LAS VEGAS (Sept. 9, 2025)—It’s no secret that the Aces struggled to start the season. While they had four Olympic gold medalists among the starting five, including newcomer Jewell Loyd, who signed in February after playing her first decade in Seattle, and returned four starters from last year, it took time to foster trust and build chemistry with all the new faces.

The Aces opened without 6-4 center Megan Gustafson, who suffered a lower leg injury during training camp, and newcomer Cheyenne Parker-Tyus, a 6-4 forward who was due with her second child in July. Further, 6-6 rookie center Elizabeth Kitley gave the Aces bigs some relief at times, but wasn’t yet ready to contribute meaningful minutes.

That left three-time M’VP A’ja Wilson without significant help on the inside as the Aces, who also lost four key players from last season in Kelsey Plum (17.8 ppg, 34 mpg), Tiffany Hayes (9.5 ppg, 21.4 mpg), Alysha Clark (6.0 ppg, 24.3 mpg) and a strong spark off the bench in Sydney Colson, spent the first 16 games not looking like themselves.

The Aces worked on building chemistry along with bringing newcomers up to speed and honing plays during training camp, but something was missing during the team’s 8-8 start.

Enter the Ace in the hole. Las Vegas signed 6-4 forward NaLyssa Smith from Dallas on June 30, and she stepped onto the court as an Ace, without a single practice first, against Indiana on July 3. As Smith, who played 10 games with just four practices, and the team were getting settled into the transition, Las Vegas dropped 4 of its next 6 contests. But after a loss at Washington, the Aces began clicking against Golden State on July 12, picked up another win against Dallas four days later and headed into the All-Star Break on a 2-game high. Since the All-Star break, the Aces have strung together a 17-3 record and head into their final two games on a franchise-record 14-game winning streak.

After coming off the bench in her first game, Smith became a regular in the starting lineup and is contributing 7.9 points and 5.4 rebounds in nearly 23 minutes a game.

With Smith providing options to aid Wilson inside, Las Vegas has posted a 20-6 record and is on a franchise-record 14-game winning streak. Not only that, with Smith in the lineup, Wilson’s point production increased 3.3 points per game (21.6 to 24.9 ppg) and her field goal percentage jumped by a whopping 10.2%. After shooting 43.7% through June 29, she has connected on 53.9% of her attempts in games from July 3 onward.

Maybe it was fated to happen — Wilson and Smith share the same birthday, after all — but it seems that all the reigning M’VP and the rest of the Aces needed was just a little extra help inside from No. 3 NaLyssa Smith as they march towards the playoffs.