NaLyssa Smith was playing some of her best basketball when she suffered a season-ending non-contact left leg injury Aug. 23. Now she has to sit and watch her Las Vegas Aces teammates try to repeat as WNBA champions and win their fourth title in five years. “You never plan on having an injury,” Smith said Monday.

The WNBA playoff bracket is nearly set, but the New York Liberty and Washington Mystics could create dangerous first-round matchups.

The Las Vegas Aces have spent much of the season looking like a championship threat yet again. But with the playoffs approaching, Hammon has now lost one of her most important frontcourt pieces, a development that one analyst believes could significantly impact the team.

To say NaLyssa Smith was an important piece in head coach Becky Hammon’s starting lineup is an understatement. The Las Vegas Aces forward filled all the required gaps, all while complementing four-time MVP A’ja Wilson to the fullest.

The Las Vegas Aces star NaLyssa Smith is unavailable for the remainder of the season due to injury. She suffered a non-contact left leg injury during the third quarter of a game against the Toronto Tempo on August 23.

The Las Vegas Aces signed 6-foot-7 center Kalani Brown after NaLyssa Smith was ruled out for the season with a left knee injury.

The Las Vegas Aces bolstered their frontcourt by signing former NCAA champion center Kalani Brown following a season-ending injury to NaLyssa Smith. The sudden roster addition quickly sparked a wave of reactions across social media as basketball fans weighed in on the championship contender’s latest move.

The Las Vegas Aces’ title dream suffered an early blow after NaLyssa Smith’s news on Thursday. Days after Smith went down with a knee injury on Sunday in a game against the Toronto Tempo, the team announced that Smith was out for the 2026 season and making a roster addition.