WNBA FINALS: LAS VEGAS VS. CONNECTICUT

September 10, 2022

Rebecca Lobo

LaChina Robinson

WNBA Finals Preview

Q. I wanted to ask about A'ja Wilson. From your perspective, what has she added even more during this game? Obviously, she's stretched her game out a little bit beyond the arc. But for this second MVP season, what stands out to you about her progression and development this season in particular?

REBECCA LOBO: She's a lot better. You know, as you're watching her, you talked about she's expanded her game on the offensive end. She has become better going right than she was before. She's more decisive. She's always been a strong defensive presence, but even more so this year.

She's just gotten better in every area of her game. When we were calling the Semifinals against Seattle, she's also kind of got the perfect demeanor. She only had 10 field goal attempts in Game 1, and then in Game 2 there were moments where she was demanding the ball differently but in the right way and in a way that your teammates want to give it to you.

She's still on the ascent, and she's getting better year to year. She got better, I thought, as the season went on. So not just the three-pointers and her willingness to take those, but she's just gotten better kind of all around.

LaCHINA ROBINSON: I think Rebecca covered everything very well.

The thing that stands out to me about A'ja Wilson this season is she has taken huge jumps in terms of her leadership, in practice, in shootarounds. She's so much more vocal and gives her teammates a lot of confidence.

I would use Jackie Young as an example. We had a clip earlier in the season that ran on air where she told Jackie, Shoot the ball; that's what we get paid to do. Well, you fast forward that conversation to Game 4 of the WNBA Semifinals, and Jackie Young hit some huge shots down the stretch. Even in some conversations with Jackie, she has said that A'ja still instills confidence in her, has empowered her in so many ways.

That's kind of the little things that A'ja Wilson does behind the scenes, I think, that really make her special.

She has absolutely elevated her game in all the ways that Rebecca just described on the offensive and defensive end. But this has to be her best season yet in terms of how her leadership has set the tone for Vegas.

Q. Rebecca, did you foresee your teammate back in 1999 coaching today in the Finals of the WNBA? How happy are you to see Becky Hammon coaching in the Finals?

REBECCA LOBO: You know, there's certain teammates that you have along the way, and often they tend to be point guards, who you certainly feel like they have the makeup to be a really good coach. Becky was one of those in New York. Teresa Weatherspoon was another.

Could I have imagined Becky would take the path she's taken to be in the NBA and then to come to the WNBA after nine years in the NBA and in her first year become Coach of the Year and lead her team to the Finals? Of course not.

But at the same time, I'm not surprised that she has success doing what she's chosen to do because she's always been the underdog who was able to succeed through so much hard work and great personality and those things.

I was thrilled when she took the job in Vegas. I had an interesting conversation with friends and colleagues because some people were like, I'm kind of disappointed; I wanted her to stay in the NBA and become that first female head coach. To me, I was more excited that, no, we shouldn't always look at the NBA as being the pinnacle; it should be to the point where, especially if you're getting -- the big difference between the NBA and the WNBA is the payment. So if you're getting really good money in the WNBA, that's the pinnacle.

I was thrilled when she got the job, and it's really fun to see a friend have the kind of success she's had.

Q. Would you say the league has really bounced back this year, especially after the pandemic? Just talk a little bit about these Finals and how much the league has grown, and in some ways it almost seems like the pandemic in some ways put more viewers on the eyes of the WNBA.

LaCHINA ROBINSON: Well, I've always felt like the WNBA's growth would happen with opportunity or visibility. No doubt the 2020 season put the WNBA on a platform during obviously a crazy time in our world but also an important time for sport, as it seemed to be a space where people could kind of escape everything else we were experiencing.

For many, it was maybe their first time watching the WNBA. Absolutely, that jump-started it.

You also just have to look at the commitment to give this league more visibility on ABC, for example, all of the different platforms that are now streaming WNBA games and how accessible they are via just your phone.

While I definitely think that was a starting point, there's been so many other things that have happened that have led us to this point to see the growth that we're seeing now. You've got to credit the players with how they've used their platforms on social media. We've gotten to know them so well via Twitter and Instagram and fans getting to know them beyond the game, and even the grassroots media coverage. There's so many even smaller media entities that are now committing to covering the WNBA, and we're just seeing so many media organizations more invested in giving the WNBA the attention that it's always deserved.

As everyone increases their commitment and their investment to the WNBA, yes, that equals growth, and hopefully it will continue.

Q. Given her size and her skill set and that she always causes matchup problems, how important is it for the Aces to contain DeWanna Bonner and contain her early?

LaCHINA ROBINSON: DeWanna Bonner is a matchup problem. There's so many different ways that Bonner impacts the game on both ends of the floor that often are overlooked. It starts with her size at 6-4, the length, wingspan, the mobility, the agility. Really has a complete skill set. On the offensive end she can stroke the three, and to me that's when she's at her best, when she's hitting threes at a high percentage.

She has a mid-range game, can get to the rim.

But what I was most impressed with with DeWanna in the series against Chicago was all the ways that she committed to being disruptive on the defensive end, tips, deflections. In this series, the thing that Curt Miller can do with DeWanna, and we'll see what the strategy ends up being, but you can move her around the floor to guard multiple positions. She has the foot speed, the basketball IQ to be able to guard multiple players and multiple type of players at different positions.

Now, she may not have the girth to be able to battle inside, but what she's missing maybe in that area she makes up in wingspan, in length. We saw her on Candace Parker in a couple possessions on switches against Chicago, and Candace was rather hesitant on some of those possessions because DeWanna can cover up shots.

Just a terrific player. You add to that the championship experience, being the only player on the Sun's roster to have won a championship. Curt Miller talked about the importance of her voice, that she can be the calming factor for Connecticut oftentimes when they hit tough spots in a game. Absolutely, she'll be relied on in between the lines on both ends of the floor with her versatility but also as a leader.

REBECCA LOBO: The only thing I'll add to that is if you're looking for a direct correlation stat-wise in the semifinal series to Connecticut having success and not having success, you look at the efficiency of their guard play.

About a month and a half ago we were doing a game, and it was actually the third matchup between Connecticut and Vegas. My colleague Ryan Ruocco asked Curt Miller, Is this a championship-caliber team? And he said, Yes. Ryan followed up with, What do you need for this team to have success? And Curt said, We need efficient guard play.

When Courtney Williams in particular and DeWanna Bonner, the combination of those two players are efficient, Connecticut puts themselves in a great position to win, and when they aren't, Connecticut can struggle. Huge key. Huge key always for Connecticut, including in this series.

Q. The Aces led the league in scoring during the regular season, almost 13 more points than the Sun. They also play a lot faster. How important is pace going to be for the Sun in this series?

REBECCA LOBO: Well, what did Connecticut do to have success against Chicago? They, in Curt Miller's words, made things "messy." Chicago had the second offensive rating in the league. They were the second-highest-scoring team. Connecticut made it messy in Games 1 and 5, holding them to 63 points. Vegas is the No. 1 scoring team, No. 1 in offensive efficiency, so you would imagine it's going to be a similar formula.

Connecticut is going to need to make the game messy, and they do that on defensive end of the floor. They're going to need to be physical. They're going to need to be bruising. At times that might mean slowing the game down, but sometimes they slow the game down with their physicality.

That's what I would expect Connecticut to try to do. It doesn't mean that they'll be able to, but you would think in stretches for them to be successful they're certainly going to have to follow a similar game plan that they had against Chicago.

Q. Rebecca, in your opinion how does the Sun stop Chelsea Gray from getting to her spots on the floor?

REBECCA LOBO: Well, one thing we've all learned from watching the playoffs is it doesn't matter if you can't stop Chelsea from getting to her spots on the floor; she's still going to score. Chelsea has been ridiculous. Even when Seattle played incredible defense on her and maybe made her go to a spot that she didn't want to go to, she still hit shots with a variety of defenders in her face, whether it was small, quick players, whether it was big players on switches, whether it was multiple people.

Chelsea Gray is having a playoff like none other I can remember in memory in terms of the difficulty of shots that she's making and the consistency with which she's doing it.

Our announce crew has talked before games, like, all right, at some point is she going to regress to the mean? No, she hasn't, and I don't know if she will in the Finals.

Connecticut is going to do everything they can, I'm sure, to make it hard for Chelsea Gray, and if Chelsea Gray keeps doing what she's been doing in the playoffs, it won't matter. She'll still shoot over 60 percent from the field and from three on uncontested shots.

Q. LaChina, what makes Kelsey Plum so special this season? Do you like her ability to lead as well as to score aggressively?

LaCHINA ROBINSON: Absolutely. I think the difference in Kelsey Plum is that the game has slowed down for her, and as the game has slowed down, she's been able to utilize more of her offensive arsenal on the court. By that I mean how well she has seen the floor in stretches. She is absolutely always looking to score, and I love the aggressive mindset and her confidence because she's put in the work. But she's also understood the passing aspect of the game at a higher level, and seeing things develop.

Kelsey is a competitor, and that to me is the No. 1 quality that sets her apart is that she's extremely competitive, and in order to win, she's had a high level of understanding that she has to change her body, which she has. She's quicker. She's more agile. She's had to sit down and watch film with Becky and commit time to seeing the game differently.

When you start with a competitive edge and then add to that the work that she's put in, she steps between the lines every game feeling like she can hit every shot, that her team is going to win in every instance. I can imagine for Las Vegas it's great to have a player on your team like that, that believes that no matter who you're playing that you have what it takes to come out on top.

That belief in herself is so admirable in what we've seen from Kelsey this season.

Q. Both teams are playing for their first championship, so the stakes are high. How do you think that will affect the nerves, the focus, the coaching, the decision making on the court, just the intensity of this series?

REBECCA LOBO: Well, both teams have experience playing for championships. Many of them were members of the Connecticut Sun in 2019 when they played against Washington and then in 2020 when a few of the players for Vegas in the bubble were playing against Seattle. Both have players who have won championships.

LaChina mentioned DeWanna Bonner. You also have Chelsea Gray, who has played on championship-winning teams.

I think no matter what coming into a Finals, players are going to be a little bit nervous and eager and excited and all of those things, but both of these teams have been able to win big games in big moments: Connecticut in Game 5 and Vegas a number of games, in particular Game 3 against Seattle.

I think they'll settle in. I think both teams will have nerves because that's natural, but they'll settle in. Both coaches have experience coaching in big moments, close games, and just expect it to -- after that initial moment of setting in or a few moments of settling in that we're just going to be in for some great basketball.

LaCHINA ROBINSON: Yeah, I would agree with everything Rebecca just said. I would just add to that that I feel like the ability to bounce back in stretches in the game where things are going to go wrong is a quality that I look for as two teams approach the Finals.

I can say that after just covering Connecticut, for example, the leadership that they showed coming back from Game 3 where they couldn't hit a layup and then setting a record in the WNBA for paint points, that takes a different level of mental toughness and bounce-back ability, if you believe.

I do believe that both teams will obviously be nervous; it's a big moment. But the sense of urgency that's consistent to me in every possession and your ability to bounce back from some tough stretches in a game, tough possessions, even losing a game in a series to me is kind of the separator, and to Rebecca's point, both of these teams have leadership that have been in these situations. Chelsea Gray in L.A., and though she was supported by a veteran group, that was the first championship for their team, so she's been there for a group where it's been their first. DeWanna Bonner's situation was a little different in Phoenix where Diana (Taurasi), as she told us, was kind of the primary leader. So it's been great watching Bonner kind of grow into that. And even A'ja Wilson, when you look at the Vegas side of things, how she's stepped up from a leadership standpoint.

I do think there will be nerves, and ultimately it comes down to whose leadership gets them through the tough moments of the series that will prevail.

Q. This is going to be a first championship for either of these teams. Wanted to see from you two which team you think this Finals is more important for and why.

REBECCA LOBO: That's an interesting question. I've never thought about it in those terms. It's important for both, of course. It's important -- Becky Hammon from the coaching side is going for your first one in her first year. Curt Miller is coaching in his second Finals. For players on both sides, this could be important to your legacy, to the MVPs, to A'ja Wilson, to Jonquel Jones. Championships are such a clear marker of greatness in professional sport.

I don't think it's necessarily more important to one team or coach or franchise than it is to another, but it's certainly significant to the coach, the franchise and the players that end up with the title.

LaCHINA ROBINSON: For me, I believe this championship is more important for Connecticut. I say that because even though both organizations have gotten to the Finals and had some opportunities, there's a newness to Vegas, so I feel like there's a little bit more patience, if you will. Yes, the organization and the franchise had this move; they've been waiting a long time for their first championship.

But Connecticut has just been there kind of waiting for many years, in the same place, same organization. So it kind of feels like it's overdue for them, and this is a stretch and just a random kind of thought in my mind when I talk about it.

It's important to both, but I kind of feel like because Connecticut has been there, been an established franchise, they've been waiting. It's felt like a long drought, that it's more important to the Sun than a Vegas team that feels like they're just getting off the ground. They have a new head coach, so there's just a newness that maybe the same level of pressure isn't there.

But that's kind of like my Netflix breakdown drama kind of explanation. I hope that makes sense.

REBECCA LOBO: You know what, LaChina, that's a phenomenal point, because you feel like this group for Connecticut is nearing the end of their run as a group together. Because of the free agent signings and everything in Vegas, it feels like that group is at the beginning of their run, so absolutely great point by you.