Imago
Credits: Imagn
Imago
Credits: Imagn
Has Las Vegas basketball outlived its dream run? Becky Hammon wowed the entire WNBA by winning back-to-back championships in her first two years as head coach, but the trophies seem to be drying up. Even with A’ja Wilson at the helm, they couldn’t manage to overcome New York in last year’s semifinals. There are too many questions piling up for the Aces, and their most recent roster update does not bode well for them either.
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According to reports, the Las Vegas Aces suffered a major loss as six-foot-three center Megan Gustafson sustained an injury to her lower leg on April 28th. This impacts their front-court depth, but more importantly, it highlights a major issue in the WNBA that needs to be addressed!
Because of how low the WNBA wages are, players are swamped with work even in the off-season.
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Over 60% of WNBA players compete overseas during the offseason to supplement their incomes, where salaries can range from $10,000 per month to over $1 million per season, depending on the league and player’s profile. For instance, stars like Brittney Griner and Diana Taurasi have long played in Russia and China, facing intense physical and mental demands.
Most players go overseas in their down time to earn a living as the W doesn’t pay enough to comfortably live, recover, and train off of. However, that causes a lot of stress on the body.
On the Courtside Club with Rachel Annemarie DeMita, the show host issued a major plea to Cathy Engelbert, and the W, after Gustafson’s injury. She expressed her desire for players to go into the season with fresh legs. “Hopefully, within the next couple of years, the WNBA can start being profitable.” DeMita said, pointing out the crux of the issue. It is only recently that the women’s league has picked up popularity, and creating change takes time.
Engelbert has acknowledged these concerns, noting in 2024 that the WNBA’s new 11-year, $2.2 billion media rights deal, effective from 2026, will boost revenue and player salaries under the next Collective Bargaining Agreement. However, with the WNBPA opting out of the current CBA in October 2024, effective after the 2025 season, DeMita’s plea reflects the urgency for faster progress as injuries like Gustafson’s highlight the human cost of delayed reform.
She continued on with how the players will benefit when the league flourishes. “These salaries for these players will start to go up so that a lot of these players don’t have to play overseas, don’t have to play all year round. And they can actually take a proper off-season to rest their body, to recover, to get stronger, to do all of these things.” And it makes sense!
Gustafson is currently on a 2-year, $190,820 contract with the Las Vegas Aces, and it is her seventh year in the league. NBA players straight out of college are eligible to earn millions of dollars, with the absolute minimum contract going for 1-year and $1,157,153 in 2024-25.
When the WNBA gains popularity, the workload of the players will be drastically reduced. Strength and conditioning, prehab and rehab are all important aspects of a players life. And the level of play in the W will get better as players gain time and money to invest into their off-season.
And as for the Aces? They are faced with a number of challenges. Even though A’ja Wilson is playing at an MVP-level, and they gained a valuable asset in Jewell Loyd, they are still dealing with Kelsey Plum’s departure. But what did their star player have to say about their new roster? Let’s find out!
A’ja Wilson looking forward, not backwards!
Losing Kelsey Plum to the Los Angeles Sparks was a big deal for Las Vegas basketball. The five-foot-eight point guard balled out in her time with the Aces, winning awards aplenty! In the last three years, she hasn’t missed the mark at all, consistently getting an All-Star nod.
Her departure, however, changed things. While yes, Jewell Loyd’s addition was an exciting turn of events, Plum was already established with the Aces. Winning back-to-back championships is no small feat, after all.
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SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA – OCTOBER 01: Breanna Stewart, Kelsey Plum, A’Ja Wilson, Sabrina Ionescu of the United States celebrate Team USA winning the Gold Medal during the 2022 FIBA Women’s Basketball World Cup Final match between USA and China at Sydney Superdome, on October 01, 2022, in Sydney, Australia. (Photo by Kelly Defina/Getty Images)
KTNV reporter Taylor Rocha interviewed A’ja Wilson, the Las Vegas Aces superstar, and brought up the topic of Plum. “I processed it just like anyone else. It is what it is. It’s a business. People wanna work on their brand, new journeys, new stories.” Wilson said, making it clear that it was all love between her and Kelsey. However, the WNBA MVP is not gonna reminisce or think about ‘what could have been’.
After all, there are more important things to worry about! With Gustafson’s injury, the Aces are in a spot of bother. Wilson made her priorities clear in the video that Rocha posted on X. “I’ve got to worry about what’s in this locker room and what we have going on, and that’s what we’ll continue to do.”
With pre-season pressure mounting, and expectations at an all-time high, it will be interesting to see how the Las Vegas Aces deal with everything. Becky Hammon and A’ja Wilson have a lot to work through, and we can’t wait to see the end result!
Written by
Edited by
Masaba Naqvi