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It would be difficult to exaggerate the stakes of the Aces’ upcoming game Thursday.
It’s more than their final regular-season contest against the Minnesota Lynx. It’s a key game for postseason seeding and an opportunity for redemption, at a larger venue in T-Mobile Arena to boost.
The Aces, who have won 12 straight games to vault into third in the WNBA standings, used a seven-day break to prepare for the league’s best team.
“I don’t think there needs to be any ra-ra speeches,” coach Becky Hammon said. “We know what it is.”
Personal, but not personal
The Aces (26-14) don’t need to be reminded how embarrassing their last meeting with the Lynx (32-8) was.
They lost 111-58 to Minnesota at Michelob Ultra Arena on Aug. 2. The 53-point loss was the largest home defeat in WNBA history.
The Aces haven’t lost since and could set a franchise record for consecutive wins Thursday. But Hammon, who was named the league’s coach of the month for August on Wednesday, doesn’t credit the Lynx for sparking the streak. She believes the Aces were already trending in the right direction beforehand.
Three-time MVP A’ja Wilson still wants her teammates to remember how the defeat felt.
“It’s personal, not towards the Minnesota Lynx, but more so it’s personal on us as individuals — as the Aces, we have to take it personal within ourselves that we need to look better than what we did,” Wilson said.
The loss was rock bottom for the Aces, who are a half game behind the second-place Atlanta Dream (27-14) in the standings. They have the tiebreaker over the Dream and the fourth-place Phoenix Mercury (26-14).
The Lynx have already secured the No. 1 seed, so Minnesota coach Cheryl Reeve could start managing her players’ workloads. Hammon knows her team needs to be prepared no matter what.
“We’re still playing for playoff seeding, so I don’t know what Cheryl is going to do. I imagine she’s going to play most of her people,” Hammon said. “But she’ll make a read. … Every team kind of goes through that process, especially towards the end when you’re getting ready to make a big push.”
‘The two best players’
Hammon has consistently said Wilson deserves to win her fourth MVP award this season, which would be a WNBA record.
Wilson entered the season as the second choice to win the award at the Westgate SuperBook behind Indiana Fever star Caitlin Clark. But Lynx forward Napheesa Collier has since become the overwhelming favorite.
Collier is the -900 favorite to win her first MVP award at the Westgate SuperBook, while Wilson is the +600 second choice.
“I think there’s been a narrative very early on, which I don’t understand,” Hammon said of Wilson being quickly overlooked. “It’s not a participation prize. Everybody doesn’t get a prize.”
Hammon said Wilson and Collier are “the two best players” but used a hypothetical to make the case for Wilson.
“If you have one game, or you’re starting your franchise and you have one pick, make your pick,” Hammon said.
Wilson, 29, leads the WNBA in blocks per game (2.2) and is second in rebounds per game (10.1). She is also second in the league in points per game (23.4) behind Collier (23.5), but has more total points because Collier has missed 10 games this season.
Wilson missed the Aces’ first matchup with the Lynx with a concussion and sat out much of the next two meetings, which were both blowouts in favor of Minnesota.
That means Thursday could be the first time the MVP favorites truly go head-to-head.
“(Collier has) always been this very versatile player,” Wilson said. “So to see her develop her game and her name in this league doesn’t come by any surprise to me, because I just know her style of play. I know how hard it is to guard, so it was just a matter of time. But it’s always been mutual respect between (us) and it’s cool to see it all kind of pan out in this way.”
Brighter lights, addition loading
Wilson squealed with joy when Hammon told the Aces they were practicing at T-Mobile Arena on Wednesday instead of their Henderson headquarters.
“I don’t know why I like T-Mobile. T-Mobile is a lot of fun. The energy is there,” Wilson said. “No offense to Michelob, but the lighting is really, really good. So I’m excited.”
Hammon had a simple reason for why she likes T-Mobile Arena.
“More fans,” she said.
Luckily for both Wilson and Hammon, the Aces will play their three remaining regular-season home games at the venue. They could also welcome another player to the fold at T-Mobile Arena.
Veteran forward Cheyenne Parker-Tyus, who has yet to play for the Aces after giving birth to her son in June, is aiming to return Sept. 9 against the Chicago Sky.
“She’s wanting to do probably more than we’re letting her do right now,” Hammon said. “But we just want to make sure the process is as safe as possible.”
Parker-Tyus participated in shootaround before a win over the Atlanta Dream on Aug. 27, then stayed in town to keep working during the Aces’ three-game road trip. She was integrated into practices during the team’s break and participated in her first full-court scrimmage Tuesday.
“It’s not easy, but it’s definitely worth it,” Parker-Tyus said. “I’m willing to grind through that toughness and the hard part, because I know that it’s a super fulfilling feeling to get back where I want to be.”
Contact Callie Fin at cfin@reviewjournal.com. Follow @CallieJLaw on X.
