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The Las Vegas Aces are down to the last card in the season's deck following a loss to the New York Liberty in the WNBA Playoffs. The Liberty needed history from Sabrina Ionescu but the scoreboard does not lie. Head coach Becky Hammon's Aces are now in a 0-2 hole with their three-peak chances hanging by a thread.
Hammon gave the Liberty credit while calling out the “celebrities” on the two-time defending WNBA champion Aces.
“Well, quite frankly we have not had the edge (of a champion),” Hammon explained. “We've found it. I feel like the last month we've gained a lot of ground but the feel was different from the jump. But this is why three-peating is hard. Let's be for real. The whole league has been pissed off for the last eight months, and my players are in commercials, this and that, being freaking celebrities. You get distracted. That's why it is hard.”
“The Liberty took a huge loss last year,” continued Hammon. ” I liken it to that (Spurs team). They had (the title), or felt like they had it, and we walked away with it…They feel like something was stolen a little bit. (Since then), they've kicked our ass.”
Becky Hammon hands Aces a history lesson
Hammon has been around Hall of Famers and NBA Finals squads for longer than the WNBA has existed. She knows a thing or two about 0-2 holes, stolen championships, and battling back from the brink. Having two rings and a roster full of national brand ambassadors only goes so far once the game starts.
“It's human nature. It's distracting,” Hammon added. “Conversely, you think about the (San Antonio) Spurs, or I do all the time. The Spurs against the Miami Heat. They lose an absolute heartbreaker off of a basic thing, an offensive rebound and kick out three. (The Spurs) should have walked away with a title that year. They lost it. The next year, they came back with so much drive, so much discipline, so much focus…”
Hammon had a simple message for ESPN's Alexa Philippou.
“We have neither lost nor won a championship. Nothing has been won tonight,” declared Hammon. “Let there be no doubt, we're in for a war.”
