The Las Vegas Aces suffered one of the worst losses of their 2026 season, and at the center of the storyline was their head coach Becky Hammon, who was ejected from the game following an intense confrontation with a game official. While Angel Reese and the Atlanta Dream played an outstanding game on both ends, former ESPN host Linda Cohn blamed Hammon’s ejection for the Aces’ 97-82 loss.
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“I think Las Vegas was never the same when Becky Hammon was thrown out of the game,” Cohn said in conversation with Yahoo Sports Daily on Wednesday.
Hammon’s ejection happened during the Dream’s offensive possession. After Angel Reese missed a jumper and the Aces took possession of the ball, Hammon rushed to the court yelling at the official at the baseline.
She was unhappy about a no-call that had happened previously. The official assessed her a technical, but the defending champion coach got even more frustrated. She rushed towards the referee, which led to the second technical, leading to the ejection as a result.
The Aces ended the first quarter with a slim one-point lead. The Dream made an early pushback in the second quarter, taking an 11-point lead before halftime.
Once the second half began, the Aces started losing their grip on the game as the Dream kept on adding points. While the Aces trimmed down the 11-point lead Atlanta had at the beginning of the third quarter to six, the Dream answered back. They went on a 12-3 run, extending their lead to 15 points with the score line reading 64-49. Although the Aces narrowed it down to 11 points again, the match ended with the Dream reclaiming their 15-point lead.
Angel Reese and Co. had started gaining on the Aces even before Becky Hammon was ejected, and following her departure to the locker room, they overtook the Aces.
The Dream’s starting lineup dominated the Aces’ defense. Reese (21), Allisha Gray (21) and Rhyne Howard (23) all had a 20-point game. Jordin Canada added 17 points. All five starters were north of +10 in plus/minus. On the other hand, four of the five Aces’ starters were -10 or below in plus/minus.
Although Hammon was ejected, Cohn loved the Aces’ coach’s energy and willingness to fight for her best player.
“I love Becky Hammon. What a great coach. What a great person. I love that fire,” Cohn added. “I love how she supports her players. Nobody supports her players better, especially publicly, than Becky Hammon, and she did so by arguing for her best player, A’ja Wilson.”
A’ja Wilson (27 points) and Jackie Young (24 points) led the Aces’ offense, but it was simply not enough.
This was the defending champions’ second straight loss, the previous one coming against the Minnesota Lynx. The Aces were one of the hottest teams in the league this season, but they are slowing down as the season nears its end.
This is the opposite trend compared to last season when they won the title. After a 14-14 record, the Aces won all of the last 16 games of the season. Now the question will Becky Hammon and Co. be able to pull themselves together like they did last year?