Player Capsules: Meet the 2025 Las Vegas Aces

*“We're going to make sure that we can show up better than what we did last year, for sure,” three-time MVP A’ja Wilson.* ***PHOTO: Courtesy Las Vegas Aces***

LAS VEGAS -- As the Aces prepare for their 2025 season-opener at defending champion New York in a clash of the past three WNBA titlists, the theme during training camp has been a team that's gone far beyond the hunger stage.

"The mindset is different this year," coach Becky Hammon said. "We've been the starving man. It's not good enough to be hungry. You have to be starving in this league. New York was starving last year, and I think every game you went out and felt that from them. They were the best team all along the whole season. And they had had a long off-season. Now it was us having a long off-season. So we had a lot to think about. We had a lot to change. We had a lot of areas we needed to grow in. And so that's what we did.

"But to me, the mindset is different. You talk about dogs, like, 'Oh, this person, so and so is a dog.' I'm like, 'I'm done with the dogs. I want the hungry wolves, give me the wolves.' And I think we got some. We're building our pack."

Here is a player-capsule glance at the 2025 roster:

0 - Jackie Young: It seems like yesterday the former Notre Dame standout was making her WNBA debut, but it wasn't. That was 2019, and she's emerged as one of the best shooting guards in the league. The three-time All-Star comes into the season after averaging 15.8 points, 5.3 assists and 4.4 rebounds per game during an injury-plagued 2024 campaign. Young said she "took some time off and off-season to get back right" and feels healthy to start the season.

CAREER NUMBERS (per game): 13.5 points, 4.0 assists, 4.0 rebounds

WHAT SHE'S SAYING: "I just always try to come back a better player than I was the year before. This year we've been working on a lot, I have a new player development coach. I was definitely sad to see (former assistant) Ty (Marsh) leave, but I'm excited to be working with Luke (John Lucas III). And so we've added a few new things, working on a few new things."

1 - Kierstan Bell: Approaching her fourth season with the Aces, the 25-year-old still has just one career start under her belt, but only six appearances last year. A respectable contributor during the 2023 championship campaign, Bell played in only six games last year and is in the last year of her protected contract. Bell also knows she has plenty to prove.

CAREER NUMBERS (per game): 2.8 points, 1.3 rebounds, 0.5 assists

WHAT SHE'S SAYING: "Being in the league, it's tough to stay. So I think the team knows what I can do, the potential what I can be, and what I can bring. I think that's why I'm here, still. I can just continue to feed off that, feed off the energy of my teammates, my coaching staff, just being excited to go out there and showcase who I am."

3 - Tiffany Mitchell: The 10-year veteran brings a wealth of experience and could find her name mentioned in the Sixth Player of the Year conversation by the All-Star break. After seven years in Indianapolis, the 30-year-old played in Minnesota and Connecticut the last two seasons. Her 2024 season was cut short after being bedridden with an abdominal abscess, a collection of pus or infected fluid that is surrounded by inflamed tissue inside the stomach. Bacteria from an untreated abdominal abscess may enter the bloodstream and spread to other organs and issues, which can be fatal.

CAREER NUMBERS (per game): 8.8 points, 2.4 rebounds, 1.8 assists

WHAT SHE'S SAYING: "I feel the most strongest I've been, physically, mentally, after experiencing something as traumatic as that. Being bedridden for months and coming back and playing this season, I'm just grateful and blessed to have this opportunity with this organization. I think God makes no mistakes on why he put me here. So like I said, I'm just excited to be here, get going, and thankful to be a part of them."

8 - Crystal Bradford: Though she was drafted in 2015, the 31-year-old will be playing just her third season in the WNBA. The former Mid-American Conference tournament MVP brings overseas experience to the Aces, not to mention a burst of energy for the locker room and off the bench.

CAREER NUMBERS (per game): 6.5 points, 2.8 rebounds, 1.1 rebounds

WHAT SHE'S SAYING: "Channeling my energy is pretty important, just not giving it out all day long, but when it's time. Because we have real pros in that locker room. So a lot of times people are getting ready, getting dressed. A'ja's maybe getting in her mode. So I don't want to just distract anybody, but when it's time is when it's time. So I just look for those moments where I can channel it."

11 - Dana Evans: After four seasons in Chicago, including a championship campaign with the Sky in 2021, the former second-round pick of the Dallas Wings adds depth to the Aces' backcourt. Evans is averaging 6.2 points and 15.6 minutes after five seasons, but could thrive off the bench in a sixth-player role in coach Becky Hammon's uptempo offense. After suffering a knee injury overseas, Evans said "fingers crossed" she'll be ready for the season opener in New York.

CAREER NUMBERS (per game): 6.2 points, 2.0 assists, 0.9 rebounds

WHAT SHE'S SAYING: "They've been very careful on the scrimmaging part with me, so I haven't been doing that, but I do everything else, all the other drills and stuff like that. But I'm full go now, so you'll be seeing me."

12 - Chelsea Gray: After enduring a rugged 2024 season in which the three-time WNBA champion says she wasn't fully healthy, the 32-year-old point guard comes into the season after leading captaining Rose BC to the first-ever Unrivaled Championship, in which she was named the Finals MVP. Gray (1,631) could surpass Candace Parker (1,634) and move into seventh place on the all-time assist list in the season opener.

CAREER NUMBERS (per game): 12.0 points, 5.0 assists, 3.1 rebounds

WHAT SHE'S SAYING: "My body just wasn't right last year. I'm in even better shape this year than I was last year, both mentally and physically. But on the physical part, I'm in shape. I'm able to go for longer and sustain a level of play for longer. So I'm just in a good space right now."

13 - Aaliyah Nye: The Aces' first pick in April's draft arrives after her best collegiate season, averaging 15.2 points, 2.3 rebounds and 1.4 assists per game at Alabama. Nye, the first pick of the second round, finished her career with 1,739 points and as Alabama's career leader in 3-pointers made (293), bringing another threat from long range for Las Vegas. The 6-foot guard could also be expected to add defensive tenacity.

CAREER NCAA NUMBERS (per game): 12.2 points, 2.5 rebounds, 1.1 assists

WHAT SHE'S SAYING: "I love to play defense. I like to get stops, so I take pride in my defense. I hate when someone scores on me, honestly. But yeah, I try to take pride in my defense, for sure."

17 - Megan Gustafson: The seventh-year pro will start the season nursing a lower left leg injury. Gustafson was hoping to add to Las Vegas' frontcourt depth, but was hurt when she landed on someone's foot the second day of training camp. Gustafson, who averaged 3.7 points and 1.9 rebounds in 10.7 minutes per game last year, expects to be back at some point this year.

CAREER NUMBERS (per game): 4.4 points, 2.5 rebounds, 0.5 assists

WHAT SHE'S SAYING: "I think the most important thing is that I'm healthy, especially going into the second half of the season. However long this takes, I don't know. But I want to be able to be healthy for the most important part of the season. And so, honestly, the timing isn't great, you know getting hurt second day of training camp, but it could have been worse."

22 - A'ja Wilson: Coming off another whirlwind offseason that included the release of her signature shoe, it's hard to imagine the two-time WNBA champion and three-time league MVP besting her career season in 2024. That said, Wilson is the last athlete anyone should doubt knowing what she's capable of, and hearing how driven she is to lead the Aces back to championship status.

CAREER NUMBERS (per game): 21.1 points, 9.2 rebounds, 1.9 blocks

WHAT SHE'S SAYING: "It's going to be a lot harder, because our league is getting better, but understanding that we have enough in our locker room to take care of business, we just all have to be on the same page. The little things are what's going to matter the most. So I'm going to make sure that I can drill that into my teammates' head as much as we can, because that's what it takes to be a champion."

24 - Jewell Loyd: One of the best offseason acquisitions league-wide, the two-time WNBA champion joins the Aces and seemingly replaces departed Kelsey Plum, who was traded to Los Angeles in the deal. The trade-off? Loyd is a defensive stalwart who was named to the ACC all-defensive team twice while playing for Notre Dame. Loyd also brings built-in chemistry with Wilson, Young and Gray from their time as teammates with USA Basketball.

CAREER NUMBERS (per game):16.9 points, 3.6 rebounds, 3.2 assists

WHAT SHE'S SAYING: "It's a fresh start. And you know, it's just you want to play the purity of basketball. You want to be around greatness. You want to have appreciation for everyone, from the coaching staff, to media, to everyone and that's what you feel here."

32 - Cheyenne Parker-Tyus: The 11th-year pro won’t count on the active roster because of the league's pregnancy exemption. Nevertheless, Parker-Tyus has continued to train and done what she's capable of during training camp. Parker-Tyus spent the last four seasons with Atlanta, including an all-star campaign in 2023, and averaged 12.2 points and 5.9 rebounds during her time with the Dream.

CAREER NUMBERS (per game): 9.1 points, 5.1 rebounds, 1.1 assists

WHAT SHE'S SAYING: "My biggest takeaway (from training camp) is championship. Everyone is locked in on it, and it really starts with the mindset and the mentality, and that carries over into the standard of how you show up every day. Everyone has shown up every day with the mindset that we're a championship team. And that's what makes it hard to watch, because I'm ready to be a part of that."

33 - Elizabeth Kitley: The 24th overall pick in the 2024 WNBA Draft will make her debut this season after missing last year with a knee injury she suffered in the regular-season finale of her senior year at Virginia Tech. Kitley has said she absorbed plenty while observing from the sidelines last year, learning the system. Now she's ready to contribute immediately.

CAREER NCAA NUMBERS (per game): 17.9 points, 10.0 rebounds, 1.5 assists

WHAT SHE'S SAYING: "A'ja has been the most supportive and amazing vet I could imagine. She's set such a good example. And obviously, she's just one of the greatest to ever play the game. To be able to watch her so much and learn from her is amazing. And she's even a better person to be around. That's honestly what means more to me. I feel like she makes a conscious effort to do that."

41 - Kiah Stokes: The two-time WNBA champion may be the x-factor in many games for the Aces. Stokes doesn’t boast eye-popping career numbers, and isn’t necessarily known as an offensive threat, but she is someone Hammon can count on to handle many of the intangibles that may not show up on a stat sheet, including her defensive prowess.

CAREER NUMBERS (per game): 3.6 points, 5.7 rebounds, 1.1 blocks

WHAT SHE'S SAYING: "I've always been a defensive player. I don't think that's a secret to anyone. Last year, I didn't feel like myself, and it was really frustrating. (I) just want to get back to locking up, being a great defender, doing what I can to help the team."

Player Capsules: Meet the 2025 Las Vegas Aces

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