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As the WNBA resumes play following the Paris Olympics, players like A'ja Wilson of the Las Vegas Aces and Breanna Stewart of the New York Liberty are speaking out about the need for an extended break after major international tournaments, including the Olympics and the All-Star break. The quick turnaround from the Paris Games to the WNBA’s 40-game season sparked discussions about the need for more rest and recovery time, especially in future collective bargaining agreements.
Wilson, who helped lead Team USA to its eighth consecutive gold medal, expressed the toll that the intense schedule has taken on players.
“I definitely needed some time to decompress,” Wilson said, as reported by Doug Feinberg of the Associated Press. “Playing USAB (USA Basketball) is a whole other thought and mind process that you might not necessarily have to exert that much energy when you play with your respective team.”
Wilson emphasized the importance of allowing players a few extra days to rest, recover and get back into the flow of their WNBA season.
“I think if it is a chance for us to go to the table and say, ‘Hey, we should get more rest time,’ even if it’s … just a couple of days. It’s crazy to see players play fresh off of a plane in a sense. So yeah, I don’t mind asking for that.”
Breanna Stewart agrees with A'ja Wilson about WNBA break
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Wilson's sentiment is echoed by Stewart, who also a member of the gold medal U.S. women’s basketball team at the Paris Olympics. Stewart noted the unique challenge posed by the combination of the Olympic schedule and the WNBA's extended season.
“I think that even in a non-Olympic year, you think about All-Star, it’s like, everybody needs some time after All-Star break, or it’s not a break. So trying to kind of push that into the CBA, I think would be really important .., Especially following the Olympics, because we’ve never had an Olympics in a 40-game season, except this season,” Stewart said.
The WNBA’s decision to resume games just four days after the Paris Games ended has raised concerns among players. Stewart pointed out the physical and mental strain of traveling from Paris to the West Coast to play in Los Angeles, a nine-hour time difference from France.
“From the W’s perspective, I’m sure they’re like, well, we don’t want to be not showing games for an entire month or a month plus. But at the same time, understanding the players’ perspective I think is really important … It’s wild, from Paris to the West Coast, so it’s just like, not an ideal situation,” Stewart said. “It’s like, onto the next, onto the next, onto the next, where we kind of even really celebrate what we did, of winning a gold medal, as much as you would want to.”
