A'ja Wilson Leads Aces Vs Valkyries In Only WNBA Game
The aces vs valkyries matchup arrives as the only WNBA game on the schedule, putting Las Vegas and Golden State in the spotlight for a night that would normally be spread across a fuller slate. A'ja Wilson sits at the center of it for the Aces, who need a cleaner response after two straight losses.
Wilson And The Aces
Wilson enters as the matchup's biggest draw because she has lived in MVP and Defensive Player of the Year conversations for years. The Aces also bring the weight of a team that won three championships in four years, but their current form has been less steady.
Las Vegas opened the season by losing to the Mercury, then won four straight games. That run has since been checked by back-to-back defeats, first against Kelsey Plum and the Sparks and then against the Dallas Wings.
Golden State's 5-2 Start
Golden State has spent its first season in existence making noise on the floor. The Valkyries are 5-2 and have already beaten the Indiana Fever, Phoenix Mercury and New York Liberty, a start that makes this lone game on the slate harder to dismiss as a routine stop for Las Vegas.
Veronica Burton, Gabby Williams and Janelle Salaun have formed the Valkyries' main trio, and that group has helped the new franchise build on the attention it created last year, when it set attendance records in its first season. That adds a wrinkle for the Aces: the night is built around Wilson, but Golden State has enough top-line production to make her work for every touch.
Hammon's Last Game
Becky Hammon's latest public flash point came in the Aces' last game, when she blasted the refs and was fined. That leaves Las Vegas trying to stabilize its tone as much as its results, with the schedule offering only one WNBA game and no other result to distract from what happens here.
For readers following the league's best players, Wilson is the headline and the Aces are the team trying to stop the slide. For Golden State, the chance is simpler: defend a 5-2 record and keep proving that the league's newest group can handle one of its most decorated opponents.
