she's risen to the top of the league when it comes to point guards. A five-time All-Star, Gray has been the engine that's powered the Aces to back to back championships.
This past season, Gray played in all 40 games at a little over 32 minutes per game. She averaged a career-high 15.3 points per game, 4.0 rebounds, 7.3 assists and 1.4 steals with splits of 49 percent shooting from the field, 42.1 percent shooting from the three point line and 89.7 percent shooting from the free throw line.
Gray put up one of the best playoff runs in WNBA history during the 2022 postseason in route to the Aces first championship. That year she averaged 21.7 points per game, 3.8 rebounds, 7.0 assists and 1.2 steals with splits of 61.1 percent shooting from the field, 54.4 percent shooting from the three point line and 83.3 percent shooting from the free throw line while winning the Finals MVP award.
Gray began her career with the Connecticut Sun when they selected her with the No. 11 overall pick in the 2014 WNBA Draft. She was traded to the Los Angeles Sparks following one season with the Sun. She spent five seasons with the Sparks and was a key member of the 2016 championship team.
Aces poised for a three-peat
While other teams around the WNBA have certainly gotten better following free agency and the draft, the Aces are still the team to beat. While the certainly suffered a blow this past weekend with the retirement of Candace Parker, they still have the top team in the league.
Powered by perennial MVP candidate A'ja Wilson, arguably the top backcourt in the league in Chelsea Gray and Kelsey Plum and one of the top wings in Jackie Young, the Aces are still loaded. They had a strong offseason too, re-signing Kiah Stokes and adding Megan Gustafson to bolster their frontcourt.
While it's tough for WNBA Draft picks to make a final roster, the Aces had a strong draft as well adding Syracuse's Dyaisha Fair, Iowa's Kate Martin, Virginia Tech's Elizabeth Kitley and Jackson State's Angel Jackson. Those draft picks were certainly made with an eye to the future.
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