Aces ‘hurt for each other’ after title defense ends against Liberty

Hours after the Aces’ season-ending loss to the New York Liberty, reminders of the swan song that unfolded Sunday were still scattered around Michelob Ultra Arena.

A handmade sign that read “Go Aces” in red and black marker laid on the floor under a VIP seat behind the baseline. It was surrounded by disposable trays that once held concessions during a thrilling Game 4 the Liberty won 76-62 to advance to the 2024 WNBA Finals.

The cleanup crew navigated around a pair of Timberland boots that sat on the visitors bench as a reminder of the victor’s final taunt. The boots are considered a staple of New York fashion, so the Liberty’s social media team planted its flag by placing a pair on the Aces’ logo at center court.

All evidence of the game was gone from Michelob Ultra Arena by Monday, including the court. There were concerts and shows to host. Meanwhile, the 2022 and 2023 WNBA champions were left to face the reality that their season was done.

“I mean, it hurts now,” coach Becky Hammon said Sunday. “I promise you it’s gonna hurt tomorrow, probably worse, because it sets in the next day.”

Point guard Chelsea Gray, who missed the Aces’ first 12 games this season with a lower left leg injury, knows about pain. Her recovery and subsequent comeback was detailed in a two-part docuseries she helped produce that was recently released by the team.

Gray told the Review-Journal before Friday’s Game 3 that she was only just beginning to feel better. And she wasn’t the only player struggling to get healthy during the Aces’ quest for a third straight championship.

Young ‘day to day’

The Aces played without center Kiah Stokes in Games 3 and 4 against the Liberty with a concussion.

ESPN reporter Holly Rowe also said during Game 2 that guard Jackie Young, who scored 17 points that night, had been playing through an undisclosed injury since the Olympic break.

“I mean, we actually weren’t telling anyone,” Young said Sunday. “So yeah, obviously (I’ve) been dealing with something since the gold medal game (on Aug. 11). I did a lot of treatment. Just doing whatever I can to help my team win. Kind of trying to put that behind me and just give it all out.”

Hammon said when the Aces’ six Olympians came back, a few were banged up.

She rested Young against the Atlanta Dream on Aug. 30 and sat Young in a few subsequent fourth quarters. Hammon never explicitly said Young was injured, but like in the NHL, WNBA teams rarely disclose specifics when it comes to injuries. The league’s physicality plays a part in that.

“It’s not like anybody’s going to be dirty, but you obviously go at a person when you know they’re hurt,” Young said. “So, yeah, I think just trying to not talk about it was my way of going about it. And whatever people think, ‘Oh, her numbers are down, whatever,’ … I’m dealing with something people don’t know.”

Young said Friday, after she scored 24 points in Game 3, she still felt “day-to-day.” It showed in Game 4 when she shot 1-for-10 from the field and scored four points. She never stopped trying, however. Young scored the first three points of the game and missed the final shot of the fourth quarter.

‘Hurt for each other’

Gray had surgery for her fifth metatarsal fracture in November, but that wasn’t the end of her road to recovery.

She was dealing with a nagging hip injury when she arrived to training camp in May. Then her foot started hurting before camp ended and she had to start wearing a walking boot again, which Hammon said at the time was a precautionary measure.

Gray required an experimental orthotic before she returned that limited the motion of her midfoot. That forced her to adjust her shot because she had to do everything essentially flat-footed. Gray also got two rounds of painful injections in her hip.

Her docuseries made it clear how difficult things were. Gray said having it released was “kind of like a relief.”

“People had no idea (before), and there was a lot of judgment — which is fine, but it was really, really hard, those months and days where I wasn’t playing, and then when I was coming back,” Gray said.

Hammon said Sunday she also felt for Kierstan Bell, who Hammon said got “behind the ball” after suffering a lower right leg injury early in the season. Bell’s recovery took less than a month, but she couldn’t find a role in the rotation and made only six appearances.

“We also hurt for each other,” Gray said. “All the work that we put in, the highs and lows of this season, injuries, not playing … the hurt is there because we wanted the trophy event. And so that’s, that’s a sign of a competitive locker room. That’s a sign of trying to strive for greatness every time you step on the floor.”

Contact Callie Fin at cfin@reviewjournal.com. Follow @CallieJLaw on X.