Aces rule out 2 starters ahead of crucial WNBA Finals Game 4

NEW YORK — Chelsea Gray, the 2022 WNBA Finals MVP, and starting center Kiah Stokes are both out with foot injuries ahead of Game 4, Aces coach Becky Hammon announced Tuesday.

“Next woman up,” Hammon said.

The top-seeded Aces play the No. 2 New York Liberty in Game 4 of the WNBA Finals at 5 p.m. Wednesday at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. The Aces lead the best-of-five series 2-1 and have a chance to win the first repeat WNBA championship in 21 seasons.

Hammon also teased a possible return for two-time MVP Candace Parker, who hasn’t played since July 7 because of a left foot fracture. However, the 37-year-old center wasn’t seen at practice and later Tuesday was declared out for Wednesday’s game.

Gray, a 2023 second-team All-WNBA guard, exited Game 3 with 4:15 remaining and did not return after suffering a left foot injury. She appeared at Aces practice Tuesday wearing a boot and using a scooter to move around the court.

Stokes finished Game 3, but said she woke up with her foot hurting following the game Sunday. She was on crutches and had a boot on her right foot.

“It’s just one of those things where it just didn’t feel right while I was walking around,” Stokes said.

Gray has been crucial for the Aces since signing with the team in free agency ahead of the 2021 season. She led the team to its first championship in 2022 while earning All-Star nods in 2021 and 2023. This season, she averaged a career-high 15.3 points and set the Aces’ franchise record with 7.3 assists per game.

Stokes joined the Aces during the 2021 season after being waived by the Liberty. She emerged as a starter late in the team’s 2022 championship campaign and returned to the starting five in mid-July after Parker’s injury. Stokes had eight points and two made 3-pointers during the Aces’ 104-76 Game 2 win.

This is far from the first time the Aces have lost key rotation pieces this season. Parker’s injury and Riquna Williams’ legal troubles cost the Aces two expected contributors before the playoffs began. Hammon said her team had been forged in adversity this season and expects to lean on their past experience. Gray agreed, and said she expects everybody to step up for Game 4.

“We haven’t been whole all season,” Gray said. “It’s next person up, and it’s for a championship, so I know everybody’s ready for it.”

Gray and Stokes’ injuries will force Hammon to look farther down her bench. The Aces have played a six-player rotation — the starting five plus 2023 Sixth Player of the Year Alysha Clark — since the semifinals.

Second-year wing Kierstan Bell, Australian center Cayla George, ninth-year guard Sydney Colson and fifth-year center Alaina Coates have combined for 25 minutes in the Finals through three games. The Aces will be relying on all of them to step up in Gray and Stokes’ place to have a chance at clinching in Game 4.

“Everybody’s going to get a crack. Everybody’s going to get a shot,” Hammon said. “Everybody just has to be ready to go, locked in. We do have pure professionals on the bench. They’ve known the game plan from the start.”

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