The Las Vegas Aces are no strangers to the bright lights of playoff basketball. However, this season has been unlike any of their recent championship runs. For years, they’ve been the standard of depth, dominance, and swagger in the WNBA. Now, as they prepare for another grueling postseason, they find themselves in unfamiliar territory. They are contenders, yes, but they are contenders with a glaring weakness. For the Aces to reestablish themselves as the league’s ultimate force, they must fix the one flaw that could undo their championship dreams.
The Aces’ 2025 season so far
At the start of the 2025 season, few would have predicted that the Las Vegas Aces would become the second team to clinch a playoff spot. With major offseason departures, including Kelsey Plum, Sydney Colson, Alysha Clark, and Kate Martin, optimism for another championship run was understandably low. The roster looked thinner, and expectations were tempered.
The early weeks only reinforced those doubts. The Aces stumbled to a .500 record in the first half of the season, struggling to find rhythm while dealing with injuries to A’ja Wilson. She missed multiple games due to both a concussion and a wrist issue. By the beginning of August, Las Vegas sat at 14-14, holding just the eighth spot in the WNBA standings.
Since then, however, the Aces have surged. Now 27-14 and second in the Western Conference, they have leaned heavily on their core trio of Wilson, Chelsea Gray, and Jackie Young. Wilson has delivered MVP-caliber production with 23.6 points, 10.1 rebounds, and 2.2 blocks per game. Meanwhile, Gray’s steady hand has added 11.1 points and 5.4 assists. Young’s scoring punch, above 16 points per contest, rounds out a trio that regularly accounts for more than 60 percent of the team’s offense. Yet, that reliance comes at a cost. All three average more than 30 minutes per game, raising real concerns about fatigue and durability as the demanding playoffs approach.
Here we will look at and discuss the fatal flaw that the Las Vegas Aces must fix before the 2025 WNBA playoffs.
Fatal flaw: depth issues remain the biggest concern
The Aces’ talent at the top is unquestionable. That said, their Achilles’ heel is the lack of reliable support behind their stars. Beyond Wilson, Gray, Young, and even Jewell Lloyd, scoring often drops off a cliff. Role players have struggled to establish consistency, forcing Coach Becky Hammon to overextend her starters in high-stakes situations.
Players like NaLyssa Smith, Kierstan Bell, and Megan Gustafson have all had moments where they’ve stepped up, but none have produced with the regularity needed to take pressure off the core trio. For opposing defenses, this has made game-planning easier. They just have to load up on Wilson, close out on Gray, and dare the supporting cast to beat you. At certain points, the answer has been no.
Why depth matters in the playoffs
The WNBA postseason is unforgiving. Unlike the regular season, playoff series exploit weaknesses over and over. Teams with deeper benches have an inherent advantage, managing foul trouble, fatigue, and matchups without asking their stars to do everything.
Las Vegas has shown before how dangerous it is to rely too heavily on its stars. In previous playoff exits, the Aces seemed to lack the safety valve of consistent bench scoring. With so much riding on a few shoulders, the risk of burnout looms large.
The physicality of postseason play only sharpens that risk. Wilson is already logging MVP-level numbers at heavy minutes. However, asking her to sustain that output without support is a gamble no championship team should have to take.
Tactical adjustments the Aces must make
For Las Vegas to mitigate its depth issues, several changes are necessary heading into the playoffs:
Expand bench contributions: Hammon must empower her reserves to play meaningful minutes, even in pressure situations, to give stars crucial rest.
Manage minutes wisely: Load management may be controversial, but giving Wilson, Gray, and Young breathers before the postseason could prove invaluable.
Diversify the offense: Running more sets through secondary players will prevent defenses from overloading on Wilson and Gray, while also building confidence in the supporting cast.
Tighten defensive rotations: If bench players aren’t producing offensively, they must at least provide relentless energy on the defensive end.
These adjustments won’t erase the roster gap entirely. Still, they can soften its impact and keep the Aces fresher and more resilient in late-game moments.
Signs of progress and optimism
Despite the glaring depth issue, the Aces have shown resilience. In recent weeks, they’ve put together a franchise-record 13-game winning streak. That's a testament to the sheer dominance of their stars but also to the occasional sparks from their bench. Smith and Dana Evans, for instance, have provided timely contributions. They have shown flashes of the kind of support Las Vegas desperately needs more of.
Hammon has also leaned into experimentation, giving players situational roles that could translate into playoff value. If the Aces can continue to foster confidence in these players, there is a path toward overcoming the depth dilemma.
A championship hangs in the balance
The Aces will enter the 2025 playoffs with the talent to make another deep run. At the same time, they do so knowing one weakness could define their season. Depth issues are no longer just a footnote. They are the fatal flaw that could determine whether the Aces hoist another trophy or fall short.
Wilson, Gray, and Young can only carry this team so far. To truly contend, Las Vegas must extract more from its bench and give its stars the support they need. The Aces’ championship hopes don’t rest on their superstars proving their greatness. They rest on whether the rest of the roster can finally rise to meet the moment.
