If, for some reason, there was still any lingering doubt about the order of the WNBA hierarchy, the Las Vegas Aces washed it away in emphatic fashion on Thursday night with a 98-81 win over the visiting New York Liberty in the first meeting between the two superteams this season. In practice, the Aces are the only team that has actually been super this season.
The defending champions extended their winning streak to seven games and are now 14-1, a record that ties the 1998 Houston Comets and 2016 Los Angeles Sparks for the best start through 15 games in WNBA history. And both of those squads with their 14-1 starts went on to become WNBA champions.
Their 113.8 offensive rating has them on pace to be the most efficient offense ever. Furthermore, the Aces' plus-232 point differential is the best in league history through 15 games. In fact, Las Vegas also has the best differential of any NBA team since Michael Jordan's 1996-97 Bulls, and the fourth-highest of any NBA or WNBA team ever.
So, yeah, this is a historically great group, and they put their talents and depth on full display on Thursday, turning what was supposed to be a showcase between two elite teams into a laugher. All five Aces starters had at least 14 points. Four of them had at least five assists. Four of them had at least one 3-pointer. As a team, the Aces shot 58% from the field and 42.9% from downtown.
That versatility and interchangability is simply too much for opponents; it wears them down physically and mentally. The latter was a particular issue for the Liberty (10-4), who faded quickly in the second half.
"It was not a good day," Liberty coach Sandy Brondello said. "Credit to Vegas, they were very on point and exploited us in many areas. We need to take more pride in the defensive end. ... We got frustrated. We've got to play tougher. Things were too easy, that's where I was disappointed. We didn't have enough fight, individually and collectively as a team."
But while the Aces' offense rightfully gets most of the attention, they are so dominant because they get after it on defense too, especially now that Candace Parker is in town. Their pressure and intensity often disrupted the Liberty's rhythm, leading to a number of disjointed possessions and 17 turnovers.
"They crowded [us] and made us make extra passes off their rotations." said Jonquel Jones, the league's 2021 MVP. "A lot of our turnovers were unforced, simple passes that were miscues. A lot of the snowballing is things we can control, but with a team like [Vegas], the margin for error is really small."
Coming into the season, the consensus was that these two teams were dead-even, and on paper that still may be the case. But on the court, the first third of the season, and Thursday night in particular, has made it clear that the Aces are the best team in the league.
