LAS VEGAS (August 29, 2024)—The Las Vegas Aces (18-12) return home this Friday for a 7 pm PT tip against the Atlanta Dream (10-20) at Michelob ULTRA Arena. The game is being broadcast nationally on ION.

Download Game Notes (v. 1)

Following the Aces’ 93-90 loss to Dallas Tuesday (box score/recap), and Seattle’s 85-81 win over Atlanta Wednesday, Las Vegas finds itself in 5th place in the WNBA standings, a game back of the Storm with 10 games remaining for both teams.

	W	L	GB	Home	Road
New York *	26	6	—		Sept. 8
Minnesota *	23	8	2.5
Connecticut *	22	8	3.0	Sept. 15	Sept. 6
Seattle	19	11	6.0		Sept. 17
Las Vegas	18	12	7.0
Phoenix	16	16	10.0		Sept. 1
Indiana	15	16	10.5		Sept. 11, 13
Chicago	11	19	14.0	Sept. 3

Atlanta	10	20	15.0	Aug. 30
Washington	9	22	16.5
Dallas	8	22	17.0	Sept. 19
Los Angeles	7	24	18.5
* Clinched Playoff Berth

Atlanta entered the 2024 season looking to build off of a 2023 campaign which saw them improve from 14 to 19 wins, and earn the No. 5 seed in the WNBA Playoffs. Injuries decimated the Dream early on this year, however, as free agent point guard and two-time All-Defensive First Team acquisition Jordin Canada logged just 4 games before the Olympic break, and 2022 Rookie of the Year Rhyne Howard has been inactive for 10 games in 2024. Key reserves Cheyenne Parker-Tyus and Aeiral Powers have also missed games recently due to injury.

Despite their depleted roster, the Dream opened the season with a 4-2 record, including a 78-74 win over the Aces on May 31 (box score/recap). Howard and Allisha Gray averaged 18.5 and 17.5 points per game respectively during that stretch, and 35-year-old free agent signee Tina Charles was posting a near double-double with averages of 12.8 points and 9.2 rebounds. Parker-Tyus gave Atlanta 4 double digit scorers in the first month of the season at 11.17 points per game.

Over the next 18 games, however, Atlanta went just 3-15, including an 8-game losing skid. The drop-off was particularly noticeable on the offensive end where the Dream entered the Olympic break averaging a league-low 94.1 points per 100 possessions. The team’s defense ranked in the middle of the pack, allowing 101.5 points per 100 possessions.

Atlanta stormed into August with wins in their first 3 games over playoff contenders Seattle, Connecticut and Phoenix. since then, they have dropped 3 straight games by 2, 5 and 4 points to fall to 10-20, one game behind Chicago in the race for the No. 8 seed.

The Aces have struggled to find their footing since the season’s restart, going 2-4 over that time. They have won just 2 of their last 7 games dating back to a July 16 loss to the Sky.

Aces	PPG	FG%	3G%	OER	DER	OppPPG	OppFG%	Opp3G%
First 23 games (16-7)	88.9	.453	.350	107.4	99.9	82.6	.427	.366
Last 7 games (2-5)	81.0	.445	.333	99.8	105.7	85.1	.459	.351

The Aces scored fewer than 80 points on 2 occasions during those first 23 games, but have done so 3 times over their most recent 7 contests. They have also been getting beaten on the boards of late. Always one of the best defensive rebounding teams in the league since moving to Las Vegas, the Aces are grabbing just 67.7 percent of available D boards since July 16—the second lowest percentage in the league. On the offensive side of the boards, Las Vegas ranks last in the league over their last 7 games, grabbing 16.7 percent of available offensive rebounds.

Two-time M’VP A’ja Wilson is the front-runner for the award this year, leading the league in scoring (27.1 ppg) and blocks (2.67 bpg) while ranking 2nd in rebounding (11.7 rpg), 3rd in steals (1.93 spg) and 4th in field goal percentage (.520). She is on pace to break Diana Taurasi’s nearly 2 decades old scoring record of 25.3 points per game. Owning a combined 4.6 steals and blocks per game, Wilson is on pace to own the ‘stocks’ record of 4.5 per game, set by Yolanda Griffith in 2000, and is also looking to become the first player in WNBA history to average 2 or more steals and blocks per game in the same season.

Kelsey Plum (17.6 ppg) and Jackie Young (17.1 ppg) are also both ranked in the top 15 in the league in scoring, but over the last 7 games, they are averaging 13.7 and 12.6 points respectively. Plum’s 82 made 3s are the 5th most in the W this year, and she is on pace to become just the second player in league history to make 100 or more 3s in multiple seasons (Taurasi). In addition to her scoring, Young ranks 9th in the league in assists at 5.1 per game.

Tiffany Hayes, acquired early in the season as a free agent, is making her case for the 6th Player of the Year award. In 21 games as a reserve, the 12-year veteran is averaging 8.7 points while connecting on 50.0 percent of her shots from the field and 34.7 percent from 3-point range.

The Aces are 1-1 against the Dream this year, and this is the final meeting of the regular season between the clubs.

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