Las Vegas Acquires All-Star Kelsey Bone From Phoenix Mercury

Las Vegas (February 2, 2018)—Las Vegas Aces President of Basketball Operations and Head Coach Bill Laimbeer announced today that the team has acquired All-Star center Kelsey Bone from the Phoenix Mercury. In exchange, Phoenix receives the 26th pick in the 2018 WNBA Draft and the Aces’ second round pick in the 2019 WNBA Draft, which Las Vegas acquired from Indiana in a trade yesterday.

“I drafted Kelsey Bone five years ago because of her strengths as a back-to-the basket post player, and knew she would be a successful player in this league,” said Laimbeer. “That was borne out by her selection to the All-Star Team in 2015.

“We are excited to have her join the Aces, as she gives us another exciting young player that we can build around for our future. As an added bonus, Kelsey lives in Las Vegas, so she has a tremendous sense of ownership of the Aces and the community.”

An All-American at Texas A&M, Bone was originally drafted by the New York Liberty with the fifth overall pick in the 2013 WNBA Draft. She averaged 6.9 points and 5.4 rebounds as a rookie, but was traded to the Connecticut Sun in exchange for Tina Charles prior to the start of the following season.

In 2015, Bone made her first All-Star Team, establishing career highs in scoring (15.4 ppg), rebounding (6.3 rpg), assists (2.0 apg), and field goal percentage (50.8%). The 6-4 Houston, Texas native reached double figures in scoring in 27 of 33 games that year, posting a career-high 31 against Chicago on September 13, en route to winning the WNBA’s Most Improved Player award.

The Sun traded Bone to the Mercury on June 25, 2016.

During her WNBA career, Bone is averaging 9.4 points and 5.2 rebounds per game while making 46.8 percent of her shots from the field.

Bone is playing overseas this off-season with Napoli of the Italian League.

The WNBA’s Las Vegas Aces is the latest addition to the MGM Resorts International’s (NYSE:MGM) global entertainment company, which includes national and international locations featuring best-in-class hotels and casinos, state-of-the-art meetings and conference spaces, incredible live sporting and theatrical entertainment experiences, and an extensive array of restaurant, nightlife and retail offerings. Las Vegas tips off its first season of WNBA competition at Mandalay Bay Events Center this May. For additional information about the Aces please visit aces.WNBA.com or follow on social media via Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.