BROOKLYN, NEW YORK — After tweaking her ankle in Friday’s win, A’ja Wilson is out for today’s matchup between the Las Vegas Aces and the New York Liberty — and head coach Becky Hammon had some fun revealing her new-look starting lineup.
Becky Hammon had reporters guess A’ja Wilson’s starting lineup replacement for Aces
Wilson will miss her first regular season game in three seasons due to a twisted ankle suffered Friday in a win against the Connecticut Sun.
Photo by M. Anthony Nesmith/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
Noa Dalzell is a senior writer covering the WNBA and all of women’s basketball for Breakaway, SB Nation’s women’s sports vertical, as well as the Celtics for CelticsBlog.
Wilson, who suffered the ankle injury against the Connecticut Sun, wasn’t originally listed on the injury report, but was ruled out a few hours before tipoff and seen wearing a walking boot entering Barclays Center.
Hammon confirmed that Wilson had imaging done, adding: “Everything is basically clear — there’s no long-term concerns.”
Pregame, Hammon was asked who was starting, and flipped that question back to the room.
“Who would you guess? And I’ll tell you true or false,” Hammon said with a smile. Reporters jumped in with guesses before Megan Gustafson was ultimately revealed to be the fifth starter. Kiah Stokes was a popular guess among the media members, but Hammon said will be coming off the bench.
“We were actually going back and forth between those two, so you’re on the right track,” Hammon said.
Megan Gustafson has averaged 10.2 minutes per game this season, and while replacing Wilson is an impossible task, she’s managed to provide reliable minutes this season for Las Vegas.
Wilson , meanwhile, will miss her first regular season game in three seasons, but could be reinserted back into the lineup soon. The Aces next play the Fever on Wednesday, and it doesn’t sound like the two-time MVP is already out for that one.
“We’ll see her status heading into Indiana,” Hammon said, noting she didn’t mind Wilson getting some extra rest.
For now, Hammon will start Jackie Young, Chelsea Gray, Kelsey Plum, Alysha Clark, and Megan Gustafson for the Aces. For the Liberty, Sabrina Ionescu, Courtney Vandersloot, Betnijah Laney-Hamilton, Breanna Stewart, and Jonquel Jones start.
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