5 Las Vegas Athletes Who Aren't Living Up to the Hype
Hype is a weird thing. Either you live up to it and relish it, or people start calling you a disappointment. It’s a cruel cycle and one of the most challenging things about sports.
Here are five Las Vegas athletes failing to live up to the hype right now.
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Source. YouTube.[/caption]
There is trouble in paradise for the Las Vegas Raiders, some of which concerns Joshua Jacobs. The 2022 leading rusher sat out of training camp hoping for a better contract and ultimately received one. Despite his deal, Jacobs' stats are lackluster this season at best, and that trend may continue.
This isn’t the kind of performance the Raiders are looking for, and it might force the team to move on from Jacobs in the future.
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Source. Youtube.[/caption]
Logan Thompson is a bit of a mixed bag at this point. Despite a starting record of 21-13 and a GAA of 2.65, he is proving to be injury-prone. A perfect example is when he suffered a lower back injury towards the end of the regular season. This forced the Golden Knights to rely on a combination of Laurent Brossoit and Adin Hill in the playoffs, which worked pretty well.
Unfortunately for Thompson, his injuries paint him as unreliable as a starting goalie. The Golden Knights have also signed Hill to a contract extension, making the starting position up in the air. Thompson will need to impress the organization this year or become an afterthought to everyone.
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Source. YouTube.[/caption]
Noah Gragson is having a horrible rookie year, and things aren't improving. In fact, the Las Vegas native is now without a ride for the remainder of the season, and 2024 isn't looking promising either. He might even be forced back into the Xfinity Series.
This looks pretty likely after posting an average finish of 28th place or worse in 2023. He also failed to capture a single top-ten finish and led a total of two laps. This is all under the banner of the newly formed Legacy Motorsports, but his issues seem to be more than growing pains.
Gragson is just coming off his suspension for liking a racially insensitive tweet and has had nothing but bad luck on the track. There’s a chance teams will see Gragson as damaged goods after his performance the past year. He needs a good ride to open up if he wants any chance of returning to the top.
Related: How The Las Vegas Raiders can still win The AFC West
Riquina Williams is an amazing athlete and among the WNBA's best. She proved as much by capturing the WNBA Finals MVP award when the Aces won the championship in 2022. The all-star guard continued her reign of terror in 2023 until an off-court incident stopped her career in its tracks.
Williams is accused of domestic abuse against her wife and is suspended from the Aces as a result. The legal charges have been dropped.
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Source. YouTube.[/caption]
Josh McDaniels hand-picked Jimmy Garoppolo as the future of the Raiders in 2023, and the results have been disastrous. Garoppolo started the season with a 17-16 win over the Broncos but was gobsmacked by the Bills in week two in a 38-10 blowout. His numbers are some of the worst in the league. There have been concerns about how Garopollo would handle deep passes, and things don’t look good so far.
Garoppolo is struggling, and the Raiders look the same as last year. You have to wonder how long McDaniels will back Garoppolo with his job on the line. Maybe Las Vegas will make the move to Aidan O’Connel as quarterback if Garoppolo keeps struggling. Brian Hoyer could even be a better option at this point.
Next: 5 Las Vegas sports athletes that ruined their own careers
Here are five Las Vegas athletes failing to live up to the hype right now.
#5 Joshua Jacobs: Las Vegas Raiders Running Back
[caption id="attachment_37509" align="alignnone" width="1024"]
Source. YouTube.[/caption]There is trouble in paradise for the Las Vegas Raiders, some of which concerns Joshua Jacobs. The 2022 leading rusher sat out of training camp hoping for a better contract and ultimately received one. Despite his deal, Jacobs' stats are lackluster this season at best, and that trend may continue.
This isn’t the kind of performance the Raiders are looking for, and it might force the team to move on from Jacobs in the future.
#4 Logan Thompson: Las Vegas Golden Knights Goalie
[caption id="attachment_38572" align="alignnone" width="1024"]
Source. Youtube.[/caption]Logan Thompson is a bit of a mixed bag at this point. Despite a starting record of 21-13 and a GAA of 2.65, he is proving to be injury-prone. A perfect example is when he suffered a lower back injury towards the end of the regular season. This forced the Golden Knights to rely on a combination of Laurent Brossoit and Adin Hill in the playoffs, which worked pretty well.
Unfortunately for Thompson, his injuries paint him as unreliable as a starting goalie. The Golden Knights have also signed Hill to a contract extension, making the starting position up in the air. Thompson will need to impress the organization this year or become an afterthought to everyone.
#3 Noah Gragson: NASCAR Cup Series driver
[caption id="attachment_38573" align="alignnone" width="1024"]
Source. YouTube.[/caption]Noah Gragson is having a horrible rookie year, and things aren't improving. In fact, the Las Vegas native is now without a ride for the remainder of the season, and 2024 isn't looking promising either. He might even be forced back into the Xfinity Series.
This looks pretty likely after posting an average finish of 28th place or worse in 2023. He also failed to capture a single top-ten finish and led a total of two laps. This is all under the banner of the newly formed Legacy Motorsports, but his issues seem to be more than growing pains.
Gragson is just coming off his suspension for liking a racially insensitive tweet and has had nothing but bad luck on the track. There’s a chance teams will see Gragson as damaged goods after his performance the past year. He needs a good ride to open up if he wants any chance of returning to the top.
Related: How The Las Vegas Raiders can still win The AFC West
#2 Riquna Williams: Las Vegas Aces Gaurd
Riquina Williams is an amazing athlete and among the WNBA's best. She proved as much by capturing the WNBA Finals MVP award when the Aces won the championship in 2022. The all-star guard continued her reign of terror in 2023 until an off-court incident stopped her career in its tracks.
Williams is accused of domestic abuse against her wife and is suspended from the Aces as a result. The legal charges have been dropped.
#1 Jimmy Garoppolo: Las Vegas Raiders Quarterback
[caption id="attachment_38574" align="alignnone" width="1024"]
Source. YouTube.[/caption]Josh McDaniels hand-picked Jimmy Garoppolo as the future of the Raiders in 2023, and the results have been disastrous. Garoppolo started the season with a 17-16 win over the Broncos but was gobsmacked by the Bills in week two in a 38-10 blowout. His numbers are some of the worst in the league. There have been concerns about how Garopollo would handle deep passes, and things don’t look good so far.
Garoppolo is struggling, and the Raiders look the same as last year. You have to wonder how long McDaniels will back Garoppolo with his job on the line. Maybe Las Vegas will make the move to Aidan O’Connel as quarterback if Garoppolo keeps struggling. Brian Hoyer could even be a better option at this point.
Next: 5 Las Vegas sports athletes that ruined their own careers