The Aces were supposed to be clowning Alysha Clark any chance they could get.
That’s what coach Becky Hammon said she would do after the veteran forward absentmindedly inbounded the ball to opponent Arike Ogunbowale in the Aces’ 95-81 win over the Dallas Wings on June 5.
Instead, Hammon found herself praising Clark just two days after the “Shaqtin’ a Fool”-worthy moment.
“She’s always so prepared,” Hammon said before the Aces’ 78-65 win over the Seattle Storm on June 7. “Pretty much any team she’s been on, she just inserts her value. And that kind of professionalism, the kind of example that she lays down for every teammate and in every locker room that she walks into, it’s rare.”
Those traits have led to Clark’s longevity.
At 37, Clark is the second-oldest player in the WNBA, a fact she herself had to double-check to believe. Only the league’s all-time leading scorer, 42-year-old Diana Taurasi, is older.
Clark’s role with the Aces isn’t about scoring the most points. She’s still an invaluable piece off the bench for the team as it chases its third consecutive championship.
The Aces’ penultimate regular season game is at 7 p.m. Tuesday against the Seattle Storm at Climate Pledge Arena, a potential playoff preview given the two sides are likely to meet in the first round. It also represents a sort of homecoming for Clark, who played for the Storm from 2012-20, winning two titles in the process.
Finding her groove again
Clark doesn’t feel like she’s consistently played up to her own standards this season.
“Something I’ve always prided myself on over my career is being effective and productive — doing things that I’m used to doing, like being able to knock down open shots,” Clark said Thursday. “When I’m not doing those things, it’s a bit frustrating. Because the way I view it is, like, ‘Bro, you have one job.”
Something wasn’t quite right even on her birthday.
The Aces hosted the Wings on July 7, the day Clark turned 37. “Happy Birthday Alysa Clark” flashed on the jumbotron at Michelob Ultra Arena throughout the game, but the player of honor went 0-for-4 from the field in the first half. She turned it around in the second, finishing with six points.
Superstar forward A’ja Wilson poured water on Clark after the 104-85 victory. It was an example of the support Clark has received during an emotionally taxing season. She’s needed it.
She’s not far removed from the loss of her father, Kenneth Duane Clark, who died in September 2022. She dedicated her 2023 season to him but said this campaign has been different.
“The passing of my dad has hit me really hard this year,” Clark said. “I think because last year I was just in survival mode and just trying to get through the days. This year, it’s like I’m actually having time to process that loss. And so that was really hard.”
Clark said she feels like she’s “trending upward” as the playoffs approach.
She hit a season high in points Wednesday, scoring 14 off the bench in the Aces’ 86-75 win over the Indiana Fever.
Hammon said the next day she never felt like Clark was slacking. She applauded the veteran for being able to adapt to any role the Aces have asked her to play this season.
“She’s been great for us all year,” Hammon said. “She has a skill set of her own. I’ve thrown her in and out of the starting lineups this year. She’s just steady Eddy. I mean, she’s like a rudder on a ship. She just moves you in the direction.”
Juggling a lot
The Aces have a saying.
The team has a scouting report on its opponent. And then the savvy Clark has one of her own.
It’s one of the many ways she provides value off the court. She dedicates her time to advocacy work. She takes an active role in the WNBA players’ union. She goes out of her way to do things for her teammates, like buying rookie Kate Martin a custom gold chain or decorating the lockers of the Aces’ six Olympians before they returned from Paris.
“I’m a professional athlete, and a professional compartmentalizer,” Clark said.
Clark even stayed busy last offseason, filming a cooking show called “Off-Seasoning” with the media network PlayersTV. It was supposed to come out in May, but her manager, Alexis Robinson, said Monday the release has been delayed as they work out the “business details with more sponsors and partners.”
Robinson said Clark is masterful at “not doing too much.”
Clark is a homebody, but she does cryotherapy and whatever else the Aces recommend to take care of her body. She also is careful with her diet, Robinson said.
“I think it’s hard to believe that she is as old as she is,” Robinson said. “She treats herself well.”
What’s next
It’s not lost on Clark that she has more years of basketball behind her than ahead. She’s the same age Hammon was when she retired as a player.
But Clark came to basketball late. She didn’t start playing the sport until high school as a way to stay in shape for track. She ended up sticking with it through some tough times, as she was picked 17th overall in the 2010 WNBA draft by the San Antonio Silver Stars but didn’t make the team’s roster in 2010 or 2011.
Clark now feels that delayed start may have been a blessing in disguise. She’s outlasted all of her draft classmates and has a personal retirement timeline she won’t share.
All she said was that she hopes to do something she feels is impactful in her post-WNBA career. But first things first, she hopes to help the Aces win another title.
Contact Callie Lawson-Freeman at clawsonfreeman@reviewjournal.com. Follow @CallieJLaw on X.
Up next
Who: Aces at Storm
When: 7 p.m. Tuesday
Where: Climate Pledge Arena, Seattle
TV: SSSEN, NBAtv
Radio: KWWN (1100 AM, 100.9 FM)
Line: Aces -6½; total 162½
