Jordan Obi sees increase in confidence, path to roster with the Las Vegas Aces
Once the dust of last week’s WNBA Draft settled, Janiah Barker made it clear to Jordan Obi that, going forward, the two of them — the sole draft picks of the reigning champion Las Vegas Aces, and who had just met for the first time — would be a duo.
“I wasn’t gonna let her out of my sight, if I’m being honest,” Barker said. “The first day, I was like ‘You got my number, right? It’s just me and you, so we’re gonna stick beside each other.”
By Day 3 of training camp, Barker and Obi had done exactly that; together, they’ve done media, put their efforts and talents on display, attempted to secure rental cars and even attended WrestleMania with the returning Aces.
With the preseason slate fast approaching Saturday the unlikely pair — Barker drafted in the second round, Obi in the third — also has a legitimate chance of making the opening day roster.
To understand why the odds seem to be in the rookies’ favor, it helps to look at what most WNBA camps do this time of year — flood the roster with bodies and make cuts later.
This month, the Washington Mystics drafted six players and went on to sign seven athletes to rookie scale contracts and make training-camp deals (a single-year, unprotected contract) with four others. The Minnesota Lynx only drafted two rookies but signed 11 total players to rookie scale contracts and three others to training-camp deals.
In a league of now 15 franchises, nearly every team has loaded its training camp roster with key returners, new offseason veteran additions and a collection of rookies and otherwise inexperienced players hoping to make an opening day roster.
Las Vegas is the outlier. The Aces opened training camp this week with just 13 players.
The practice of working out far more players than a team can roster is a familiar one in the WNBA — which allows a maximum of 12 roster spots per team, plus two additional player development spots for players with little to no league experience — but typically results in a cutthroat few days, packed with cuts, leading up to the season opener.
That churn is exactly what Las Vegas head coach Becky Hammon — who coached the franchise to WNBA titles in 2022, 2023, 2025 and a runner-up finish in 2020 — wanted to avoid. She and president and general manager Nikki Fargas intentionally built a smaller training camp roster after beginning last year’s with 17 players.
“One, I hate cutting players,” Hammon said. “But also, two, I have a good idea of what I see and what I want. I’m not bringing in any extra, trim fat. I have a visual of what I want to see out there, so we’re putting those pieces out there.”
Though Hammon was careful to add she’s “always going to stay open-minded” to players outside of the current Las Vegas bubble, her current focus is rooted in building chemistry with those inside the building in the “short time” they have.
Even with fewer bodies in camp, the math hasn’t changed — only so many spots exist. As Barker put it, “it’s training camp, still got to make the roster.”
But both rookies — even Obi, who was surprised to hear her name called on draft night, let alone by an organization that would like to keep her around this season — acknowledged the confidence they feel from Hammon and the organization.
“Being around such a great group of coaches and players that have won at the highest level, and to know that everyone was hand-chosen, does a lot for your confidence,” Obi said.
Two days into training camp, Obi described the process as “competitive,” but fun, given the “player-led” culture of the Aces franchise. Despite the fact that these 13 players are competing for roster spots, she said Hammon gives them freedom to play and learn.
“Obviously coming here, there’s a core of players,” Obi said. “I think for us, it’s about making their load a little bit lighter. Just facing the floor. Chelsea Gray is gonna create, Jackie Young is gonna create. I think just knocking down those open shots is really important, crashing the boards offensively and defensively. Because our size and physicality is a big reason why (Hammon) brought us here.”
Obi said the learning curve hasn’t blindsided her, partly because she’s already made one steep jump — from Penn to Kentucky — before arriving in Las Vegas.
“(In) my transition (from) Penn to Kentucky, there was an uptick in physicality,” Obi said. “The speed of the game, just kind of like the Xs and Os and details. The focus on details at Kentucky. Coach (Kenny) Brooks and his staff, they harp on the little details in practice, and I think that’s definitely helped. Basketball comes down to the details, really.”
Eleven of the 13 players at the Aces’ training camp, save only Barker and Obi, have WNBA experience. Per the Las Vegas Review-Journal, those 11 players have combined for 20 WNBA titles, 24 WNBA All-Star selections and eight Olympic gold medals.
So the rookies didn’t arrive expecting to replace anyone, especially not from the core of a regular powerhouse led by the face of the league, A’ja Wilson, and its other decorated vets.
“We know the ball is not going to be in our hands,” Obi said.
But the rookies still can learn from the wealth of experience surrounding them. Obi said she’s been observing players like Wilson, former Louisville Cardinal Dana Evans and former Baylor Bear NaLyssa Smith to get a better sense of how to navigate the next level.
“A’ja, who she is, just watching her on the court, her leadership, the way she practices, the way she is around the facility, around the locker room,” Obi said. “Dana…she’s really helping us, instilling confidence in us, what she sees on the sideline, she’s telling us during water breaks…NaLyssa, good leadership. Really good leader. Knows what she’s doing on the court. A great group of vets from top to bottom.”
The Aces tip off in their first preseason game — a battle against the Japanese National Team — Sunday, April 26 at 8 p.m. ET in Las Vegas. They’ll play the Dallas Wings at the Moody Center in Austin, Texas on Sunday, May 3 at 7 p.m. in their second and final preseason matchup prior to opening the season Saturday, May 9 at 3:30 p.m. with a home game against the Phoenix Mercury.
Between now and those preseason tips, and with roster decisions looming, Obi said her focus is simple — approach it with gratitude, stack good days and learn fast.
“It’s still a little bit of a surreal experience,” Obi said. “Even where I came from, going to Penn for four years and then transitioning to the SEC and now being here. In the best league in the world, playing for the best coach in the world. It’s still a little surreal. But we’re here for a reason, and she’s a great human, great coach, so just being able to absorb everything she’s saying on the floor and being able to apply it is just going to make us better players.”
