CHICAGO IL (August 23, 2023)—Two days after tying the 2014 Phoenix Mercury for the most wins in a season in WNBA history, the Las Vegas Aces will try to break that record against the Chicago Sky (13-20). An Aces win or a Connecticut loss to New York tomorrow will also clinch a top 2 seed and home court advantage throughout at least the WNBA semifinals for Las Vegas. Thursday’s Aces-Sky game is being broadcast locally on Fox5 and the Silver State Sports & Entertainment Network, and tip is slated for 5 pm PT.

Download Game Notes (FINAL)

2023 STANDINGS
	Team	W	L	GB	Pct
1	Las Vegas	29	4	—	.879
2	New York	25	7	3.5	.781
3	Connecticut	23	10	6.0	.697
4	Dallas	18	15	11.0	.545
5	Atlanta	16	17	13.0	.485
6	Minnesota	16	17	13.0	.485
7	Washington	15	18	14.0	.455
8	Los Angeles	13	18	15.0	.419
—	——————	—-	—-	——	——
9	Chicago	13	20	16.0	.394
10	Seattle	10	23	19.0	.303
11	Phoenix	9	23	19.5	.281
12	Indiana	9	24	20.0	.273

Las Vegas is now 3.5 games ahead of New York in the race for the No. 1 seed in the postseason with 7 games to play. The Liberty travel to Connecticut tomorrow to take on the Sun at 4 pm PT. The Aces currently own the tiebreaker over New York with a 2-1 record, however the teams play one more time during the regular season on Monday, Aug. 28.

Meanwhile, Chicago is fighting for its playoff life, trailing the Los Angeles Sparks for the 8th and final postseason berth by 1 game. The Sky began the year with an 8-9 mark, which was good enough for 5th place over the July 4th holiday. Since then, however, they have won just 5 of 16 games, including Tuesday’s 102-79 victory over Seattle.

As the media begins to discuss postseason award prospects in earnest, A’ja Wilson put together an M’VP statement game in the Aces’ Tuesday win over Atlanta, tying the WNBA single-game scoring record by pouring in 53 points. She made 16 of 23 shots from the field, and went 20 of 21 from the free throw line. She ranks among the top five in the league in 9 major statistical categories.

A’ja Wilson 2023 Statistical Rankings
PPG	RPG	BPG	FG%	WS	OWS	DWS	OER	DER
22.3 (3rd)	9.5 (2nd)	2.1 (1st)	.542 (5th)	8.1 (1st)	5.2 (2nd)	2.9 (1st)	121.7 (4th)	92.4 (1st)

Chelsea Gray, Kelsey Plum and Jackie Young are all making cases to join Wilson on the 2023 All-WNBA Teams. Gray and Plum are both chasing entry into the exclusive 50-40-90 club as they try to become the second and third players in WNBA history to make 50 percent of their field goal attempts, 40 percent of their 3-pointers and 90 percent off their free throws. Elena Delle Donne was the first player to post those marks, back in the 2019 season (.515 FG%, .430 3G%, .974 FT%).

Player	FG%	3G%	FT%
Gray 2023	.489	.432	.923
Plum 2023	.486	.396	.914
Delle Donne 2019	.515	.430	.974

Young is also posting an MVP-caliber year, and could become the first player in WNBA history to win the league’s Most Improved Player Award in consecutive seasons thanks to career highs in scoring, steals, most shooting percentages and advanced stats like win shares and offensive efficiency rating.

	PPG	SPG	FG%	2G%	3G%	EffFG%	WS	OER
Young 2021	12.2	1.1	.507	.524	.250	.515	3.7	110
Young 2022	15.9	1.4	.476	.495	.431	.539	5.4	121.4
Young 2023	18.1	1.5	.532	.580	.463	.628	6.6	125.3
2023 WNBA Ranks	9th	9th	7th	5th	1st	1st	3rd	1st

Following Thursday’s game, Las Vegas heads to the White House, Friday, where Vice President Kamala Harris and second gentleman Douglas Emhoff will welcome the 2022 WNBA Champions and celebrate them for bringing the first major professional sports title ever to the city of Las Vegas. The Aces then take on the Mystics on Saturday before finishing their 4-game road swing Monday against the New York Liberty.

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