The Las Vegas Aces got their rings, then got their first hard lesson of the new season.
Phoenix did not come to admire the ceremony. The Mercury came to test the champs, and Becky Hammon said the Aces let them get far too comfortable before the defense showed up.
Her message afterward was simple: meet them outside.
The rings were last year
The Aces opened the season with a championship celebration, but Phoenix turned the game into something else quickly. The Mercury beat Las Vegas 99-66 on Saturday, spoiling ring day with a game in which Phoenix never trailed.
Phoenix led 27-21 after the first quarter, stretched it to 56-35 by halftime and pushed the margin to 83-45 after three quarters. The Aces won the fourth quarter 21-16, but by then Hammon had already seen enough.
“We’re averaging giving up 31 points in the first quarter now over the course of our two exhibition games and this game,” Hammon said. “That’s just not good enough.”
It was not just one bad stretch. The Mercury shot 49% from the field and 46% from three. They also had 23 assists, 11 steals and only eight turnovers.
Las Vegas shot 41% overall, 21% from three and 50% at the free throw line. The Aces also turned it over 17 times, and Phoenix turned those mistakes into 19 points.
Phoenix did not just shoot well. It pushed Las Vegas into rushed decisions, turnovers and late defensive reactions.
The rings were for last season. The loss showed what this season is already demanding.
Meet them outside
Hammon’s sharpest answer came when she explained where the Aces’ defense broke down. It was not just the final shot contest. It was everything that happened before it.
“We’re giving 80% of the court for free before we touch anybody,” Hammon said. “It’s like trying to stop an intruder to get to your refrigerator, and they’re already in your kitchen. You got to meet them outside the white picket fence and start defending from there.”
That line told the story of the game better than any stat.
Lesson one was simple: the Aces cannot wait until opponents are already comfortable to start defending.
Phoenix got comfortable too early. Alyssa Thomas controlled the game with 20 points, nine assists, six rebounds and three steals. Jovana Nogic added 19 points on 5-of-8 shooting and went 4-for-5 from three.
Meanwhile, Natasha Mack punished Las Vegas inside with 10 points and 15 rebounds, including five offensive boards. DeWanna Bonner added 13 points, seven rebounds and two blocks.
The Aces blocked eight shots, but that did not cover the larger problem. Phoenix still scored 46 points in the paint and led by as many as 38.
Hammon said Las Vegas cannot defend only the last part of the floor and expect it to work.
“It’s really that simple,” Hammon said. “We’re giving 75 to 80% of the floor for free and thinking we can defend that last 20%. It doesn’t work that way.”
Ring night was not the excuse
A’ja Wilson did not pretend the ceremony was easy.
She said she does not like ring nights before games because they are hard to separate from the work still ahead. The Aces wanted to celebrate with their fans, but Wilson said the emotional buildup does not explain the way Las Vegas defended.
“I don’t think that has anything to do with how we showed up today on the defensive end,” Wilson said. “That doesn’t matter what we got going on before the game. So we got to tighten that up.”
Wilson led Las Vegas with 19 points, four rebounds, four assists, two steals and two blocks. Jackie Young added 12 points and six rebounds, while NaLyssa Smith had 11 points, six rebounds and two blocks.
However, the Aces never found a steady rhythm. Chelsea Gray finished with six assists, but Las Vegas had more turnovers than made threes.
The Aces went 4-for-19 from deep. Hammon said the volume was not good enough, either.
“I thought there were times where we just caught and held the ball,” Hammon said. “We could have shot the ball, we could have drove the ball, but instead we just analyzed. You get slow when you analyze too much.”
The trust has to return
Hammon said a great defensive team has to play with trust. Even with a veteran core, she said that trust must be reearned and reestablished each season.
Wilson agreed with that idea. She said people assume a core that has played together for years can simply pick up where it left off, but the game does not work that way.
“We haven’t played basketball together as a whole since October,” Wilson said. “It’s going to take time to get on time and on target.”
That does not mean panic. It does mean the Aces have work to do, especially on defense.
Wilson said the standard for Las Vegas always comes back to that end of the floor. Teams are going to come at the defending champions, and the Aces cannot expect an easy walk through the schedule.
“We have to uphold our standard on the defensive end,” Wilson said.
That standard did not show up for 40 minutes Saturday.
No excuses, no panic
Liz Kitley kept her message simple after the loss. She said the locker room talked about sticking together and not panicking after one game.
However, she also rejected any easy excuse.
“I feel like there’s really no excuses,” Kitley said. “We just got to get out there and do what we’re supposed to do.”
Kitley pointed to aggression as one area that has to improve. Las Vegas attempted only eight free throws, compared with 15 for Phoenix. The Aces also went a long stretch without getting to the line after the first quarter.
“We definitely could have got to the rack a lot more,” Kitley said. “So I think that’ll be a focus for us going against L.A.”
That next game comes fast, which may help. The Aces do not have to sit with this one for long.
Wilson said she is not pressing the panic button after one game. Still, she also said the performance will not be thrown away.
It is on the record now. More importantly, it is on film.
The crown is heavier
The final lesson from ring day was not subtle.
Phoenix played like a team with something to prove. Las Vegas played like a team still trying to find its shape.
That can change. The Aces have too much talent and too much history together to turn one opener into a crisis. But Hammon did not frame it as a shrug-and-move-on loss, either.
“It’s not the standard,” Hammon said. “It wasn’t acceptable last year. It’s not acceptable this year.”
That is the right tone after a game like this. No panic, but no cover-up.
The Aces got the jewelry Saturday. Then they got the reminder.
“The hand is getting heavy,” Wilson said, “but the crown is getting heavier.”
Now they have to make sure it does not fall off.
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Dice City Sports editor Mark Hebert covers the Vegas Golden Knights, Las Vegas Raiders, Athletics, and UNLV baseball and softball. He has 24 years of journalism experience, is also a senior reporter at Exhibit City News, and previously covered the Dallas Stars and Texas Rangers. Follow him on X or connect on LinkedIn.
