WNBA FINALS: LAS VEGAS VS. CONNECTICUT

September 10, 2022

A'ja Wilson

Las Vegas Aces

Practice Day

Q. Is it concerning when I look at Connecticut in the Playoffs, as the game progresses, their best defensive quarter is the fourth?

A’JA WILSON: Not really concerning, I think that is pretty much for a lot of people, you really lock-in in the fourth quarter because it’s either they make you or they break you in that sense. So I don’t really think we are going to be concerned in that sense, I think it is more so on us and how we can get the basketball moving and popping and producing for one another and getting each other open. At that point, it doesn’t matter who is guarding you, you just gotta stick to your system.

Q. You have been in some pretty big games between the NCAA, Olympics and one of these [WNBA Finals] before, how does this rank or feel different?

A’JA WILSON: I think probably in my first Finals, I felt like I was just happy to be there but here I feel like I earned it. I feel like I am supposed to be here, and it is not like a shock. I think we took everybody like “ooh wow, the Aces are actually in the Finals” and it’s like “oh great, cute, look at them in the Finals”. Now it’s like we are putting in our footprint and I think that is the biggest thing, that’s how different it is, that is why it is so high on my list, because it is a good feeling when you have earned it, when you have put the work in and you see the rewards coming out and you see everyone reaping the benefits of what you put in and what we put in. So, I think that is the biggest difference, is just the feeling in our locker room.

Q. Chelsea Gray is on a tear this offseason, what is it like to be on the court seeing these shots and knowing that you are benefitting so highly from it?

A’JA WILSON: Fire. I just remember seeing Chelsea play when she was with the Sparks and I was like man she is just nice with it, like she’s cold and now being on the court with her, I am even. Catching myself looking like “she really just made that”, playoff Chelsea is a different beast, and I am so glad she is on our side, because it is not just about the shot making, it is not just about the playmaking, it is about how she dissects the game for us so that it can be easy for us and the calmness she has in the locker room is huge.