LAS VEGAS – The Aces’ hopes of a second repeat in the last five years took a major blow on Thursday.
After suffering a non-contact leg injury on Sunday, in the Aces’ 88-78 road win against the Toronto Tempo in Vancouver, the team announced today that NaLyssa Smith will indeed be out for the remainder of the season.
Smith — who was having arguably the finest campaign of her young career — exited the game at the 3:15 mark of the third quarter. She had eight points, eight rebounds, one assist, and three stocks (two steals, one block) in 19 minutes at the time. She was shooting 4-for-4 from the field, something the Aces have become accustomed to.
At this time, the Aces have not provided any further information regarding the exact nature of the injury or whether surgery is required.
The loss of Smith is enormous for head coach Becky Hammon and her group. The former No. 2 Draft pick out of Baylor (2022) found a home in Las Vegas after being traded from Dallas for a 2027 first-round pick last June.
Smith and four-time MVP A’ja Wilson, in particular, created a terrific tandem in the Aces’ frontcourt — with Smith’s size and athleticism at center allowing Wilson to play in her preferred power forward position.
This season saw Smith make even more strides in developing her all-around game, despite already being a huge reason why the Aces won their third championship in the last four years in 2025. By all accounts, Smith came into this campaign more ready than ever, mentally and physically, and as a result became one of the most prolific inside scorers and rebounders in the association.
Smith led the WNBA in field goal percentage (63.8) for most of the season and still did at the time of her injury. She averaged 11.7 points and 6.4 rebounds per game on the year. She notched three of her four double-doubles in the last eight games.
Smith hauled in a career-high nine offensive rebounds against the Minnesota Lynx on Aug. 15. She tallied 17 points and 12 rebounds in total. In July, at the T-Mobile Arena, she dropped a season-high 29 points on 11-for-14 from the field as the Aces beat the Chicago Sky 98-90 in overtime, without Wilson.
On the back of Smith’s injury, roster addition options are very limited for the Aces, who are hard-capped and not currently eligible for a hardship contract exception due to having 10 active players on the roster — not counting rookie guard Ta’Niya Latson (development contract).
It remains to be seen whether the Aces seek an external solution by trying to apply for a season-ending injury (SEI) exception.
From within, veteran big Cheyenne Parker-Tyus figures to be the natural replacement in Hammon’s starting lineup. Parker-Tyus’ rebounding and ability score would go a long way in helping fill the void caused by Smith’s absence.
Parker-Tyus recently came off a 10-game spell on the sidelines (concussion) in the Aces’ 97-82 loss to Atlanta on Aug. 18 and scored a season-high 18 points in Vegas’ 101-78 win against Connecticut on Aug. 20. The latter were her first extended minutes since returning. She also added nine rebounds (six offensive).
Brianna Turner provides another avenue. Hammon has rotated Turner and CPT on a matchup-to-matchup basis, utilizing Turner more when in need of a defensive anchor. They are both likely looking at increased minutes after the FIBA World Cup break.
Rookie forward Justine Pissott has all the measurables of a frontcourt contributor, standing at 6-foot-4 and with elite shooting in her arsenal. However, since scoring 17 points in 10 minutes in her Aces debut in July, her scoring punch has not held up, and it is unclear where Hammon is at with her as far as trust on the defensive side of things.
The Aces will face the Toronto Tempo again on Friday, closing out their pre-FIBA schedule. They will return on Sept. 17, at Seattle, with four games remaining in the regular season.
At the time of writing, Vegas (26-13) sits third in the league standings, half a game ahead of the Dream (25-13) — but holding a tiebreaker over Atlanta in the playoff seeding race. The Aces are 1.5 games behind the Golden State Valkyries (27-11) in second and five games back of leaders Minnesota Lynx (31-8).
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