As the Unrivaled enters its final days, the WNBA franchises are busy finalizing their pre-season schedules as they look to build their match fitness before the WNBA season begins in mid-May! A’ja Wilson’s side has already announced a pre-season game against the Phoenix Mercury on May 7th and they have another game lined up!

The Aces took to their social media accounts to announce that they will be facing off against the Dallas Wings at Notre Dame on May 2! But this isn’t just any preseason game! it’s a homecoming for the likes of Jackie Young, Jewell Loyd, and Arike Ogunbowale, and it promises to be an exciting affair!

The Fighting Irish fans have been treated to a show all season with Olivia Miles and Hannah Hidalgo running plays for them and expectations are that Notre Dame will bring home the championship again this year! Add to that, they’ll now get to witness a championship-caliber team in the Las Vegas Aces play in the Purcell Pavilion. Players like Hidalgo can learn so much just by looking at players like A’ja Wilson, Chelsea Gray, Jackie Young and Arike Ogunbowale play.

That said, the Aces might not be in the championship fight this season despite having the reigning MVP in their roster. The off season moves have definitely dampened the mood a bit among the Las Vegas faithful. And honestly, they have every reason to feel that way!

Can A’ja Wilson and co challenge for the championship?

After losing to the eventual winners, the New York Liberty in the semifinals last season, the 2022 and 2023 champions were expected to make some big moves to get back to winning ways! But that didn’t happen! Instead Becky Hammon saw her assistants, Tyler Marsh and Natalie Nakase, leave to take up head coaching jobs in the league!

That’s not all! Star guard Kelsey Plum also decided to leave the Aces after 7 years and was involved in a monumental trade which saw the Aces get Jewell Loyd! While landing Loyd was a huge win and helped ease some nerves among Aces fans, the departures of key role players like Kate Martin, Alysha Clark, Tiffany Hayes, and Sydney Colson definitely raise some question marks.

Cheyenne Parker-Tyus, Queen Egbo, Tiffany Mitchell and Dana Evans have been added to the roster in the hopes of being adequate enough to replace the outgoing role players! Only time will tell how this new bench plays but analysts weren’t exactly impressed with the Aces’ offseason moves.

ESPN’s Michael Voepel gave them a C+ grade while assessing their off season moves by saying, “The Aces’ chemistry has been pretty good in recent years, so we’ll see if that continues with these changes. But there’s a question about whether the Aces really made themselves better, or just different, which is why their grade is on the low side” 

It remains to be seen if the Aces remain a genuine contender this season, they still have a very good starting five and the fans will be hoping that A’ja Wilson continues to lead them from the front. But one thing is for sure, their upcoming preseason game against Dallas in Notre Dame will also serve a golden opportunity for young stars like Hannah Hidalgo and Olivia Miles to get a firsthand look at what it takes to thrive at the WNBA level!