Aces calm before historic WNBA Finals against Liberty

Less than 48 hours before Game 1 of the WNBA Finals, Chelsea Gray was bouncing on a giant trampoline.

The All-Star point guard was waiting to speak to the media following the Aces’ practice Friday at Michelob Ultra Arena, and Gray’s boredom led her to commandeer the trampoline normally reserved for the Aces’ mascot. She was quickly joined by teammates Jackie Young and Alysha Clark.

“When they step on the court, they’re all business,” coach Becky Hammon said. “And when they step off, they are all clowns. So I’ve learned to just let them be themselves.”

The top-seeded Aces are on the precipice of history. Three more wins, and they’ll become the first team to repeat as WNBA champions since Lisa Leslie’s Los Angeles Sparks won consecutive titles in 2001 and 2002.

Game 1 of the WNBA Finals against the New York Liberty will tip off at noon Sunday at Michelob Ultra Arena.

The Aces are trying to cement their 2023 campaign as perhaps the greatest season in WNBA history. Their 34 regular-season wins set a league record, and they also became just the eighth team to lead the league in offensive and defensive rating.

A championship can validate their regular-season dominance.

Only the No. 2-seeded Liberty stand in the Aces’ path. The Finals will feature five No. 1 overall draft picks — six if Aces forward Candace Parker miraculously returns from her broken foot — the league’s three most recent MVPs and two championship-winning coaches.

Yet the Aces don’t appear too stressed about the whole ordeal.

“I think our team best operates if we’re having fun and enjoying each other,” Gray said. “You don’t get this time back. A lot of people never get a chance to play in the Finals and compete for a championship, so we’re having fun with it.”

However, don’t mistake the Aces’ casual demeanor for complacency. Gray said the Aces have been locked in during practice, and two-time MVP A’ja Wilson added that the team has continued to prepare like it has during its undefeated run through the playoffs.

“We definitely let y’all see what we want y’all to see,” Wilson said.

Wilson simply wants to get back on the court. The Aces haven’t played since their 64-61 win against the No. 4 Dallas Wings on Sept. 29. Wilson joked that she understood Hall of Fame guard Allen Iverson’s famous rant about practice better now, as she simply wants to get on to the games.

Wilson was far from the only member of the Aces who wasn’t a fan of the long break. All-Star guard Kelsey Plum said the layoff has thrown off her daily rhythm a bit. Clark said Hammon did a good job balancing heavy practices with time for the players to recover, but the coach said she also hates the long break.

Hammon said she’s had to prevent herself from overthinking the matchup. She wants to keep things digestible for her players entering Sunday, and she’ll worry about adjustments once they actually play a game.

“We’re itching to go,” she said. “We’ve had all week to prepare and rest, so now it’s just about going out there and executing the game plan.”

Contact reporter Andy Yamashita at ayamashita@reviewjournal.com. Follow @ANYamashita on X.