The Las Vegas Aces’ 2025 season went from bad to worse with a shocking 95-68 loss to the Golden State Valkyries on Saturday afternoon. Without many answers early on, Becky Hammon held nothing back in her criticism of the team’s performance.
Hammon ripped the team after the loss, calling her players out for a lack of effort. The 48-year-old coach said she “can’t deal with” a perceived lack of effort, stating that she will take players out of games for showing signs of giving up early.
“I’m not going to coach effort,” Hammon said after the loss, via ESPN’s Kendra Andrews. “It’s the one thing I can’t deal with. You’re in charge of your effort. I guess I’m in charge of playing time… I’m not going to pull you for mistakes, but I will pull you for effort.”
Hammon stuck true to her word in the loss, emptying her bench with six minutes remaining. While not uncommon in blowouts, every point matters in the Commissioner’s Cup, making the move a notable decision.
Despite the 4-2 Aces seemingly holding every edge over the 2-5 Valkyries on paper, they got nothing going early and never established a consistent rhythm. Las Vegas shot just 35.5 percent from the floor, while Golden State nearly hit 50 percent of its field goal attempts.
Becky Hammon, Aces suffer brutal blowout loss to Valkyries
Two years after capping off consecutive WNBA titles, the Aces now fall near .500 three weeks into the 2025 season. While still third in the Western Conference, they suffered their third double-digit loss of the year.
Reigning MVP A’ja Wilson led the way with 17 points, but went just 5-for-13 from the field. Chelsea Gray was the only other starter in double figures, ending with 16 points. Wilson, who has taken strides in 2025 as a facilitator, also finished the game with just six rebounds and two assists.
With the Valkyries allowing the fewest points in the paint early in the 2025 season, teams have beaten them from the outside. However, Las Vegas struggled in that area, hitting just 24 percent of its three-point attempts. Aaliyah Nye was the team’s only player to hit multiple shots behind the arc, going 3-for-8 from deep.
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