Aces ready for Valkyries, an expansion team with familiar faces
Even though the Aces have enjoyed a long break since their last game, Becky Hammon sent her players out of Thursday’s post-practice huddle with an emphatic message about rest and recovery.
“I want juice on Saturday because this team plays hard. And I wanna play harder,” the coach said.
After rounding out a 4-2 start with a bounce-back win over the Seattle Storm on Sunday, the Aces will travel to Northern California to face the Golden State Valkyries (2-5) at noon Saturday at Chase Center in San Francisco.
“They play as a group and really hammer the boards. If we match their energy right out the gate, I feel really good about us,” Hammon said. “But I want to have legs, because they get up and down (the court) like crazy.”
While Hammon made her evaluation of the WNBA’s new expansion team based on film from its first six games, the Aces have an extra layer of familiarity with the Valkyries’ personnel.
Coach Natalie Nakase and guards Kate Martin and Tiffany Hayes were part of the Aces organization last year.
Hayes, who was Sixth Player of the Year for the burst she provided the Aces last year, will be a game-time decision Saturday after she took a blow to the face and did not return in the Valkyries’ loss to the Minnesota Lynx on Sunday.
Martin exploded for a season-high 14 points off the bench in that game.
Before noting that Martin “came in the other day against Minnesota and hit ’em,” Hammon said the team also planned as if Hayes will play because she’s an opponent who requires preparation.
Rookie and vet
Aces star A’ja Wilson praised the energy boost Hayes provides, but lit up when asked about Martin. The reigning WNBA MVP took the then-rookie under her wing last season as Martin became a fan favorite in Las Vegas and on the road.
Wilson and Martin came from rival schools, Martin entering the league after a second consecutive NCAA Tournament championship game loss with Iowa and Wilson hailing from South Carolina, which won the title that year.
To describe their relationship, Wilson used a fitting fowl analogy.
“It’s kind of like one of those things when your bird leaves the nest,” Wilson said of Martin, who was selected by the Valkyries in the expansion draft. “(I’m) just so happy to see her grow and prosper. But I’m also super excited to get up there, just to see (Nakase) in the head coaching position, and also continue to work on us.”
Wilson made sure to get a joke in as she explained that she and Martin haven’t really been able to keep in touch.
“No one really talks to anybody other than their teammates right now,” Wilson said. “But I’m excited to see her. I don’t know how I feel about her looking in those different colors.”
Growth
Nakase was an assistant on Hammon’s staff as the Aces won back-to-back titles. She left for the Valkyries shortly after the Aces’ three-peat bid ended in the semifinals last year.
In the same way that Nakase left for a bigger role, Hayes joined the Valkyries in free agency instead of returning to the Aces in what her agent described as a last-minute pivot.
On the first day of training camp, Hammon said those exits contributed to a period of personal introspection she underwent in the offseason. She even cited the personnel turbulence as a reason she decided to step away as an ESPN analyst.
“I’ve got a lot of respect for the people that left and walked away,” she said. “Change is inevitable. And so I’ve done a lot of processing. I think I’ve probably grown just individually as a coach and person this offseason. I don’t like losing.”
In a recent interview, Nakase cited the Aces’ championship years as two of the hardest in her life. Hammon recalled all the challenges Thursday, saying that she’d often text Nakase as late as 3 a.m. during their playoff runs.
“That’s what we signed up for,” Hammon said. “I’m sure she’s got some late nights now, too.”
Hammon is likely right, as the Valkyries are in the midst of a four-game losing streak.
“Short-term pain for long-term results,” Nakase told reporters of her team’s morale after its most recent loss Thursday at Phoenix. “I want them to feel it because, in that amount of pain, we talk about that’s the amount that you gotta grow.”
Contact Callie Fin at cfin@reviewjournal.com. Follow @CallieJLaw on X.