The Las Vegas Aces pulled off a major comeback in Game 3 of the first round to punch their ticket to the semifinals, but their opening game of the next round could not have looked more different. The Aces were forced onto the back foot against the Golden State Valkyries, falling 71-60 in Game 1 of the best-of-five series and posting one of their lowest offensive outputs of the 2026 season. So with Game 2 less than 24 hours away, Becky Hammon had a rather straightforward explanation for what went wrong.

The Aces head coach recently spoke to the press and was asked about the Valkyries’ defensive strategy against Jackie Young and whether it differed from their previous meeting. Rather than putting the spotlight on Young’s struggles, however, Hammon pointed to a problem that affected the entire Las Vegas offense.

“They switched a whole ton,” Hammon said, as per Nekias Duncan. “They went under a lot of pick-and-rolls; they were redding. I don’t think we did a good job of kind of moving them. We had way too many possessions, not really doing anything, and that’s not the deal. So you gotta have really a great point-five mentality against this team. They love to congest; you gotta move them. And we did a really terrible job of moving them and letting the ball find us on the second and third sides.”

Jackie Young was certainly expected to play a major role in the matchup. Across the Aces’ three regular-season meetings with the Valkyries, she averaged 23.6 points in 35 minutes, making her one of the biggest offensive weapons Las Vegas could lean on. And with A’ja Wilson seeing heavy defensive attention, Young’s scoring was even more important.

But she finished Game 1 with just 11 points on 4-of-15 shooting.

Yet Becky Hammon’s comments made it clear that Young’s struggles were more a symptom than the entire problem. The Aces struggled to create movement against Golden State’s defense, allowing the Valkyries to stay compact and dictate where the offense could go. That collective breakdown eventually showed up across the box score and in an area that became impossible to ignore: the glass.

Golden State outrebounded the Aces 52-25, including a staggering 17-2 advantage on the offensive glass. That gave the Valkyries extra possessions while repeatedly denying Las Vegas the second chances it needed to overcome its offensive struggles.

The Aces’ depth issues only made matters worse. NaLyssa Smith’s season-ending knee injury had already stripped Las Vegas of size and scoring off the bench, while starting forward Stephanie Talbot remained sidelined with a leg injury. Jewell Loyd then went down with an injury of her own during Game 1, further shrinking Hammon’s options.

Even Wilson could not fully rescue the Aces. The reigning superstar led Las Vegas with 24 points, but needed 21 shots to get there, while she finished with just four rebounds, her lowest total in a game since May. Golden State, meanwhile, continued to benefit from its depth as Gabby Williams dropped 25 points and Kaitlyn Chen stepped up with 11 of the Valkyries’ 27 bench points.

So with so much going wrong for Las Vegas in Game 1, the Aces will need a far more cohesive offensive effort if they hope to even the series in Game 2.

Becky Hammon Reveals How the Aces Can Get Jackie Young and A’ja Wilson Going

Hammon knows the Aces cannot afford another night where their offense becomes stagnant, and their stars are forced to create everything themselves. So when she was later asked why Young and Wilson have not been as involved together offensively lately, Hammon explained that the Aces need to create those opportunities through more movement rather than relying on their stars to immediately run pick-and-rolls.

“Well, it’s Jackie and A’ja’s pick-and-rolls against the other five players. So it’s not that we don’t like Jackie and A’ja picking rolls. Of course we do. But it can’t be the first action,” the coach said. “We gotta get multiple actions and find them out of some movement. More so than just those stationary sets where you can just go to work.”

Becky Hammon also pointed to some success with flatter spacing and suggested the team would get back to that approach as the series moves forward. The bigger message, though, was clear: Las Vegas needs to make Golden State work before turning to its two stars.

Young should also have more help in Game 2, with both Jewell Loyd and Stephanie Talbot expected to play, according to The Athletic. But even with those reinforcements available, Hammon knows the Aces need Young to be more aggressive after she managed just 11 points on 4-of-15 shooting in the opener.

So the path forward is not about simply giving Young and Wilson more touches. It is about creating better opportunities for them through movement and making the Valkyries’ defense work.