The Las Vegas Aces lost their third chance to win the Commissioner’s Cup in a 93-85 loss to the New York Liberty. Sabrina Ionescu and Breanna Stewart played strong games for New York, but the matchup could have looked much different if A’ja Wilson had been available for the Aces. She missed the game after rolling her ankle in the Aces’ previous meeting with the Chicago Sky.
Losing the Commissioner’s Cup means missing out on a ton of money, but there is a clear silver lining. In five years of Commissioner’s Cup action, three teams that played in the finals also went on to win the WNBA championship that year—usually the loser.
In 2022, the Aces won both, beating the Sky for the Commissioner’s Cup championship and the Connecticut Sun for the WNBA title. A year later, the Liberty beat the Aces in the Commissioner’s Cup, and Las Vegas won its second consecutive WNBA championship. In 2024, the Lynx beat the Liberty for the Commissioner’s Cup but later lost to them in the WNBA Finals.
So, history suggests that there’s a really good chance that the Aces can defend their WNBA title once again.
Las Vegas looks like a contender despite some hiccups
The Aces retained all of the most important players from their 2025 title run and added Chennedy Carter as a scoring punch off the bench. Despite that continuity, they got off to a really bad start, losing 99-66 to the Phoenix Mercury in their season-opener on ring night.
After that, there have been some questionable losses to the Dallas Wings and Los Angeles Sparks, but the Aces mostly look like what you’d expect from the defending champions. They have only lost six games, although the Commissioner’s Cup loss doesn’t count toward their regular-season record, and are just one game behind the Minnesota Lynx at the top of the standings.
They have also beaten the Lynx, the Atlanta Dream, and the Golden State Valkyries, holding their own against the other top teams in the league outside of New York. Moreover, the Aces have the best offensive rating in the W. They are only eighth in defensive rating, but when they are locked in, they are a real two-way force.
Most importantly, A’ja Wilson is still the best player in the world. She leads the WNBA in points per game with 25.7, ranks fourth in rebounds, and is tied with Emily Engstler for most blocks per game. When she is playing at an MVP level, the Aces always have a chance to compete for a championship, no matter the outcome of their Commissioner’s Cup run.
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