WNBA FINALS: STORM VS. ACES

October 6, 2020

A'ja Wilson

Las Vegas Aces

Game 3: Postgame

Seattle Storm 92, Las Vegas Aces 59

Q. How much do you think you grew and this team grew this year knowing that you lost to a really good team and there's a bright future in front of you?

A'JA WILSON: I think we grew tremendously. I think we honestly understand now what it takes to win a championship. I mean, Seattle is a championship team on paper, on court. It's good to have that measure to know this is what we have to do every possession, every minute. I don't think we really understood that till you're in it. That's normally how it is in professional basketball.

But it's a good thing for us. I know that it hurts. I don't know if anyone has lost something big in a game situation, but it's hurts. At the end of the day you learn and grow from it. I feel like I grew, so that's a success in my book. I'm just going to keep growing.

Q. You've talked a lot about closing out quarters. They went on a big run at the end of the first quarter. You weren't able to take advantage of Breanna being out.

A'JA WILSON: It's a huge deal. It's the switch of a game. Could be the change of an outcome. It's key. We knew that going in we're going to have to close out quarters. It's tough. It's not the easiest thing.

At the end of the day we have to rely on our defense for a lot of things. If the ball is not going in, try to stop them. At the end of the day it didn't work. No point looking at it and dwelling on it now. At the end of the day that's going to be a key for us next year.

Q. Obviously you talked a little bit about it, but this first experience in the Finals for a lot of players, what did you learn from that? What will you take forward from this experience?

A'JA WILSON: The biggest thing that I learned from this is sometimes you need to let the confetti hit you. I've been in a lot of situations where the confetti fell on me, it was in my favor. Now I feel like this is something I'm going to take. The confetti hit, it’s not for me. All right, that's not fun. We're going to try it again. That's the biggest thing.

Sometimes you got to feel that to know that it ain't easy, it ain't easy. Sometimes people get caught up in the accolades. Sometimes people get caught up in the person. But it ain't easy. I think when that confetti hits you, it's not in your favor, that's when it knocks you down. That's when it's like, all right, time to do something different.

I think at the end of the day I've learned that. I'm grateful for this moment because I can learn from it, grow from it. I think if we would have won, I would have been like, oh, yeah, okay.

This year it hurts. I'm going to take this and fuel it into my teammates and myself. The biggest thing right now is you learn from it. I can't express that enough. Seattle is a good team. They were the favorites of course coming in. At the end of the day we were right there. We were right there in the Finals with them, of course. That's all I can honestly stay.

Q. How was it playing in the wubble despite these circumstances and fighting for a bigger cause?

A'JA WILSON: I mean, it was good. You have to give a shout out to the people that made it happen, especially during these times too, pandemics. At the end of the day I'm ready to go home, ready to get on a flight and get up out of here.

IMG has been great to us. Really appreciate them. I don't know if I want to be in another wubble, though.

Q. You mentioned learning from it. Thinking back to college, I know how devastated you were in 2016 and 2015. You won a championship in 2017. Do you think back on what you learned from that, say it's another level but sort of the same thing?

A'JA WILSON: Well, yeah. I mean, I feel like before this game here, my worst loss that I felt hard had to be in South Dakota as a sophomore. That's something I took to heart.

But this one here, it hurts. It's something I'm going to look back on and say how can we change, get more involved with everyone, how can I produce more for my team, lead more for them. I just can't do it without them at all. They fueled me to be who I am this season.

We're just going to go from there. It's nothing to force out there. We're just going to find it from within. I think that's going to be key. At the end of the day you got to give credit where it's due. They played one hell of a game. They wanted it more and they deserved it.

Q. The WNBA community and fan base is growing year over year. What message would you give to all girls out there who would like to pursue a basketball career or sports career?

A'JA WILSON: The advice I would give is just have fun with it. Don't let anyone tell you that you can't do nothing. Don't let that glass ceiling stop you from anything. You can break that no matter what. Surround yourself with people with the same like mind and mindset.

Don't let anyone stop you. Don't let anyone tell you you can't do something because you're a girl or woman. At the end of day you're fully capable of doing whatever you put your mind to.

I want to thank all the Aces fans, WNBA fans that were rooting for us, cheering for us. I'm thankful to be in the position I am. I'm just really proud of my team, how much we've overcome this season.