The Las Vegas Aces continue their pursuit of WNBA history when they open play after the All-Star break against the host Seattle Storm on Thursday night.
Only two teams have had better 21-game starts than Las Vegas (19-2) — the 1998 Houston Comets and 2016 Los Angeles Sparks each started 20-1. Both of those teams lost their 22nd game.
The powerful Aces had three All-Star Game starters, A’ja Wilson (19.7 points per game), Jackie Young (19.1) and Chelsea Gray (14.8). Kelsey Plum (19.1) was a reserve.
The four stars mesh well, and the Aces have won eight games by 20 or more points. Las Vegas averages a league-best 94 points per game.
“People think we’ve been playing together a long time now, but it’s only been a couple of years,” Wilson said. “Our mindset and goal of what we want with this franchise are the same.”
Las Vegas won its final three games before the break by an average of 23 points.
The Aces have whipped the Storm by an average of 37 points in this season’s first two meetings. Las Vegas recorded a 105-64 road win in the season opener on May 20 and rolled to a 96-63 home victory on June 15.
Overall, the Aces have won the past five meetings between the teams, counting three victories to finish a 3-1 series win last year in the WNBA semifinals.
Seattle (4-16) owns the worst record in the league and has dropped its past seven games.
Even the heroics of WNBA leading scorer Jewell Loyd (25.7 points per game) have been unable to halt the issues. Loyd also was named MVP after setting All-Star Game records of 31 points and 10 3-pointers on Saturday night in Las Vegas.
Loyd leads the league with 66 3-pointers and matched the single-game, regular-season record of nine in a recent contest against the Washington Mystics.
Loyd has thrived during the changing of the guard in Seattle that saw Sue Bird retire after last season and former league MVP Breanna Stewart leave as a free agent.
“It all started in the offseason for me,” Loyd said after the All-Star Game. “It was a different approach. I knew things would be different coming back to Seattle, so I prepared probably the hardest I’ve ever done physically and mentally. I’m just trying to stay as present as possible and not think too far ahead.”
The Storm are just 2-9 at home this season.
–Field Level Media
