For the last few years, watching the Aces has felt a lot like watching a heavyweight champion. You knew they could be hit. You knew they could lose a game here or there. But there was always this feeling that, eventually, they were going to take control and remind everyone who they were.

That feeling hasn't completely disappeared. The Aces are still one of the best teams in the WNBA.

They still have A'ja Wilson. They still have Becky Hammon. They still have more championship experience than most of the league combined. Nobody should be rushing to write them out of the title picture because of a few losses in May and June.

But something does feel a little different.

Not because Las Vegas suddenly looks bad. They don't. The more interesting development is that the rest of the league looks a lot more comfortable challenging them.

Teams aren't showing up hoping the Aces have an off night. They're showing up expecting they can compete.

The Aces Still Have The Hardest Part Figured Out

The Aces still have A'ja Wilson.

That might sound overly simple, but it's the main reason they are who they are right now. When you've got the best player in the world, a lot of problems become a little easier to live with. Wilson is still doing Wilson things, averaging nearly 25 points a game while impacting every part of the floor. Even on nights when the offense feels clunky or the defense isn't quite where it needs to be, she's the kind of player who can settle everything down.

That's why it's hard to get too carried away with the early losses. The foundation is still there. Wilson is still the player every opponent has to build a game plan around, and that's a pretty good place to start if you're trying to win another championship.

The supporting cast isn't exactly hurting, either.

Chelsea Gray still controls the pace of a game as well as anyone in the league. Jackie Young hasn't had the cleanest start statistically, but we've seen this movie before. She's too talented and too versatile to stay quiet for long. Jewell Loyd is still adjusting to her role within a roster loaded with scorers, and Chennedy Carter has quickly become one of the most dangerous bench weapons in the league. There aren't many teams that can bring that kind of firepower off the bench when a game starts getting stale.

The Aces are still averaging over 90 points per game. They can still put together one of those stretches where a five-point game suddenly turns into a 15-point game before you even realize what happened.

The question isn't whether the Aces are still good enough to win it all.

The question is whether they're good enough to separate themselves from everybody else the way they've done in the past. Right now, that's a lot harder to answer than it used to be.

The Gap Isn’t What It Used To Be

The Aces are still great. That's not really the debate. The debate is whether they still have that feeling where everybody else walks onto the floor knowing they have to play nearly perfect basketball to beat them.

Right now, it doesn't feel quite like that.

We've still seen flashes of that team this year. The win over Golden State is probably the best example. After dropping back-to-back games to Los Angeles and Dallas, there was a chance for the noise to get louder. Instead, the Aces walked into a tough road environment and took over the third quarter. That's what championship teams do. They don't always avoid adversity, but they usually know how to answer it.

The difference is that more teams seem capable of creating that adversity in the first place.

Phoenix didn't just beat the Aces on opening night. They embarrassed them. The Sparks didn't need a miracle to win. They scored 101 points and looked comfortable doing it. Dallas didn't steal one late. They took control of the second half and finished the job.

That's what stands out to me. These weren't three losses that all happened the same way. Phoenix overwhelmed them. Los Angeles shot the lights out and moved the ball beautifully. Dallas won with rebounding, physicality, and a young core that never looked intimidated.

Different teams are finding different ways to make the Aces uncomfortable. And honestly, that's probably the biggest reason they don't feel untouchable right now.

The Defense Is Where The Aura Has Slipped

If there's one area that explains why the Aces feel a little more vulnerable than usual, it's probably the defense.

When the Aces were at their most intimidating, it wasn't just because they could score. It was because they made life miserable on the other end, too. Teams had to work for everything. Every possession felt harder. Even when opponents were playing well, it rarely felt comfortable.

That's not always been the case so far this season.

Phoenix put 99 points on them opening night. The Sparks scored 101. Dallas dropped 95. Even in some of the wins, opponents have found stretches where they're getting good looks and putting points on the board without feeling completely overwhelmed by the matchup.

The three-point line has been a big part of it. Opponents are shooting over 38% from deep against Las Vegas and have already knocked down significantly more threes than the Aces themselves. Some of that is just early-season variance. Teams get hot. Weird things happen in May and June.

But when it keeps showing up, it's worth paying attention to.

The bigger thing for me is how those shots are happening. Teams aren't just throwing up desperation heaves and hoping they go in. They're moving the ball, creating advantages, and finding enough clean looks to stay in games.

That's not necessarily a sign that the defense is bad. It just doesn't feel as suffocating as we're used to seeing. And that's an important distinction.

Nobody's looking at Las Vegas and thinking they've suddenly forgotten how to defend. This is still a talented, experienced group with one of the best coaches in the league. There's every reason to believe they'll tighten things up as the season goes along.

But right now, teams look more comfortable attacking them than they have in years past.

The West Doesn’t Look Like A Waiting Room

A big part of this conversation isn't really about the Aces at all. It's about everybody else.

For a while, the Western Conference had stretches where it felt like teams were trying to convince themselves they could catch Las Vegas. The Aces were the standard, and everyone else was chasing. That's what happens when you win championships and keep bringing back elite talent. Eventually, people stop asking if you're a contender and start asking who's capable of knocking you off.

This year feels a little different.

Dallas already has a win over Las Vegas and looks like a team that's growing up fast. Minnesota continues to look like a legitimate threat whenever they're healthy. Golden State hasn't spent their inaugural season looking happy just to be here. Even teams lower in the standings have shown they can create problems on the right night.

And honestly, that's probably healthy for the league.

The best rivalries and the best title races happen when multiple teams believe they have a real shot. Nobody wants a season where the ending feels predetermined by June.

That doesn't mean Las Vegas isn't the favorite. It doesn't mean they're done winning big games. It just means the conference doesn't feels like they're waiting for the Aces to take control.

For the first time in a while, it feels like there are several teams that fully expect to have something to say about that.

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