T-Mobile Arena was sold out. Fans of both the Las Vegas Aces and Indiana Fever packed the stands for the noon tip-off. Fans waved their rally towels and cheered as both teams took to the court. This was the first of four games at the “big house” this season, and fans were ready for a show.
Before the game, head coach Becky Hammon was asked about the team’s joy. The Aces are known for their joyous attitude and fun energy. This season has been unique, however, considering the losses of Kelsey Plum, Sydney Colson, Alysha Clark, Tiffany Hayes and Kate Martin, many of whom were significant sources of that fun energy in past seasons.
”Joy is different than happy,” said Hammon in the pre-game press conference. “You can choose joy. Happy tends to be based on your circumstances and what’s going on. So it hasn’t been a very happy place, that’s for sure, because losing sucks. Nobody likes to suck, and we’ve been not finishing games well, we’re having these mental lapses, so that’s not fun for anybody. However, you can get up every day and choose joy, even in hard stuff. I think that’s the real revelation in what hard stuff reveals in who you really are.”
The Aces are off to a difficult start, currently 7-8 and fifth in the Western Conference. The Aces are currently without two players: Megan Gustafson due to a lower leg injury, and Cheyenne Parker-Tyus is out due to pregnancy. On June 11, in their second game against the Los Angeles Sparks, A’ja Wilson took a hit that sent her into concussion protocol. In the three-game stretch without their superstar, the Aces went 1-2, defeating the Dallas Wings but losing to the Phoenix Mercury and the Minnesota Lynx.
Wilson returned in time for their four-game home stand, in which they went 2-2. They fell to the Seattle Storm in the first game, losing 90-83. The Aces struggled with turnovers, handing the ball over to Seattle 14 times.
“I feel good,” said Wilson after the game. “I just got to, honestly, start to put the ball in the hoop and stop giving away to the other team, that’s unacceptable on my end. So I got to be better on Sunday, moving forward for my team, because that is not how I wanted to come back.”
Despite the loss, there were some bonuses. First off, Wilson made her return, saying she was “feeling good, like myself” again. In her comeback, she managed to score 20 points, finishing just behind Jackie Young, who had 22.
Their second home game in the home stand was moved to T-Mobile Arena, home of the Vegas Golden Knights. They faced off against Caitlin Clark and the Indiana Fever, beating them 89-81 in a Sunday matinee. The game seemed to go the Fever’s way at first, as they led going into the fourth quarter. However, with a clutch 3-pointer from Aaliyah Nye and key points from Wilson, the Aces were able to come back and defend “the big house.”
“I think we were on the bench,” said Chelsea Gray after the game. “It was me, Jackie and A’ja. We looked around and was like, ‘Wow, this is dope.’ Shout out to our marketing team and people that thought of the idea to have everybody have their towels … here in T-Mobile, and everybody coming out. It’s an early ask on a Sunday. Thank you for getting out of bed; it was early. I had to get out of that thing, too.”
On Wednesday, the Aces took on the Connecticut Sun in their third game in their four-game home stretch. Going into the game, Wilson was seven points away from becoming the fastest player to reach 5,000 points. With six points from three layups, Wilson was one point away by the end of the first quarter.
With 4:04 left in the second period, Wilson made history with a driving layup as the arena erupted in cheers and applause, with fans giving Wilson a standing ovation and chanting “A’ja” when Bria Hartley was at the line for free throws.
To celebrate this milestone, Wilson donned a special pair of A’One Nikes, themed after the movie The Princess and the Frog.
“I’m so happy I got to do it in my Princess Tianas,” said Wilson to reporters after the game. “The Princess and the Frog is my favorite movie, so I got a chance to do it in these shoes, and it’s my first time ever, like, writing something on shoes, but I’m definitely gonna cherish this moment, because it’s been a lot of fun.”
They showed nothing but dominance against the Sun, beating them 85-59. Wilson led the game with 22 points, and Young followed with 20. Jewell Loyd hit three 3-pointers, scoring 13 points in total.
“It was a full team effort,” said Young, “and we’re at our best whenever we’re getting defensive stops, and we’re able to get going in transition and play at the pace that we want to play at. And, you know, playing the right way.”
The Aces faced a challenging Washington Mystics team Thursday night, falling 94-83. The Mystics entered the game after a critical win against the Minnesota Lynx, who hold the top record in the WNBA.
Wilson led the Aces once again with 22 points, with Chelsea Gray following with 13. The game was a stop-and-go game, with 37 fouls called in total, 24 of which were called on the Aces.
Despite the frustration from that game, there’s optimism and room for improvement. Against the Mystics and during this homestand, the bench showed up and showed out, bringing life and a spark to the game.
“We lost every quarter but that fourth quarter,” said Gray after the game. “And a lot of that is because our bench came in and competed, and did a great job.”
While going into their next game off a loss, the Aces will continue to choose joy and find that spark.
“When I come into work every single day and I see my teammates,” said Wilson after her record-breaking night. “They give me all the joy that I need to love what I do, to have an opportunity to get better. And so when we’re in those rough patches and the going gets tough and we’re figuring out what’s going on, we look to one another, and we understand exactly who we are. And when you understand who you are, and you’re secure in that the best is yet to come, because you believe in yourself, you have belief in each other.”
The Aces take on the Phoenix Mercury on Sunday at PHX Arena. Tip-off is at 3 p.m. PST. The game will be aired on NBA TV.
“Becoming Caitlin Clark” is out now!
Howard Megdal’s newest book is here! “Becoming Caitlin Clark: The Unknown Origin Story of a Modern Basketball Superstar” captures both the historic nature of Clark’s rise and the critical context over the previous century that helped make it possible, including interviews with Clark, Lisa Bluder (who also wrote the foreword), C. Vivian Stringer, Jan Jensen, Molly Kazmer and many others.
Monumental Sports and Entertainment, the group that owns the Washington Mystics, holds a minority stake in The Next. The Next’s editorial operations are entirely independent of Monumental and all other business partners.
