The WNBA is investigating the Las Vegas Aces for making under-the-table payments to free agents and current players, The Next Editor In Chief Howard Megdal wrote in a Wednesday article.
Megdal went into further detail about the alleged pattern used during a potential signing.
“According to those familiar with the allegations, the pattern alleged that the team followed typically involved a high-level member of the Aces instructing the agent of a potential signing — either a free agent, or an Aces player negotiating an extension — that at the conclusion of the phone call between team and agent, the agent would receive a call with an offer for a specific amount of money from a particular, pre-selected company,” wrote Megdal.
The Aces managed to sign All-Star forward Candace Parker from the Chicago Sky in free agency. Las Vegas is fresh off a WNBA championship win in 2022, taking a 3-1 win over the Connecticut Sun in September. Parker averaged 13.2 points, 8.6 rebounds and 4.5 assists per game during her 15th season in the WNBA.
“I want to be one of the best offensive teams that women’s basketball has ever seen,” Aces coach Becky Hammon told ESPN. “I think we have a great opportunity to put a really exciting basketball team out on the court.”
The move created one of the league’s two newly formed super teams. Parker would join a two-time MVP in forward A’ja Wilson, an All-Star MVP in guard Kelsey Plum and a four-time All-Star in guard Chelsea Gray. The New York Liberty signed Seattle Storm forward Breanna Stewart and Sky guard Courtney Vandersloot. They also managed to get a 2021 MVP in forward Jonquel Jones via trade.
With the league’s numbers growing at a rapid rate, scandals like these can hurt the reputation of a league that had its most-watched regular-season games in 14 years and saw viewership on major networks jump by over 16% from the year before.
