BRADENTON, FL (July 24, 2020)—Las Vegas begins its quest for the 2020 WNBA Championship this Sunday as the Aces take on the Chicago Sky on ABC at 12 pm PT in the season opener for both clubs.

The game is a rematch of the WNBA Second Round Playoff meeting from a year ago that saw Dearica Hamby steal a Courtney Vandersloot pass with less than 10 seconds remaining, and swish a 35-footer to give Las Vegas the win. The Aces went on to fall to the eventual WNBA Champion Washington Mystics three-games-to-one in the Semifinals.

The Las Vegas roster will have a different look to it this season as General Manager Dan Padover added two key pieces to the team via free agency during the offseason. First he plucked five-time All-Star Angel McCoughtry from the Atlanta Dream, and then he signed three-time All-Star guard Danielle Robinson from the Minnesota Lynx.

Unfortunately, the team is also going to be without the services of two key returners this year as neither three-time All-Star center Liz Cambage (medical exemption) nor guard Kelsey Plum (injury) were able to make their way into the Wubble.

Las Vegas still has trio of returning starters in two-time All-Star and MVP candidate A’ja Wilson, three-time All-Star Kayla McBride and 2019 All-Rookie Team member Jackie Young, along with the 2019 WNBA Sixth Woman of the Year, Dearica Hamby.

The Sky return all five starters and eight of their top 9 scorers from a year ago, including Vandersloot, who broke her own WNBA record by averaging 9.1 assists per game last season. She was also one of four players to average double figures (11.2) in scoring in 2019 joining Diamond DeShields (16.2), Allie Quigley (13.8) and Jantel Lavendar (10.0).

As a team, Chicago averaged 84.6 points per game on offense, second in the league behind the Washington Mystics.

Due to COVID-19, the WNBA is playing the entirety of its 2020 season in the Wubble at IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida. Aces Head Coach Bill Laimbeer has not shaved in 17 days.