Despite hailing from a city where things are often left to chance, there is nothing lucky about the Las Vegas Aces.
A year removed from their first WNBA title in franchise history, the league-best 11-1 Aces look even more dominant this season. Performances like Wednesday's 99-79 road win over the Mercury, where the Aces led by as many as 29 points, have become the norm.
Through 12 games, Las Vegas has outscored their opponents by a total of 194 points. That's the best such differential in WNBA history. Only four other teams have come within even 30 points, and three of them (most recently the 2020 Storm at +185) went on to win a championship.
The Aces wasted no time establishing themselves as the team to beat. Their 41-point win over the Storm in their season-opener remains the largest win in the WNBA this season. In fact, Las Vegas is responsible for each of the three biggest victories of the year, also beating the Storm (again) by 33 and the Lynx by 31.
League-wide, teams have won by 20 or more points 12 times so far in 2023. The Aces are responsible for six of those, as many as the rest of the league combined. This means they're winning by at least 20 points in half of their games.
A look at the Aces' league ranks is bordering comical. They're currently on track to become the first team in WNBA history to shoot at least 50% from the field (.502). That's nearly a full 10 percent better than their opponents (.406).
They're also first in steals (8.5) and blocks per game (5.7) while committing the fewest turnovers (11.5) and personal fouls per game (15.8).
The Aces' 92.5 points per game in 2023 trail only the 2009 and 2010 Mercury all-time. But while those Mercury teams also finished last in defensive rating in both years, the Aces currently have the fourth-best defensive rating (94.1) of any team in the last 15 seasons.
It's this combination of mastery on both ends of the floor that makes the Aces so terrifying and a title favorite over the entire field.
With the WNBA playing a record 40 regular-season games this year, the Aces should surpass the 2014 Mercury (29-5) for the most wins in a season. But how many games could they actually win?
The best winning percentage in a season belongs to the 1998 Houston Comets, a team that went 27-3 (.900). To match that mark, Las Vegas would need to go 36-4.
This would require the Aces to remain healthy and maintain a similar level of dominance throughout the rest of the season.
It's a difficult proposition for any team, but the Aces have already played both of their road games against the Sun (including their only loss), who figure to be a main challenger to the Aces along with the Liberty.
With a roster like the Aces have, counting them out feels like playing with fire. To explain why, let's look at Chelsea Gray.
Gray won 2022 WNBA Finals MVP and averaged 21.7 points per game on a ludicrous 72.7% true shooting in 10 games during those playoffs. No other WNBA or NBA player has ever matched both of those marks over a 10-game playoff run.
And yet, Gray is only the Aces' fourth-leading scorer this season in addition to being the leading distributor. It also never ceases to amaze me that she is the only member of the team's starting five that isn't a former No. 1 overall pick.
Two-time league MVP A'ja Wilson is a major contender for the award once again, averaging 18.6 points, 9.3 rebounds and 2.2 blocks per game.
So is Jackie Young, who has become a bonafide superstar in 2023, leading the Aces with 21.0 PPG and leading the entire WNBA at 72.7% true shooting. Those are near identical numbers to Gray's from last postseason, which felt impossible to replicate at the time.
Kelsey Plum remains dangerous as ever with her lightning-quick release and deep offensive arsenal, and this is all before mentioning the legendary Candace Parker.
All five starters average multiple assists per game and at least one steal, showing their offensive chemistry and defensive intensity.
The Las Vegas Aces are far from lucky. On the contrary, it might take some luck for anyone else to take them down.
