LAS VEGAS -- The Las Vegas Aces got their 2025 WNBA championship rings before Saturday afternoon's season opener at T-Mobile Arena. But then the Aces' bling day turned into a blowout for the Phoenix Mercury.
The Mercury, who were swept by the Aces in the WNBA Finals last year, won 99-66, the largest margin of victory in a season opener for Phoenix. It was also the largest margin of defeat by a defending champion in its season opener in WNBA history.
"I hate ceremonies like this," Aces star A'ja Wilson said. "Obviously, you want to enjoy it, but there's a whole business side of the issue to take care of. It's hard to compartmentalize that at times. I wish we could do [a ceremony] afterward. It's just very hard to separate the emotions -- on both sides."
Wilson said she expected the Mercury to be especially motivated Saturday, comparing it to how she and the Aces have felt in the past when they lost in the playoffs.
"[For] Phoenix, we know what it's like to have a long offseason," Wilson said. "You're just like, 'I don't care who's in front of us this first game, we have to redeem ourselves.' That played a huge factor."
Wilson, who won her fourth season MVP and second Finals MVP last year, led the Aces with 19 points. Jackie Young added 12 points, and NaLyssa Smith finished with 11 points. Chennedy Carter, the No. 4 pick in 2020 who played with Atlanta, Los Angeles and Chicago but was out of the WNBA last year, had 10 points in her first game with the Aces.
Phoenix guard Jovana Nogic had 19 points in her WNBA debut. The 28-year-old from Serbia has played a lot professionally overseas. The WNBA has always had international players, but the new collective bargaining agreement signed in March established more appealing salaries.
"This is a player who hasn't come over [to the WNBA] because maybe it wasn't worth it, money-wise," Phoenix coach Nate Tibbetts said of Nogic. "The bump in salary, hopefully, is a reason for some of these European players to start coming over."
"I was just happy and grateful to be here," Nogic said. "There are great teammates that just take the pressure off you."
Some of those teammates were Alyssa Thomas, who had 20 points and nine assists, and Natasha Mack, who added 10 points and 15 rebounds, for the Mercury.
"We wanted to go out there and start the season off right," Thomas said. "You don't forget what happened last season. But at the same time, it's the beginning of a new season. For us, it was about setting the tone for what we're bringing this year."
Perhaps things will improve for the Aces when they raise the franchise's third championship banner May 23 at their primary home, Michelob Ultra Arena, which is just down the Las Vegas Strip from T-Mobile Arena.
The Aces play certain high-profile games at T-Mobile each season. Aces primary owner Mark Davis and NFL legend Tom Brady, an Aces minority owner, were on the court for the pregame ceremony. The rings were specially made so the top portion "pops" off and a smaller, more easily wearable ring comes out of the base, still attached to the three primary diamonds that represent the Aces' three championships.
The Aces' slogan for 2026 is "Never Fold," which reflects their resiliency last season. After a 53-point loss to Minnesota on Aug. 2, they had a total turnaround. Las Vegas did not lose the rest of the regular season and then went 9-3 in the playoffs, winning series over Seattle, Indiana and Phoenix.
Now, the Aces will try to do it again. Saturday was far from the start they wanted, but Wilson said they will hope to bounce back quickly, with their second game Sunday at Los Angeles.
"It was super cool just to finally get to see the ring," Wilson said. "[But] this was just a tangible [representation]. In my mind, I've already had the ring since October. Let's just get on with it.
"I'm going to enjoy it. The hand is getting heavy [with three rings], but the crown is getting heavier. We've got to continue to make sure it doesn't fall off our heads."
