Sin City’s lights may still be shining, but the Aces’ spark has flickered out. While they extended their losing streak to five with a crushing 68-95 defeat, the Valkyries snapped their own four-game skid in style. Seems like Kate Martin made the right move after all, by signing with the Valkyries. However, for the A’ja Wilson’s Aces, it was a double sting, losing with a big margin, that too at the hands of an ex-teammate in the opponent’s arena.
Remember how devastated A’ja Wilson was upon hearing that the GSV will be adding Kate Martin to their roster? She even said, “Did I scream and fall to my knees in the kitchen when I heard her name get called …lol yeah ..was I sad….absolutely!”. This just shows how close they were. She continued, “But no regrets at all because Kate is covered! we love our girl! She deserves this shine and moment!”
We don’t know if that still stands true after this heartbreaking loss, though. Because it wasn’t all just a big fairytale moment. Despite entering the game as heavy favorites, the Aces discovered mid-flight that they’d set course into a 21-point pit by halftime. And who set the spark? Martin, of course. She logged just over 10 first-half minutes, but she made them count, snagging seven quick points off the bench. The crowd was already in awe as she found her shot immediately upon entering, and closed out the half with a buzzer-beating triple, clearly not holding back her aggressive energy.
Fast forward six games into the season, and Martin is pulling Valkyrie weight like a rookie gone pro, far surpassing anything she did with the Aces. She’s nearly tripled her scoring, currently averaging 6.5 points per game, and has been sizzling from deep, rocking a 42.1% success rate on three-pointers through the first two weeks.
Meanwhile, on the other hand, Hammon’s squad has also progressed, but only backward. This 27‑point rout for the Aces wasn’t just any loss. It ranked as the third‑largest one in the Becky Hammon era and the second 20+ point disaster of the season, marking the first time her team has hit that low watermark twice in one year. Not to mention, it also came at the hands of someone she once hired as an assistant coach, Natalie Nakase.
So, of course, Becky Hammon did not measure her words and opened brutally post-game.“It was a good old-fashioned ass-whooping, and there’s no other way to put it,” she said. “This is one of the worst games I’ve ever seen the Aces play.”
Fair enough because if you want to quantify a harsh truth, just look at Aces’ numbers. While A’ja Wilson put up a decent stat line of 17 points and six rebounds, the rest of the roster seemed like spectators. Jewell Loyd managed just 10.2 points per game, marking her career-low since joining the Aces. The team, as a whole, shot a meager 35.5 percent and just 24 percent from three-point range. And to understand how a team built to clinch the title has been merely showing up this year, just read the following sentence.
The team’s offensive rating has slid from 106.1 (2nd in 2024) to 99.6 (8th this year). Their defensive rating tells the same story, having fallen to 101.6, also 8th. But, for Becky, it wasn’t just a numbers game; it was a system breakdown. She described the team as mentally weak, “punked,” almost as if they forgot who they were. And that lack of effort is something she cannot tolerate. “I’m not going to coach effort,” Hammon said via Kendra Andrews. “It’s the one thing I can’t deal with. You’re in charge of your effort. I guess I’m in charge of playing time… I’m not going to pull you for mistakes, but I will pull you for effort.”
So, it seems like a much-needed message from Nakase to Hammon. The GSV’s HC has just proved that Hammon’s blueprint, held as one of the most originally successful in the league, can suffer if not improved consistently.
Nakase vs. Hammon and A’ja Wilson Caught in the Crossfire
Something that really makes this victory special is that Golden State Valkyries head coach Natalie Nakase just beat her former boss, Becky Hammon. Those two seasons under Hammon with the Aces, where they won back-to-back WNBA titles in 2022 and 2023, were grueling but transformative for Nakase. She once shared that “I’ve never worked as hard in my life,”. She even credited Hammon for pushing her to her limits.
What stood out, though, was how Hammon actively encouraged her to challenge the game plan, which is rare in coaching. “Most head coaches just say, ‘This is my plan, deal with it,’ but Becky wanted me to pick it apart,” Nakase recalled. That trust forged a deep bond, and it was Hammon who ultimately pushed her to take the Valkyries’ job. Now, just months into leading the expansion team, Nakase is proving exactly why her mentor believed in her.
Nakase’s time with the Aces wasn’t just about strategy. It was about relationships, too. She raved about working with A’ja Wilson. She called her “probably the most humble star I’ve ever been around,” and someone who is more focused on her legacy than her status as the world’s No. 1 player. Yet, that close bond also gave Nakase the exact weaknesses she could use to her advantage in this game. And that’s exactly what she did. Her defense forced A’ja into isolation, crowded the paint, and dared shooters to fire from the perimeter. Those shots didn’t fall, the Aces couldn’t adjust, and Vegas could not respond.
Everyone knows that Aces win with trumpets only when A’ja is at her best. And now, everyone’s eyes are on Hammon’s next move. What do you think is the need of the hour for the Aces?
The post Becky Hammon Drops 20-Second Harsh Assessment of A’ja Wilson & Co. After Embarrassing Valkyries Loss appeared first on EssentiallySports.
