Las Vegas Aces’ quest to repeat started with retaining A’ja Wilson. Here’s how they did it

The hardest part of building a championship team is getting the player who can be a finals MVP. While other teams scrambled to acquire the core of a title team, the Aces could laser in on retaining Wilson and figure out how to pay her without losing their other stars. Wilson clearly stating her intentions to return was the first domino to fall that compelled the rest of the starting lineup (Jackie Young, Chelsea Gray, NaLyssa Smith and Kierstan Bell) and key reserves Jewell Loyd and Dana Evans to re-sign with the Aces.

“We focused on player retention,” Aces president Nikki Fargas said this week. “When you have a roster that is as talented and seasoned as ours going into this offseason, that was huge for us. ” But with a new CBA and higher salaries on the line, there are more complications, and there’s more at stake in this new era when it comes to creating a champion team.

With players secured, Las Vegas could pivot toward managing the roster under the constraints of a new salary cap. Not only did the cap increase nearly five-fold from $1. 5 million in 2025 to $7 million in 2026, but players could now earn a larger share of the cap.

The supermaximum salary now accounts for 20 percent of the salary cap, compared to less than 17 percent a year ago. The standard maximum salary is currently 17 percent of the cap. That distinction was of particular interest to the Aces, one of the few teams to have multiple players who merit a max contract.