Aces excited to receive Olympic rings before home opener

USA Basketball will present A’ja Wilson, Chelsea Gray, Jackie Young and new addition Jewell Loyd with commemorative rings ahead of their matchup with the Washington Mystics at 7 p.m. at Michelob Ultra Arena.

All four of them contributed to Team USA’s gold medal victory over France at the Paris Olympics last summer, with Wilson being named MVP of the tournament.

Also the reigning WNBA MVP, Wilson recorded four double-doubles over the six contests in Paris and averaged 18.7 points and 10.2 rebounds per game.

When asked about the ceremony Thursday, she said she had no idea she’d be adding more hardware to her trophy chest.

“Obviously the gold medal is (enough) for us,” Wilson said. “So, yeah, the ceremony is gonna be cool, but we know that the biggest ceremony of them all is making sure that we get a win tomorrow.”

Gray was similarly unaware of the looming celebration.

“I had no idea,” the point guard said. “I’m happy. I mean, it’s a lot of hard work that we dedicated to our craft to be able to even have a chance to get a ring. So I’m excited for that.”

Loyd, a tough critic, couldn’t help but poke at the 67-66 score in the gold medal game.

“I think the way we represented our country was pretty good,” she said. “Obviously, it was a closer game than we thought (it would be). But, besides that, I think it’s a really good honor.”

Last season’s lesson

In light of their first regular-season game at “The House,” the Aces were able to rattle off countless memories from their home court, from raising their two championship banners to reveling in Wilson becoming the first player in WNBA history to record 1,000 points in a season.

The recollections weren’t all positive, however.

“The way we walked off the floor last year probably sticks with me the most,” coach Becky Hammon said. “So that’s not a pleasant memory.”

The Aces squad that saw its season ended at home in the semifinals against the Liberty featured 11 players, six of whom played in the Olympics as the WNBA season took a monthlong break for the Games.

Now with the Los Angeles Sparks, Kelsey Plum was the Aces’ fourth Olympian on Team USA last season. Meanwhile, center Megan Gustafson led Spain and Tiffany Hayes played on the 3-on-3 squad for Azerbaijan.

Hammon said she’s looking forward to acknowledging the accomplishment for her players and moving on.

“It was somewhat of a distraction just leading up to the Olympics,” Hammon said. “Everybody knew we had this huge break coming. Everybody knew we had (multiple players) that were going to be logging pretty substantial minutes. … There was just a lot going on. And so not having that hanging around, it has been nice.”

Familiarity with Loyd

Loyd noted that the Olympics forced everyone to put their bodies “through a lot of stuff,” but that the Aces can now benefit from it by prioritizing recovery. Gray agreed.

“Those are the things that we can kind of harp on when it gets to the grind in July and August of the season, and especially on those road trips when we’re playing every other day,” Gray said.

There’s also a chemistry aspect from the Olympics that Wilson and Hammon said could pay dividends throughout the season.

“If it benefits them, it’s because they have experience playing with each other,” Hammon said. “Adding (Loyd) into the mix in their time with USA Basketball … it’s just made it easier and more seamless.”

Wilson listed a few things the Aces should glean from the Olympics in addition to the familiarity with Loyd.

“It’s hard to be an Olympian,” Wilson said. “And I think for us as WNBA players, it’s even harder because it’s in the middle of our season. So knowing how to flip the switches on and off, knowing when we can be a superstar but also a role player on the Olympic team, is also going to be key. So I think it just kind of helps us overall.”

Contact Callie Fin at cfin@reviewjournal.com. Follow @CallieJLaw on X.