NaLyssa Smith Injury: Out for Aces Season

NaLyssa Smith is out for the season with a left leg injury, the Las Vegas Aces announced Thursday, a real hit to a defending champion that was already thin up front. The Associated Press, carried by NBC Sports, said Smith suffered the non-contact injury at the 3:15 mark of the third quarter in Sunday's 88-78 win over the Toronto Tempo. CBS Sports wrote that the team gave no surgery timeline and no extra medical detail beyond the left leg.

AP listed Smith at 11.8 points and 6.4 rebounds over 37 games, and said she was leading the WNBA in field-goal percentage at 63.8 percent. That is the official line that went with the announcement. CBS Sports had her at 11.7 points through 38 games on the same 63.8 percent clip, and described the play: Jackie Young threw her a fast-break pass, Smith jumped to catch it, and her left leg buckled on the landing. She was helped off and could not put weight on the leg.

How did NaLyssa Smith get hurt?

Sunday in Toronto. Non-contact. Third quarter. That is the sourced sequence from the AP and CBS Sports. Smith arrived in Las Vegas last June in a trade with the Dallas Wings and helped the Aces win a title last season, CBS Sports wrote. She is the No. 2 pick in the 2022 draft, and this year she was doing complementary work next to A'ja Wilson instead of forcing jumpers. CBS Sports said she shot 60.8 percent off cuts, that her 108 points on those plays ranked fourth in the league, and that she was ninth in offensive rebounds at 2.2 a night.

Wilson is averaging 26 points and two blocks and is in the mix for a fifth MVP, the AP wrote. The Aces entered Thursday 26-13, third in the West behind Minnesota (31-8) and Golden State (27-11). Las Vegas is already without Chennedy Carter, who CBS Sports listed as the leading bench scorer at 12.2 points. Take Smith out of that rotation and the frontcourt is Wilson plus Brianna Turner and Cheyenne Parker-Tyus.

What the NaLyssa Smith injury means for Las Vegas

CBS Sports laid out the glass problem. With Smith on the floor the Aces' offensive rebound rate was 30.3 percent. Without her it was 20.3 percent, a full-season pace that would be the worst mark in league history. Turner has scored 56 points in 480 minutes. Parker-Tyus is at 5.2 points on 52.4 percent, with a 113.2 defensive rating when she is on the floor. That is why Las Vegas was in the mix for DeWanna Bonner, who instead signed with Atlanta, a move already covered in the Bonner Dream contract recap.

The remaining regular-season schedule is the easiest in the league, CBS Sports wrote, with an average opponent winning percentage of .276. The World Cup break from Aug. 31 to Sept. 16 gives the Aces time to give Turner or Parker-Tyus more run, though Wilson, Young, and Chelsea Gray will be in Berlin with Team USA. Playoff time is the real test. Seattle just got a 20-point night from Flau'jae Johnson in a different WNBA story, covered in the Storm-Tempo recap. Las Vegas is chasing a repeat without its most reliable fourth scorer.

NaLyssa Smith injury FAQ

What is NaLyssa Smith's injury? A left leg injury. The Aces said it was non-contact and that she is out for the season. They did not specify surgery or a return date.

When did NaLyssa Smith get hurt? Sunday, at the 3:15 mark of the third quarter in an 88-78 win over Toronto, per the Associated Press.

What were NaLyssa Smith's stats this season? The AP listed 11.8 points and 6.4 rebounds in 37 games, with a league-leading 63.8 percent from the field.