2022 Las Vegas Aces season

From Infogalactic: the planetary knowledge core
Jump to: navigation, search
2022 Las Vegas Aces season
Head Coach Becky Hammon
Arena Michelob Ultra Arena
Attendance 5,607 per game
Results
Record 26–10
(.722)
Place 1st (Western)
Playoff Finish WNBA Champions (Defeated Connecticut Sun 3–1 in WNBA Finals)
Team Leaders
Points Kelsey Plum – 20.2 ppg
Rebounds A'ja Wilson – 9.4 rpg
Assists Chelsea Gray – 6.1 apg
Las Vegas Aces seasons
< 2021 2023 >

The 2022 Las Vegas Aces season was the franchise's 26th season in the Women's National Basketball Association and the 5th year the franchise is based in Las Vegas - after relocating from San Antonio and Utah. The regular season began on May 6, 2022, at the Phoenix Mercury.[1]

On December 31, 2021, the Aces named former WNBA great and San Antonio Spurs assistant coach Becky Hammon as their new head coach.[2]

The Aces started the season under Hammon in strong fashion, winning their first two games before losing a game. The team then went on a seven game winning streak to end May 9–1. The winning streak ended on the first of June, but the Aces then won their next four straight games. The end of June was not as kind to the team, as they lost three of their last four games, to finish the month 5–4. July got off to a rocky start, with the team losing two of its first three games, but then they won three of their next four before finishing the month on a four game winning streak. The winning streak would be five if you include the Commissioner's Cup Final. The Aces beat the Chicago Sky 93–83 to win their first Commissioners Cup. Excluding that cup, the team finished July 8–3, and secured a birth into the 2022 WNBA Playoffs on July 24th. The started the final month of the season on a two game losing streak, but won their last four games to finish the month 4–2 and secure the first seed in the playoffs. Their win in the penultimate game of the season gave them the better head-to-head record with Chicago and secured the tiebreaker for the top seed. Their final record of 26–10 in the regular season, was the highest win total in franchise history and their winning percentage of .722 was the second highest.

As the first seed in the playoffs, they had home court advantage against the eight seed Phoenix Mercury in the first round. The Aces won the first game 79–63 and cruise to a game two victory 117–80 to win the series two games to zero. In the second round they faced off against the fourth seeded Seattle Storm. Las Vegas lost the first game at home 73–76. However, they won game two 78–73 to send the series to Seattle tied. The Aces prevailed in over time in game three of the series and also won game four in Seattle to take the series three games to one. The Aces would again have home court advantage in the WNBA Finals where they matched up against the third seed Connecticut Sun. Las Vegas won the first two games at home 67–64 and 85–71 respectively. The Aces lost game three in Connecticut 76–105. However, they came back and won game four to win the series three games to one and finish as WNBA Champions. This was the first championship in franchise history.

During the postseason, A'ja Wilson was named MVP, Jackie Young won Most Improved Player, Chelsea Gray was Finals MVP, and Coach Becky Hammon was named Coach of the Year in her first season.

Transactions

WNBA draft

<templatestyles src="Module:Hatnote/styles.css"></templatestyles>

See also: 2022 WNBA draft
Round Pick Player Nationality School/team/country
1 8 Mya Hollingshed  Puerto Rico Colorado
1 11 Kierstan Bell  United States Florida Gulf Coast
2 13 Khayla Pointer  United States LSU
2 23 Aisha Sheppard  United States Virginia Tech
3 35 Faustine Aifuwa  United States LSU

Trades and Roster Changes

Date Details
December 31, 2021 Hired Becky Hammon as head coach
January 7, 2022 Extended Qualifying Offers to A'ja Wilson and Ji-Su Park[3]
January 15, 2022 Renounced the rights to Clarissa dos Santos[4]
February 2, 2022 Re-Signed A'ja Wilson to a Two-Year Deal[5][6]
February 3, 2022 Re-Signed Kiah Stokes to a One-Year Deal[7]
Re-Signed Riquna Williams to a Two-Year Deal[8]
February 15, 2022 Signed Kalani Brown to a training-camp contract[9]
February 24, 2022 Hired Natalie Nakase as an Assistant coach[10]
March 2, 2022 Signed Sydney Colson to a training-camp contract[11]
March 3, 2022 Signed Theresa Plaisance to a training-camp contract[12]
March 14, 2022 Hired Tyler Marsh as an Assistant coach[13]
April 8, 2022 Waived Destiny Slocum[14]
Hired Natalie Williams as General Manager[15]
April 10, 2022 Traded a First and Second Round pick in the 2023 WNBA Draft to the Minnesota Lynx in exchange for the #8 and #13 Picks in the 2022 WNBA draft[16]
April 13, 2022 Signed Kierstan Bell, Aisha Sheppard, Faustine Aifuwa, and Mya Hollingshed to rookie-scale contracts
Signed Deja Winters to a training-camp contract[17]
April 16, 2022 Signed Khayla Pointer to a rookie-scale contract
Signed Nancy Mulkey to a training-camp contract[18]
Hired Charlene Thomas-Swinson as assistant coach[19]
April 18, 2022 Waived Kalani Brown[20]
April 19, 2022 Waived Faustine Aifuwa and Deja Winters[21]
May 2, 2022 Waived Mya Hollingshed, Khayla Pointer, and Nancy Mulkey[22][23]
May 3, 2022 Signed Victoria Macaulay to a training-camp contract[24]
May 5, 2022 Waived Victoria Macaulay
Temporarily Suspend Kiah Stokes due to Overseas Commitments
May 16, 2022 Signed Jackie Young to a contract extension [25]
May 17, 2022 Activated Kiah Stokes from her Temporary Suspension
May 23, 2022 Signed Chelsea Gray to a Contract Extension[26]
June 19, 2022 Signed Iliana Rupert to a rookie-scale contract[27]
June 29, 2022 Signed Dearica Hamby to a Contract Extension[28]
July 17, 2022 Signed Kelsey Plum to a 2-Year Contract Extension[29]

Roster

2022 Las Vegas Aces roster
Players Coaches
Pos. # Nat. Name Height Weight DOB From
F 1 United States Bell, Kierstan 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 176 lb (80 kg) 03-16-2000 Florida Gulf Coast
G 51 United States Colson, Sydney 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m) 140 lb (64 kg) 1989-08-06 Texas A&M
G 12 United States Gray, Chelsea 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) 170 lb (77 kg) 1992-10-08 Duke
F 5 United States Hamby, Dearica 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 189 lb (86 kg) 1993-11-06 Wake Forest
F 55 United States Plaisance, Theresa 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 200 lb (91 kg) 1992-05-18 LSU
G 10 United States Plum, Kelsey 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m) 145 lb (66 kg) 1994-08-24 Washington
C 21 France Rupert, Iliana 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 189 lb (86 kg) 07-12-2001 France
G 4 United States Sheppard, Aisha 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) 145 lb (66 kg) 1993-03-30 Virginia Tech
C 41 Turkey Stokes, Kiah 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 191 lb (87 kg) 1993-03-30 Connecticut
G 2 United States Williams, Riquna 5 ft 6 in (1.68 m) 165 lb (75 kg) 1990-05-28 Miami (FL)
F 22 United States Wilson, A'ja 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 195 lb (88 kg) 1996-08-08 South Carolina
G 0 United States Young, Jackie 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 165 lb (75 kg) 1997-09-16 Notre Dame
Head coach
United States Becky Hammon (Colorado State)
Assistant coaches
United States Natalie Nakase (UCLA)
United States Tyler Marsh (Birmingham Southern)
United States Charlene Thomas-Swinson (Auburn)
Athletic trainer
United States Michelle Anumba (Duke


Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (FA) Free agent
  • (IN) Inactive
  • (S) Suspended
  • Injured Injured
Depth
Pos. Starter Bench
C Kiah Stokes Iliana Rupert
PF A'ja Wilson Dearica Hamby
Theresa Plaisance
SF Jackie Young Kierstan Bell
SG Kelsey Plum Riquna Williams
Aisha Sheppard
PG Chelsea Gray Sydney Colson

Schedule

Preseason

2022 pre-season game log
2022 pre-season schedule

Regular Season

2022 game log
2022 season schedule

Playoffs

2022 playoff game log
First Round vs. Phoenix Mercury
Won Series: 2–0
Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location
Attendance		 Series
1 August 18 Phoenix W 79–63 Kelsey Plum (22) Kiah Stokes (13) Gray
Plum (4)		 Michelob Ultra Arena
8,725		 1–0
2 August 21 Phoenix W 117–80 Chelsea Gray (27) Riquna Williams (5) Chelsea Gray (8) Michelob Ultra Arena
9,126		 2–0
Second Round vs. Seattle Storm
Won Series: 3–1
Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location
Attendance		 Series
1 August 28 Seattle L 73–76 Chelsea Gray (21) A'ja Wilson (12) Gray
Young (5)		 Michelob Ultra Arena
9,944		 0–1
2 August 31 Seattle W 78–73 A'ja Wilson (33) A'ja Wilson (13) Chelsea Gray (7) Michelob Ultra Arena
9,755		 1–1
3 September 4 @ Seattle W 110–98 (OT) A'ja Wilson (34) Kiah Stokes (12) Chelsea Gray (12) Climate Pledge Arena
15,431		 2–1
4 September 6 @ Seattle W 97–92 Chelsea Gray (31) A'ja Wilson (13) Chelsea Gray (10) Climate Pledge Arena
11,328		 3–1
Finals vs. Connecticut Sun
Won Series: 3–1
Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location
Attendance		 Series
1 September 11 Connecticut W 67–64 A'ja Wilson (24) A'ja Wilson (11) Chelsea Gray (3) Michelob Ultra Arena
10,135		 1–0
2 September 13 Connecticut W 85–71 A'ja Wilson (26) A'ja Wilson (10) Chelsea Gray (8) Michelob Ultra Arena
10,211		 2–0
3 September 15 @ Connecticut L 76–105 Jackie Young (22) Kiah Stokes (7) Chelsea Gray (7) Mohegan Sun Arena
8,745		 2–1
4 September 18 @ Connecticut W 78–71 Chelsea Gray (20) A'ja Wilson (14) Jackie Young (8) Mohegan Sun Arena
9,652		 3–1
2022 playoff schedule

Standings

#
Team
W L PCT GB Conf. Home Road Cup
1 x – Las Vegas Aces 26 10 .722 – 15–3 13–5 13–5 9–1
2 x – Chicago Sky 26 10 .722 – 15–3 14–4 12–6 9–1
3 x – Connecticut Sun 25 11 .694 1.0 11–7 13–5 12–6 5–5
4 x – Seattle Storm 22 14 .611 4.0 10–8 13–5 9–9 6–4
5 x – Washington Mystics 22 14 .611 4.0 11–7 12–6 10–8 5–5
6 x – Dallas Wings 18 18 .500 8.0 8–10 8–10 10–8 5–5
7 x – New York Liberty 16 20 .444 10.0 10–8 9–9 7–11 6–4
8 x – Phoenix Mercury 15 21 .417 11.0 7–11 11–7 4–14 3–7
9 e – Minnesota Lynx 14 22 .389 12.0 8–10 7–11 7–11 4–6
10 e – Atlanta Dream 14 22 .389 12.0 5–13 8–10 6–12 3–7
11 e – Los Angeles Sparks 13 23 .361 13.0 6–12 7–11 6–12 3–7
12 e – Indiana Fever 5 31 .139 21.0 2–16 3–15 2–16 2–8

Notes

(#) – League Standing
x – Clinched playoff berth
e – Eliminated from playoff contention
Source: Overall standings and Commissioner's Cup Standings

Playoffs

<templatestyles src="Module:Hatnote/styles.css"></templatestyles>

See also: 2022 WNBA Playoffs
Round One:
Best-of-3		 Semifinals:
Best-of-5		 Finals:
Best-of-5
                 
1 Las Vegas Aces 2
8 Phoenix Mercury 0
1 Las Vegas Aces 3
4 Seattle Storm 1
4 Seattle Storm 2
5 Washington Mystics 0
1 Las Vegas Aces 3
3 Connecticut Sun 1
2 Chicago Sky 2
7 New York Liberty 1
2 Chicago Sky 2
3 Connecticut Sun 3
3 Connecticut Sun 2
6 Dallas Wings 1

Bold Series winner

Statistics

Legend
  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

Player GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
Kelsey Plum 36 36 32.8 .460 .420 .839 2.7 5.1 1.0 0.1 20.2
A'ja Wilson 36 36 30.0 .501 .373 .813 9.4 2.1 1.4 1.9 19.5
Jackie Young 34 34 33.2 .476 .431 .859 4.4 3.9 1.4 0.2 15.9
Chelsea Gray 35 35 29.7 .491 .340 .910 3.2 6.1 1.6 0.3 13.7
Dearica Hamby 34 32 26.5 .466 .219 .720 7.1 1.1 1.1 0.1 9.3
Riquna Williams 21 0 18.0 .381 .366 .762 2.0 1.2 0.4 0.1 6.7
Theresa Plaisance 31 2 12.9 .371 .348 .700 2.6 0.5 0.3 0.4 4.0
Iliana Rupert≠ 17 0 13.1 .463 .368 .333 2.3 0.9 0.4 0.0 3.8
Kiah Stokes 31 4 15.3 .426 .208 .813 4.4 0.6 0.5 0.8 2.3
Sydney Colson 18 0 6.8 .313 .273 1.000 0.4 1.0 0.1 0.0 1.6
Aisha Sheppard 23 0 7.6 .238 .273 .750 0.6 0.3 0.2 0.0 1.5
Kierstan Bell 21 1 5.8 .303 .136 1.000 0.9 0.3 0.1 0.1 1.3


‡Waived/Released during the season
†Traded during the season
≠Acquired during the season

Playoffs

Player GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
Chelsea Gray 10 10 34.0 .611 .544 .833 3.8 7.0 1.2 0.6 21.7
A'ja Wilson 10 10 37.2 .552 .143 .791 10.4 2.0 1.0 2.4 20.3
Kelsey Plum 10 10 33.3 .409 .286 .891 3.9 3.8 0.9 0.0 17.1
Jackie Young 10 10 34.5 .432 .474 .926 4.1 3.0 0.8 0.1 12.5
Riquna Williams 10 0 20.3 .348 .358 1.00 2.7 1.0 0.8 0.2 6.9
Kiah Stokes 10 10 25.9 .486 .200 1.00 7.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 3.7
Kierstan Bell 4 0 4.8 .667 .600 0.00 1.3 0.3 0.0 0.0 2.8
Iliana Rupert 7 0 7.0 .313 .357 0.00 0.4 0.0 0.0 0.1 2.1
Theresa Plaisance 4 0 5.0 .400 .333 0.00 1.3 0.5 0.3 0.5 1.3
Dearica Hamby 6 0 8.5 .600 0.00 0.25 1.5 0.8 0.2 0.2 1.2
Sydney Colson 4 0 4.8 0.00 0.00 0.00 1.0 1.0 0.0 0.0 0.0
Aisha Sheppard 4 0 4.0 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.0 0.8 0.0 0.0 0.0

Awards and Honors

Recipient Award Date awarded Ref.
A'ja Wilson Western Conference Player of the Week May 16 [30]
May 31 [31]
June 21 [32]
July 25 [33]
August 15 [34]
Western Conference Player of the Month - May June 1 [35]
Western Conference Player of the Month - July August 2 [36]
WNBA All-Star Starter & Co-Captain June 22 [37]
WNBA Defensive Player of the Year August 30 [38]
All-Defensive First Team [39]
WNBA MVP September 7 [40]
All-WNBA First Team September 15 [41]
Jackie Young Western Conference Player of the Week May 23 [42]
WNBA All-Star Starter June 22 [37]
WNBA Most Improved Player August 29 [43]
Kelsey Plum Western Conference Player of the Week June 6 [44]
August 1 [45]
WNBA All-Star Starter June 22 [37]
All-Star Game MVP July 10 [46]
All-WNBA First Team September 15 [41]
Dearica Hamby WNBA All-Star Selection June 28 [47]
Chelsea Gray Commissioner's Cup Final MVP July 26
WNBA Finals MVP September 18
Becky Hammon WNBA Coach of the Month - May June 1 [48]
WNBA Coach of the Year August 26 [49]

References

<templatestyles src="Reflist/styles.css" />

Cite error: Invalid <references> tag; parameter "group" is allowed only.

Use <references />, or <references group="..." />

External links

  1. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  2. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  3. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  4. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  5. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  6. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  7. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  8. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  9. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  10. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  11. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  12. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  13. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  14. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  15. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  16. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  17. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  18. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  19. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  20. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  21. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  22. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  23. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  24. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  25. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  26. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  27. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  28. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  29. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  30. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  31. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  32. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  33. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  34. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  35. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  36. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  37. ↑ 37.0 37.1 37.2 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  38. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  39. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  40. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  41. ↑ 41.0 41.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  42. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  43. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  44. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  45. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  46. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  47. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  48. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  49. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
Retrieved from "https://infogalactic.com/w/index.php?title=2022_Las_Vegas_Aces_season&oldid=726929723"