The Pace of the Ace(s)

The Las Vegas Aces’ 8-1 start has come as little surprise to those around the WNBA, especially after the defending champions got even stronger during the offseason with the additions of veteran forwards Candace Parker — an all-time NCAA women’s basketball great, two-time WNBA champion and two-time WNBA MVP  — and Alysha Clark, a two-time WNBA champion and defensive stalwart with the Seattle Storm from 2012-20.

Mirroring their title run in 2022, the Aces’ offense has been the key to their success, and with Parker and Clark in tow, Las Vegas has run teams out of the building with its tremendous pace of play. Boasting the fastest pace in the league in 2022 with an 80.6 mark, second-year head coach Becky Hammon has doubled down on that strategy, with the Aces holding an 82.3 mark through the first nine games of the 2023 campaign.

Although Vegas’ pace sits at second in the W, slotting only behind the Atlanta Dream’s 83.3 mark, the Aces’ relentless attack adds another layer to an offense that is also adept within its halfcourt sets.

The Aces’ offensive style is rooted in the team’s overall intelligence, starting at the top with the game’s best basketball mind in Hammon and seeping onto the floor through players like A’ja Wilson, Kelsey Plum, Chelsea Gray, Jackie Young and Parker, all of whom boast incredibly high basketball IQs to go along with the ball-handling and playmaking abilities that are necessary to bring the ball up the floor and generate offense.

With a bevy of high-IQ ballhandlers — regardless of position — the Aces have outpaced virtually every defense in their path to this point, setting up easy looks around the rim, with Vegas’ penchant to run in transition aiding a 56.4 percent shooting mark from inside the arc — the best in the league by a wide margin.

No game showed the Aces’ ability in transition more than their win over the Chicago Sky on Sunday, in which Vegas turned 13 Sky turnovers into 19 points, while also adding 16 points from fastbreak opportunities in the 93-80 victory.

Sparking these fastbreak opportunities is a collective defensive effort, with five different Aces boasting at least one steal per game — with Young leading the pack with 1.8 swipes per contest. Vegas also does an incredible job of making sure the ball is always moving, and that is evidenced in its assist numbers, with five Aces averaging at least two assists per contest — with Gray leading the way with 5.9 per game, ranking sixth in the league.

While Vegas’ ability to turn defense into offense has certainly aided its efforts to play with pace, that sense of urgency isn’t lost in halfcourt situations. The Aces get into their sets with a machine-like efficiency, and hardly ever get bogged down offensively, even in situations where they’re working out of the post. With versatile post-presences in Wilson and Parker, it also allows for more free-flowing motion within their offense, in turn causing the Aces to play a faster brand of basketball.

With Las Vegas showing very little signs of slowing down, both on the court and in the standings, the Aces’ commitment to playing with pace on offense may just be the key to another title for Hammon and Co. 

Photo Credit: Courtesy of the Las Vegas Aces