It’s officially over for the Las Vegas Aces. The New York Liberty have put an end to the Aces’ title defense with a 76-62 win on Sunday that saw Breanna Stewart and Co. advance to the WNBA Finals after taking down Las Vegas 3-1 in the semifinals.
It was a tough blow to take for the Aces, who will now have to face the reality of their failed attempt at a historic threepeat after winning the title in 2022 and 2023.
In her post-game interview, a disappointed Las Vegas head coach Becky Hammon, who has missed out on a chance to go 3-for-3 as a WNBA champion coach in her first three years in the league, got brutally honest about her assessment of her team after the season-ending loss.
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Hamon revealed that there will be changes on the roster in the offseason.
“We’re going to have to get together and figure it out,” she said. “Obviously, we have to get better. We have to really take a sharp look at ourselves. Look ourselves in the mirror (and) see our shortcomings, and then you gotta make the moves necessary. Whatever that means.
“… It’s not going to be the same group probably next year, it just won’t. And I’m sad about that because I really like that group. They’re a pain in my a– but I was a pain in their a– too. I like that group. I love that group.”
That’s tough to hear, but as Hammon said, changes just have to be made. They are inevitable at this point.
As for their opponents, Hammon acknowledged the fact that the Liberty were simply better than them.
“They’ve been the best team all year. Let’s be real,” she said, via Alexa Philippou of ESPN. “Their group earned it. They earned it all year.
“… This team was put together to take us out. And they did.”
The Aces will now need to take a bit of time to process this heartbreaking defeat. After that, it’s going to be back to the drawing board for them in what is going to be an offseason that will require some tough roster decisions ahead of 2025.