The Las Vegas Aces are about to split up for the FIBA break, but they are not sending inexperienced players to Berlin.
Five Aces will represent their countries at the 2026 FIBA World Cup from Sept. 4-13. A’ja Wilson, Chelsea Gray and Jackie Young will play for the United States, Steph Talbot will represent Australia and Mai Yamamoto will suit up for Japan.
Together, the group brings an extensive medal history across the Olympics, World Cup, continental tournaments and 3×3 competition. Aces coach Becky Hammon said the challenge will be balancing rest, conditioning and preparation while so much of the roster is away.
“It’s always a challenge to stay sharp, stay in shape and also keep everybody healthy,” Hammon said before Friday’s game against Toronto. “It’s somewhat of a balancing act.”
Wilson leads the group
Wilson owns the deepest international résumé among the five. She is a two-time Olympic gold medalist and a two-time FIBA World Cup gold medalist, and she was named MVP of the 2022 World Cup after averaging 17.2 points and 7.5 rebounds in fewer than 22 minutes per game.
Her medal history also stretches back to the junior level. Wilson won gold at the 2013 FIBA U19 World Cup, 2014 FIBA U18 AmeriCup and 2015 FIBA U19 World Cup, earning MVP honors in 2014 and 2015. She also has not lost a senior-level FIBA game in 30 appearances.
Gray brings more gold
Gray will make her second World Cup appearance after helping the United States win gold in 2022. She also won Olympic gold in 2020 and 2024 and helped the U.S. finish first in four FIBA qualifying tournaments from 2019 through 2026.
Like Wilson, Gray has never lost a game in senior FIBA competition. Her international résumé gives the Aces another player heading to Berlin with extensive experience in high-pressure games.
Young adds two Olympic titles
Young has already won Olympic gold in two different formats. She helped the United States win the inaugural Olympic 3×3 tournament in Tokyo, then joined Gray and Wilson on the five-on-five team that won gold in Paris.
Young has also competed in two FIBA qualifying tournaments, both ending with perfect records and first-place finishes. She enters the World Cup with a 14-0 record in senior five-on-five international basketball.
Talbot brings Australia experience
Talbot will make her third World Cup appearance for Australia. She helped the Opals win silver in 2018 and bronze in 2022, when she was also named to the World Cup All-Star Five.
Her medal history includes Olympic bronze in 2024 and FIBA Asia Cup bronze in 2019. Talbot also won gold at the 2015 FIBA Oceania Championship, the 2012 FIBA Oceania U18 Championship and the 2009 FIBA Oceania U16 Championship, while adding bronze at the 2013 FIBA U19 World Cup.
Yamamoto brings a different path
Yamamoto will represent Japan after being named to the national team earlier this month. She has already competed in seven senior-level FIBA events and helped Japan win gold at the 2021 FIBA Asia Cup and silver in 2023.
Her international résumé also includes 3×3 success. Yamamoto helped Japan earn silver at the 2018 FIBA U23 3×3 World Cup, then won gold at the 2019 tournament. At the junior level, she helped Japan earn silver at the 2016 FIBA U18 Asia Cup.
More recently, Yamamoto was named to the All-Star Five at the 2026 World Cup Qualifying Tournament in Türkiye. She averaged 15 points, 3.6 assists and 1.2 steals while helping Japan qualify for Berlin.
Aces regroup afterward
The five players will leave Las Vegas with different national-team responsibilities, but Hammon already has a plan for what comes next. The players who remain in Las Vegas will get some work in and some time off before the roster comes back together.
“We’ll get some good work in with the players who stay here, but they’ll all have a little time off,” Hammon said. “Then we’ll almost approach it like a little mini training camp to ramp back up.”
That reset will matter because the Aces still have the final stretch of the regular season waiting after the break. First, Las Vegas gets one more game together Friday night against Toronto before five players head to Berlin carrying a deep collection of international experience.
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Dice City Sports editor Mark Hebert covers the Las Vegas Aces, 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.
