Jackie Young put up a career-best performance for the Las Vegas Aces against Seattle, arriving in the Pacific Northwest with the FIBA World Cup still fresh in her legs. The timing is not coincidental. Young's agent, Lindsay Kagawa Colas at Wasserman, has spent three months positioning her client for a supermax-adjacent extension, and Berlin handed her the tape.
Young led Team USA in Berlin with 22.1 points per game across seven contests, shooting 54.8% from the field while operating as the primary initiator when A'ja Wilson needed rest. The Seattle performance—the exact numbers remain team-held until official box scores post—extends a three-week run where Young has functioned as the Aces' first option, not their third. Las Vegas entered this season with Young averaging 17.9 points on 48.2% shooting, numbers that place her in the league's top-12 scorers but outside the supermax conversation. One career night does not change that math. Six weeks of sustained primary-option production does.
The leverage question for Las Vegas president Nikki Fargas and GM Natalie Williams: Young is extension-eligible in January 2025, and the Aces are already carrying Wilson's supermax and Kelsey Plum's designated-player deal. The WNBA's collective bargaining agreement allows teams to carry two supermax contracts simultaneously, but three requires creative maneuvering with deferred money and performance incentives. Young's camp knows this. Las Vegas knows they know.
What matters for sponsors and team valuations: Young is the most marketable player the Aces have after Wilson, and it's not close. She carries no off-court baggage, played at Notre Dame (institutional reach), and just spent two weeks on international television looking like the best guard in the world. MGM Resorts, the Aces' naming-rights partner since 2021, has already doubled its courtside activation spend this season. If Young walks in 2026 free agency, that activation budget moves with her. Brands do not pay for potential.
The franchise-value conversation is simpler: Aces owner Mark Davis paid roughly $2 million for the team in 2021. Recent WNBA expansion franchises in San Francisco and Portland went for $50 million and $125 million, respectively. Star retention is the only variable that matters in those comps. Davis has already seen what happens when you let a face-of-franchise talent leave—he watched it happen twice with the Raiders.
Young's contract situation also creates downstream effects for the Aces' coaching market. Head coach Becky Hammon is extension-eligible after this season, and her leverage depends entirely on whether Las Vegas can keep its core intact. Hammon's agent, David Falk, is not returning calls on timeline, but three Western Conference front offices have already placed exploratory calls about her 2025 availability. The Aces' title window is this season and next. After that, the cap math stops working.
Watch for Young's usage rate over the next three weeks—if it stays above 28%, her camp will argue she's already functioning as a supermax-tier player and the Aces are simply getting a discount. Las Vegas has until January 15, 2025 to open extension talks before Young enters the final year of her rookie-scale deal. Hammon's contract decision lands in the same window.
The Seattle box score is still pending official release, but three Western Conference scouts were in the building. They have already texted their GMs.
The takeaway
Young's Berlin form creates January extension leverage as Las Vegas juggles three max-tier talents under a two-supermax cap structure.
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