In their first home matchup against the Los Angeles Sparks, the Las Vegas Aces were up six points with 7:50 left in the third quarter.
After multiple rebounds, the Aces earned a third shot attempt in a possession. As the shot clock wound down, Jackie Young, Chelsea Gray, and Stephanie Talbot continued to pass the ball. When it hit two seconds, NaLyssa Smith took control of the ball. She shot from just beyond the 3-point arc, sinking the shot to put them up by nine.
The soldout crowd — the Aces’ 50th in a row — erupted in applause.
“NaLyssa Smith, for three!” public address announcer Chet Buchanan said over the loudspeaker. With the roar of the crowd, it was almost impossible to hear.
By the end of the game, Smith tallied a season-high of 22 points, along with nine rebounds, two steals, an assist and a block.
“She’s just so athletic and aggressive,” Sparks head coach Lynne Roberts told the press before the game. “She does a great job for them in that dunker spot, and they’ve got incredible one-on-one players, whether it’s Jackie Young, Chelsea, obviously A’ja [Wilson], Jewell [Loyd], Chennedy Carter, you know, they’ve got guys that when the shot clock is wearing down, any one of those guys can go try to get their shots, so I think NaLyssa kind of feeds off of that.”
Smith has been a crucial part of the Aces squad, dating back to last season. After joining halfway through the season, she became a critical defender and paint player, helping the Aces to their third championship in four years.
In the offseason, Smith extended her stay in Las Vegas with a one-year, $450,000 contract.
Last season with the Aces, she started 26 out of 27 games, averaging 8.2 points per game, 5.3 rebounds, 0.7 assists, 0.7 steals and 0.5 blocks.
This season is set to be her first full one with the Aces and her fifth overall in the league, having also played for the Indiana Fever and Dallas Wings in her career.
During her time with the Fever, Smith averaged 13.2 points per game in three seasons. She also averaged 8.1 rebounds and 1.3 assists. In 2022, she made the WNBA All-Rookie team and was third in Rookie of the Year voting.
“Yeah, when it came to playing against Lyss, it was just her motor,” Wilson told The IX. “Her motor’s nonstop. She has a motor that is just going to keep going on both sides of the basketball, and so when we acquired her, it was huge for me, because I’m like, ‘Wow, we got somebody that’s gonna really, like, pick us up and keep going.’”
During her time with Dallas, she averaged 6.7 points, 4.9 rebounds, and 0.8 assists. Despite the struggles the Wings faced, she played a critical role in securing victories during the first half of the season.
“She rebounds the heck out of the [boards],” Gray told The IX, “She gets pretty good positions, especially on [offensive] boards, and so we had an emphasis of measuring how to block her, block her out.”
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Smith’s defensive play and championship mindset are some of the reasons why she joined this Aces squad. Her ability to be where she needs to be, her critical shot-making, and her overall skill are reasons why head coach Becky Hammon re-signed Smith.
“I remember one game in Indiana her rookie year, she let us up, and I was like, ‘Oh, that kid has got some stuff to her,’” Hammon told The IX. “And so I’ve always just kind of watched her from there.”
Looking at Smith from a scouting perspective, Hammon looked back to her days with the Fever. After being drafted second overall by the Fever, she immediately showed why she was drafted so high.
“She brings championship mentality every day in the sense of whatever I ask her to do, she does it,’ Hammon said. “She just wants the team to win, whether that’s hanging out in the dunker, the extended dunker, setting screens, rolling, inserting herself.”
Since the midseason trade on June 30, 2025, Smith has had a considerable impact on the Aces’ level of play. After her trade and the infamous 53-point loss to the Minnesota Lynx, the Aces went on a 16-game win streak. Smith immediately made herself at home, earning a spot in the starting lineup.
“I feel like it’s easy,” Smith told The IX. “I feel like all they really asked from me is just to play hard, get out and run, get out and get us extra possessions on the rebounding. … We have all the talent in the world already, so it’s not too much I have to insert, so I think it’s been pretty good.”
So far this season, Smith is averaging 9.2 points per game, 5.4 rebounds, and 1.2 assists. Smith told The IX Basketball that she’s been focused on getting in better shape and sculpting her body.
“I think I’m just in a lot better shape,” Smith said. “I think I’ve been in the weight room a lot more, too. I think this year has probably been the year where I’m working on my body, and my nutrition and eating better, and being explosive and expanding my game.”
Her explosiveness has shown throughout the early part of the season. She’s put up 57 points in the last five games, along with 30 rebounds, six assists, four steals and four blocks.
Over her time not only in the Aces organization, but in the league as a whole, she’s earned the nickname “Keeper of the key,” which is used in her player introduction.
With a championship under her belt, Smith is looking to prove that she and this Aces squad can hang onto their momentum and go back-to-back.
“She worked her tail off in the offseason to make sure that she was ready, not just for herself, but for us,” Wilson told reporters after their matchup against the Sparks. “I think that’s a sign of a true professional, and someone that [proves], ‘I want to be here, I want to be valued, I want to work my butt off to make sure that they don’t make me go anywhere. I’m here to stay,’ and I love that for her.”
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