Injured Aces center hoping to return ‘as soon as possible’
Megan Gustafson watched from a chair behind the sideline as the Aces practiced at Michelob Ultra Arena on Monday.
Shortly after a trainer taped her ankle, the backup center remarked it had been a week since she went down with what the team described as a lower left leg injury.
Gustafson will miss the Aces’ home preseason game against the Phoenix Mercury on Tuesday — along with guard Dana Evans (left knee) and forward Cheyenne Parker-Tyus (pregnancy) — but she’s optimistic she won’t miss the entire season. The team said she’s out indefinitely.
“Really, it’s kind of up in the air, but the goal is to come back this season,” Gustafson said. “We’re just gonna keep rehabbing as much as possible and try to get back as soon as possible.”
Gustafson, reliant on crutches, worked with Aces coaches Monday to shoot while balancing on one leg for the first time. She said she was hurt by landing on someone’s foot the second day of training camp. A look at her leg showed bruising that reached all the way to her toes.
Gustafson said the injury was a difficult blow after she skipped her regular overseas commitments to be a mainstay at the Aces’ facility this offseason.
She hoped her decision to stay in Las Vegas would put her in position to build off last season, when she made a career-high seven starts in 38 appearances and averaged 3.7 points and 1.9 rebounds per game.
“It’s tough, because I felt like I was playing some of my best, best basketball,” Gustafson said of her offseason workouts with the Aces. “I’ve been working on parts of my game that people really haven’t been able to see: Driving, specifically, being aggressive, getting to the rim, ball handling. And so I was really excited, feeling really good, but this is just a pause, and I’ll be back soon. Well, we’ll see. I don’t really know, to be honest. But yeah, as soon as I can.”
Gustafson, who played for the Mercury for two seasons before joining the Aces on a two-year, non-guaranteed contract, hopes she can still contribute to her team’s success while she recovers.
“Especially to the younger players, just trying to help them out with the system,” she said. “Obviously, I’ve been here for a year now, and I know the system really well, but also scouting to help them understand their opponents. I think that’s really important.”
A’One night
The Aces will celebrate three-time WNBA MVP A’ja Wilson’s first signature shoe with Nike during Tuesday’s game by offering giveaways and activations for fans in what the team is calling A’One night.
Coach Becky Hammon said Wilson’s shoe release in February was a long time coming.
“I’m so happy with how Nike’s rolled out everything,” Hammon said. “I would have liked it to have been about a year earlier. But (Wilson) told me, ‘Coach, calm down. Be patient.’ So I’m glad it’s finally here. … I should ask her, ‘Are you tired of seeing yourself yet?’ Because every time I turn on the TV, I’m seeing her face on a Gatorade commercial, Nike commercial, some car commercial. So I’m happy for her. She’s earned every bit of it.”
Contact Callie Fin at cfin@reviewjournal.com. Follow @CallieJLaw on X.