A'ja Wilson and the Defending Champs Got Absolutely Embarrassed, and Their Defense Has No Excuse

The Las Vegas Aces are the reigning WNBA champions. They also just lost 99-66 to the Phoenix Mercury in their season opener. Yeah, you read that right. A 33-point beatdown to start the year. That's not a rough night. That's a wakeup call that got delivered with a sledgehammer.

The Defense Is Completely Broken

Becky Hammon, the Aces head coach, didn't sugarcoat it after the loss. "I don't think we're in good enough shape to play at the level that we need to," Hammon said. "The defense, it looks like we haven't worked on it. We've been doing it an hour-and-a-half every day in practice."

That's a brutal indictment. The Aces were giving up huge runs in the second and third quarters, and the Mercury exploited that weakness relentlessly. Phoenix shot 11-of-24 from three. Last season, Las Vegas held opponents to just 31.6% from deep, among the WNBA's best. This year? It looks like they forgot how to play defense entirely.

Hammon added the most damning part: "The little details that we talk about that are separation factors, we're not doing them. And until we decide we want to do them, we'll continue to get our butt kicked like this." That's the sound of a coach who is frustrated because his team isn't executing the fundamentals.

A'ja Wilson Needs Help, and Fast

On the offensive end, it wasn't much better. Four-time league MVP A'ja Wilson finished with just 19 points. Jackie Young added 12. When your best player is held under 20 in a 33-point loss, something is severely wrong with your team's flow and spacing.

The good news for Las Vegas is they're playing the Los Angeles Sparks next, a team that allowed 88.2 points per game last season with the worst defense in the league. But the Sparks are different now. They added former MVP Nneka Ogwumike, who averaged 18.3 points and seven rebounds last year with Seattle. They also have Dearica Hamby, another former Aces player who put up 18.4 points and 7.9 rebounds in 2025. The frontcourt also includes Cameron Brink, the No. 2 overall pick in 2024.

The Aces need to fix their defense and get Wilson more consistent offensive support before Sunday's tipoff. Otherwise, this season could get a lot darker, and fast.

This article was created with AI assistance and reviewed by Seattle On Tap editorial staff. Always verify information with official team sources.