Las Vegas Aces players stay active during coronavirus pandemic
Aces guard Kelsey Plum is figuring it out, slowly but surely.
How not to play basketball.
“I don’t even know. I feel lost, a little bit,” said Plum, pausing introspectively. “But I have faith that eventually we’re going to get through this and we’re going to be OK.”
Plum is in Las Vegas during the coronavirus crisis, as are teammates A’ja Wilson and Lindsay Allen. The three are adjusting to what Allen termed the “new normal” as they await the WNBA season, finding different things to fill their sudden surplus of free time.
They fancy different programming and different kinds of exercise. But there is one commonality among the three, who like so many other WNBA players compete and travel year-round.
Time for reflection.
“It’s given me an opportunity to reflect on my career and the future. … How can I be a better person?” Wilson said. “It’s given me the opportunity to think about things I don’t really think about because I would be in the gym or I would be working out somewhere. It’s just a cycle. You get caught up in the cycle. This virus really helped me break this cycle and get in touch with my inner self. I can really appreciate that.”
Wilson also is filling time by watching movies and TV shows — she watched the engrossing TV series “You” last week on Netflix — and working out in the morning and at night.
She follows a fitness application on her phone that suggests circuits of 10 to 12 exercises she can do at home and can consult her personal trainer accordingly.
She also occasionally walks around her neighborhood.
“I’m staying active as much as I can,” said Wilson, who trained during the offseason with USA Basketball’s senior national team and probably would have played in the Olympics this summer. “Definitely just trying to keep up to speed.”
Allen has been catching up on NBC’s “This Is Us” and “Brooklyn Nine-Nine” and ABC’s “Grey’s Anatomy.” She also likes to walk around her neighborhood and go to parks and continues strengthening the knee that she injured before the 2019 WNBA season, costing her the entire campaign.
“Going out and getting groceries and stuff, seeing how empty the streets are. … It’s just what we have to get used to right now,” said Allen, who returned from her injury during the WNBA offseason to play with the Melbourne Boomers in Australia’s Women’s National Basketball League. “It’s a shame, seeing how many people have been affected by this as well.”
Plum said her life is usually fast paced, with a focus on what’s next and without a lot of time to spend with loved ones. She said the pandemic has “put everything in perspective,” noting her gratefulness for friends, family and medical personnel combating the disease.
She’s worked on a jigsaw puzzle and stays fit with Pilates and yoga. She also delved into HBO’s “Succession” and Netflix’s “Tiger King.”
“If (basketball) is all that I’m losing, then this is nothing,” said Plum, who also trained with USA Basketball’s senior national team and was part of its 3-on-3 Olympic qualifying team.
“People are losing their lives. People are losing their loved ones. I’m not trying to focus on me and what I’m able to not do. I’m more focused on kind of the bigger picture.”
Contact reporter Sam Gordon at sgordon@reviewjournal.com. Follow @BySamGordon on Twitter.