Before the Las Vegas Aces even got on the floor against the Seattle Storm in Game 1, Becky Hammon was already fired up about something else — the new playoff format.
This year, the WNBA switched to a 1-1-1 setup. Higher seeds get Game 1 at home, then travel for Game 2, and if it goes the distance, they’re back on their own court for Game 3. On paper, it means every playoff team gets at least one home crowd.
Hammon wasn’t impressed.
“I don’t like it. You look at a team like Phoenix, dropping that one, they’re gonna have all the pressure,” she said. “I think this conversation came up last year, when Indiana didn’t get a game, and they were upset. But for me, people just gotta get, you gotta finish better.”
She also pointed out the grind of flying back and forth in such a short series. One bad night could mean coast-to-coast travel before teams even settle in.
If the format was a distraction, it didn’t show. The Aces rolled Seattle 102-77, protecting home court with ease. Now they’ll head to Climate Pledge Arena with a chance to end the series early.
“Playing the perfect basketball at the right time”: A’ja Wilson, Becky Hammon, going for perfection after their 17th straight win
The win stretched Vegas’ streak to 17 in a row, just one shy of the all-time record the Sparks set in 2001. A’ja Wilson, as usual, was locked in. She said Hammon’s leadership sets the tone, and the rest of the locker room follows.
“She really sets the tone, and it trickles down to me. Then we go into the locker room and we make sure everyone is on the same page,” Wilson said.
Still, Wilson downplayed the streak. For her, it’s about the bigger picture.
“You guys celebrate this more than we do. The streak stopped in the regular season,” she said with a laugh. “Now it’s about playing the perfect basketball at the right time.”
With Hammon steering and Wilson pushing for nothing less than perfection, the Aces look ready to keep chasing history.
For more basketball content, click on Hardwood Heroics. Sabel Reyes can be reached through sabelreyes22@gmail.com. Other websites under the Sports Heroics umbrella are Gridiron Heroics and Wisconsin Heroics.
Sabel has been working as a field reporter for People’s Television Network (PTV), mainly about the Philippine Basketball Association since 2016 and has been elevated to Executive Producer for sports in 2022. Aside from being on top of the Philippine sports scene, she is also a running enthusiast. You can also follow her on X at @SabelReyes2 and Instagram at @msabelreyes.
