The 2020 Las Vegas Aces season is the franchise's 24th season in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) and the 3rd year the franchise was based in Las Vegas. The regular season tipped off on July 26, 2020 versus the Chicago Sky.[1]
2020 Las Vegas Aces season | |
---|---|
Coach | Bill Laimbeer |
Arena | Originally: Mandalay Bay Events Center Rescheduled to: IMG Academy gymnasiums, Bradenton, Florida |
Attendance | 0 per game |
Results | |
Record | 18–4 (.818) |
Place | 1st (Western) |
Playoff finish | 1st Seed, Lost 0–3 in Finals to Seattle Storm |
Team Leaders | |
Points | A'ja Wilson – 20.5 ppg |
Rebounds | A'ja Wilson – 8.5 rpg |
Assists | Danielle Robinson – 3.3 apg |
This WNBA season would’ve had an all-time high 36 regular-season games.[2] However, the plan for expanded games was put on hold on April 3, when the WNBA postponed its season due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[3] Under a plan approved on June 15, the league began a shortened 22-game regular season at IMG Academy, without fans present, which started on July 24.[4][5]
The Aces got off to a rough start to their season, losing two of their first three games. However, from there, the team would go on a seven-game winning streak and four game winning streak, only separated by a single loss. Their 12–3 record on August 29, would secure them a playoff berth. They lost on September 1, and that would be their last loss of the season. The Aces finished on a six-game winning streak, including a final day victory over the Seattle Storm to finish 18–4. The victory on the final day of the season secured them the first seed in the playoffs by virtue of a tie-breaker.
As the first seed, the Aces received a double-bye into the Semifinals of the playoffs. In the Semifinals, they played the seventh seeded Connecticut Sun. The Aces lost two of the first three games, but rebounded to win the final two games of the series to advance to the Finals. In the finals they faced the second seeded Storm. The Storm swept the best-of-five series three games to none, and the Aces finished runners up.
Transactions
editWNBA draft
editThe Aces will make the following selection in the 2020 WNBA draft.
Round | Pick | Player | Nationality | School/Team/Country |
---|---|---|---|---|
3 | 33 | Lauren Manis | United States | Holy Cross |
Trades and roster changes
editDate | Details | |
---|---|---|
February 10, 2020 | Signed G Angel McCoughtry[6] | |
February 16, 2020 | Signed G Danielle Robinson[7] | |
February 18, 2020 | Re-signed G Sugar Rodgers[8] | |
March 2, 2020 | Re-signed G Lindsay Allen[9] | |
April 22, 2020 | Re-signed C Liz Cambage.[10] | |
May 7, 2020 | C Park Ji-su will sit out the season and stay in Korea.[11] | |
May 15, 2020 | Re-signed G Kelsey Plum.[12] | |
May 19, 2020 | Re-signed C Carolyn Swords[13] | |
June 16, 2020 | Signed G Alex Bentley[14] | |
July 4, 2020 | C Liz Cambage announced that she will be sitting out the 2020 season.[15] | |
Signed C Avery Warley[16] |
Roster
edit2020 Las Vegas Aces roster | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Game log
editRegular season
edit2020 game log Total: 18–4 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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July
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August
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September
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2020 season schedule |
Playoffs
edit2020 playoff game log Total: 3–5 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Semifinals
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Finals
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2020 playoff schedule |
Standings
edit# | Team | W | L | PCT | GB | Conf. |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | x – Las Vegas Aces | 18 | 4 | .818 | – | 8–2 |
2 | x – Seattle Storm | 18 | 4 | .818 | – | 8–2 |
3 | x – Los Angeles Sparks | 15 | 7 | .682 | 3 | 5–5 |
4 | x – Minnesota Lynx | 14 | 8 | .636 | 4 | 4–6 |
5 | x – Phoenix Mercury | 13 | 9 | .591 | 5 | 4–6 |
6 | x – Chicago Sky | 12 | 10 | .545 | 6 | 6–4 |
7 | x – Connecticut Sun | 10 | 12 | .455 | 8 | 7–3 |
8 | x – Washington Mystics | 9 | 13 | .409 | 9 | 6–4 |
9 | e – Dallas Wings | 8 | 14 | .364 | 10 | 1–9 |
10 | e – Atlanta Dream | 7 | 15 | .318 | 11 | 5–5 |
11 | e – Indiana Fever | 6 | 16 | .273 | 12 | 4–6 |
12 | e – New York Liberty | 2 | 20 | .091 | 16 | 2–8 |
Notes
- x – Clinched playoff berth
- e – Eliminated from playoffs
- Home and Away records not shown, as all games played at a neutral location.
- Updated to include results from September 13, 2020
- Source
Playoffs
editFirst round: Single elimination (September 15) | Second round: Single elimination (September 17) | Semifinals: Best-of-five (September 20–29) | WNBA Finals: Best-of-five (October 2–11) | |||||||||||||||||||||
1 | Las Vegas Aces | 62 | 83 | 68 | 84 | 66 | ||||||||||||||||||
4 | Minnesota Lynx | 80 | 7 | Connecticut Sun | 87 | 75 | 77 | 75 | 63 | |||||||||||||||
5 | Phoenix Mercury | 85 | 5 | Phoenix Mercury | 79 | 1 | Las Vegas Aces | 80 | 91 | 59 | ||||||||||||||
8 | Washington Mystics | 84 | 2 | Seattle Storm | 93 | 104 | 92 | |||||||||||||||||
2 | Seattle Storm | 88 | 89 | 92 | ||||||||||||||||||||
3 | Los Angeles Sparks | 59 | 4 | Minnesota Lynx | 86 | 79 | 71 | |||||||||||||||||
6 | Chicago Sky | 81 | 7 | Connecticut Sun | 73 | |||||||||||||||||||
7 | Connecticut Sun | 94 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Note: Teams re-seeded after each round.
Statistics
editLegend | |||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
GP | Games played | GS | Games started | MPG | Minutes per game | RPG | Rebounds per game |
APG | Assists per game | SPG | Steals per game | BPG | Blocks per game | PPG | Points per game |
FG% | Field-goal percentage | 3P% | 3-point field-goal percentage | FT% | Free-throw percentage | TO | Turnovers per game |
PF | Fouls per game | Team leader | League leader |
Regular season
editPlayer | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
A'ja Wilson | 22 | 22 | 31.7 | 48.0 | 0 | 78.1 | 8.5 | 2.0 | 1.2 | 2.0 | 20.5 |
Angel McCoughtry | 22 | 22 | 20.0 | 51.8 | 47.1 | 88.2 | 5.1 | 2.5 | 1.3 | 0.3 | 14.4 |
Dearica Hamby | 22 | 0 | 28.3 | 53.9 | 47.4 | 71.6 | 7.1 | 2.7 | 1.7 | 0.2 | 13.0 |
Kayla McBride | 22 | 22 | 26.6 | 42.5 | 34.2 | 89.7 | 2.3 | 2.4 | 1.2 | 0.1 | 12.5 |
Jackie Young | 22 | 0 | 25.8 | 49.2 | 23.1 | 85.2 | 4.3 | 3.0 | 0.7 | 0.1 | 11.0 |
Danielle Robinson | 22 | 1 | 7.4 | 32.1 | 31.3 | 75.0 | 2.4 | 3.3 | 0.9 | 0.1 | 7.4 |
Sugar Rodgers | 22 | 0 | 12.0 | 32.1 | 31.3 | 75.0 | 1.3 | 1.4 | 0.3 | 0.1 | 3.4 |
Lindsay Allen | 21 | 21 | 13.5 | 41.8 | 33.3 | 80.0 | 1.1 | 2.4 | 0.3 | 0 | 3.3 |
Carolyn Swords | 22 | 22 | 17.5 | 46.0 | 0 | 77.3 | 4.6 | 0.9 | 0.2 | 0.1 | 2.9 |
Cierra Burdick | 13 | 0 | 2.2 | 28.6 | 0 | 0 | 0.4 | 0.2 | 0 | 0 | 0.3 |
Emma Cannon | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Awards and honors
editRecipient | Award | Date awarded | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|
A'ja Wilson | Western Conference Player of the Week | August 10, 2020 | [17] |
Western Conference Player of the Month – August | September 1, 2020 | [18] | |
Bill Laimbeer | WNBA Coach of the Month – August | [19] | |
A'ja Wilson | Western Conference Player of the Week | September 14, 2020 | [20] |
Western Conference Player of the Month – September | September 15, 2020 | [21] | |
Bill Laimbeer | WNBA Coach of the Month – September | [22] | |
A'ja Wilson | WNBA MVP | September 17, 2020 | [23] |
Dearica Hamby | Sixth Woman of the Year | September 20, 2020 | [24] |
Dan Padover | Basketball Executive of the Year | September 20, 2020 | [25] |
A'ja Wilson | 2nd Team All-Defense | September 29, 2020 | [26] |
All-WNBA First Team | October 4, 2020 | [27] |
References
edit- ^ "2020 Las Vegas Aces Scheudle". WNBA.com - Official Site of the WNBA. Retrieved February 13, 2020.
- ^ "Atlanta Dream Announce 2020 Schedule - Atlanta Dream". dream.wnba.com. Retrieved February 1, 2020.
- ^ "WNBA Statement Regarding the Start of the 2020 Regular Season". April 3, 2020. Retrieved April 3, 2020.
- ^ "WNBA Announces Plan To Tip Off 2020 Season". WNBA. June 15, 2020. Retrieved June 17, 2020.
- ^ "WNBA announces plans for 2020 season to start late July in Florida". NBC Sports Washington. June 15, 2020. Retrieved June 15, 2020.
- ^ "Aces Dive Head First Into The Free Agency Pool, Signing Five-Time WNBA All-Star And Two-Time Olympic Gold Medalist Angel McCoughtry". aces.wnba.com. WNBA. February 10, 2020. Retrieved February 13, 2020.
- ^ "Aces Sign Three-Time All-Star Guard Danielle Robinson". aces.wnba.com. WNBA. February 16, 2020. Retrieved February 16, 2020.
- ^ "Las Vegas Re-Signs All-Star Guard Sugar Rodgers". aces.wnba.com. WNBA. February 18, 2020. Retrieved February 19, 2020.
- ^ "Aces Re-Sign Guard Lindsay Allen". aces.wnba.com. WNBA. March 2, 2020.
- ^ "Aces Re-Sign Three-Time All-Star Center Liz Cambage". aces.wnba.com. WNBA. April 22, 2020. Retrieved April 22, 2020.
- ^ "Aces' JiSu Park to skip 2020 WNBA season, return to Korea". AP News. May 7, 2020. Retrieved May 8, 2020.
- ^ "Las Vegas Aces Re-Sign Guard Kelsey Plum". aces.wnba.com. WNBA. May 15, 2020. Retrieved May 19, 2020.
- ^ "Aces Re-Sign Eight-Year WNBA Veteran Carolyn Swords". aces.wnba.com. WNBA. May 19, 2020. Retrieved May 21, 2020.
- ^ "Las Vegas Aces Sign All-Star Guard Alex Bentley". aces.wnba.com. WNBA. June 16, 2020. Retrieved June 18, 2020.
- ^ "Aces Center Liz Cambage Expected To Miss 2020 WNBA Season". aces.wnba.com. WNBA. July 4, 2020. Retrieved July 6, 2020.
- ^ "Aces Sign Center Avery Warley-Talbert". aces.wnba.com. WNBA. July 4, 2020. Retrieved July 6, 2020.
- ^ "Wilson, Vandersloot Earn Players Of The Week Honors For Week 2". WNBA.com. August 10, 2020. Retrieved August 10, 2020.
- ^ "A'ja Wilson, Courtney Vandersloot Named WNBA Players of the Month". wnba.com. WNBA. September 1, 2020. Retrieved September 1, 2020.
- ^ "WNBA Names Bill Laimbeer Coach of the Month". wnba.com. WNBA. September 1, 2020. Retrieved September 1, 2020.
- ^ "Hines-Allen, Wilson Earn Player Of The Week Honors For Week 7". wnba.com. WNBA. September 14, 2020. Retrieved September 14, 2020.
- ^ "WNBA Announces Players Of The Month". wnba.com. WNBA. September 15, 2020. Retrieved September 17, 2020.
- ^ "Bill Laimbeer Earns WNBA Coach Of The Month". wnba.com. WNBA. September 15, 2020. Retrieved September 17, 2020.
- ^ "A'ja Wilson Named WNBA Most Valuable Player". wnba.com. WNBA. September 17, 2020. Retrieved September 18, 2020.
- ^ "Las Vegas' Dearica Hamby Named 2020 WNBA Sixth Woman Of The Year". wnba.com. WNBA. September 20, 2020. Retrieved September 21, 2020.
- ^ "Las Vegas' Dan Padover Named 2020 WNBA Basketball Executive of the Year". wnba.com. WNBA. September 20, 2020. Retrieved September 21, 2020.
- ^ "Two Atlanta Dream Players And Seattle Storm's Alysha Clark Headline 2020 WNBA All-Defensive Team". wnba.com. WNBA. September 29, 2020. Retrieved September 29, 2020.
- ^ "A'ja Wilson And Candace Parker Unanimously Selected To 2020 All-WNBA First Team". wnba.com. WNBA. October 4, 2020. Retrieved October 5, 2020.