Las Vegas Aces waive veteran forward, down to 10 active players

The Las Vegas Aces have waived 31-year-old forward Crystal Bradford, the team announced on Wednesday.

Bradford, who is in her third WNBA season, appeared in four games with the Aces, averaging 1 point and 1.3 rebounds in six minutes per game.

Bradford was drafted by the Los Angeles Sparks in 2015 and appeared in 15 games that season. She also played 24 games for the Atlanta Dream in 2021, but has spent most of her professional basketball career overseas, several of which were in Israel. She played in the offseason basketball league Athletes Unlimited in 2023 and 2024, finishing third overall on the individual player leaderboard in 2024.

Before her professional career, Bradford spent her collegiate career at Central Michigan, where she finished as CMU’s all-time leader in points (2,006), rebounds (1,140), made field goals (805), and blocks (177).

Shortly after her waiver was announced, she turned to social media to express her disappointment: “The worst feeling in the world is your parents calling asking what you do? As if you are in trouble. I had a great camp and a tremendous growth here with the aces! They went in a different direction, and that’s just what it is. Hold the narratives because I am still a great basketball player and person!”

The Aces, who are 4-3 to begin the season, are down to 10 active players on their roster, excluding Megan Gustafson, who suffered a lower leg injury at training camp, and Cheyenne Parker-Tyus, who is pregnant.

The roster is headlined by Olympic guards Jackie Young, Chelsea Gray, and Jewell Loyd, and three-time MVP A’ja Wilson. The rest of the rotation includes forward Kierstan Bell, guards Dana Evans and Tiffany Mitchell, rookie forward Aaliyah Nye, and centers Elizabeth Kitley and Kiah Stokes.