At 4:26 left in Game 3 of the Finals, Satou Sabally went down. As she went for a rebound, her head made contact with the leg of Kierstan Bell, and the air in the arena turned heavy. The Aces’ locker room, though miles away from the scene, felt it too. But amid the sympathy and concern, it was A’ja Wilson’s response that stood out—not just for her compassion but for her clarity.
Speaking to reporters ahead of Game 4, she said, “I hate to see any player go down”. Drawing from her own concussion experience earlier this season, she added, “The brain is an organ I’d never want to play around with”.
Well, Wilson had been a victim herself, too. During the 97–89 loss to the LA Sparks, she suffered a head injury with 1:17 remaining in the third quarter. Then, she was under concussion protocol for the next 48 hours. So, when Satou went down, every bit of pain resurfaced—especially since it’s the Finals. But this time, her empathy came with a warning.
“I know it’s not easy and particularly this time it’s even harder, so definitely the heart is heavy for her. But it is for me as a leader—I have to make sure that our locker room isn’t complacent because we know that feeling of next man up,” she added. Yes, everyone knows that “Complacency is a sword that dulls the edge of achievement,” as William Arthur Ward once said.
(Twitter post: Las Vegas Aces center A’ja Wilson said her “heart is heavy” for Phoenix Mercury forward Satou Sabally who was ruled out of Game 4 with a concussion. Wilson said as a leader she needs to make sure the Aces locker room does not get complacent.#WNBA pic.twitter.com/V0FtvFLCG8 – Desert Wave Media @DesertWaveCo)
After all, that’s exactly what happened in Game 3. When Sabally left the game with 4:26 left in the fourth quarter, it looked like the Mercury finally snapped out of it. They fired on all cylinders, going on an 11–2 run. They cut a 17-point deficit to bring the game to the final possession.
First, Copper closed the gap to 84–83 with 3:06 left by hitting a three-pointer. Then Bonner stepped up and tied the game at 86 with another three. She then hit two free throws and tied it again at 88. As the Ace’s standout witnessed it all firsthand, she stepped up. And had she not taken the entry pass from Gray and made a turnaround jumper, the game would’ve gone into overtime, and, maybe, just maybe, the Mercury would’ve won.
And, the run made perfect sense since losing a “big, big piece,” the system tightens, the bench rises, and the focus sharpens—just as it happened with the Mercury. But Wilson isn’t witnessing this for the first time. She had already seen it during Game 5 against the Indiana Fever when Kelsey Mitchell went down. So, here’s a simple mantra she got for her team, “Keep the main thing, the main thing”.
After all, up by 3, the Aces need just one more win to grab the championship title. Just one mistake in this key moment—and Phoenix could bounce back, as they’ve done before. They reversed Game 2 against the Lynx by erasing a 20-point deficit and grabbing a win. As Sabally put it best in the postgame press conference, “We’re confident in us, and we’ve been battling all season long… You can’t give up a basketball game if you’re down”.
And that marked the third-largest comeback in WNBA playoff history—and that too against one of the league’s best teams. So yes, precaution is better than a cure. But this isn’t the first time Wilson has ensured her team keeps their heads up.
(Image caption: Rick Scuteri-Imagn Images)
Four-time MVP knows one win, no slip-ups.
Even after playing the first two games on home court and grabbing wins, Wilson didn’t let the victories divert her focus. After putting up a 28-point and 14-rebound double-double performance, she made sure to leave a mark on her team.
“We gotta make sure that we can just stay solid in what we do in our system. And you’re just playing on the human emotions as well. We can’t get too high, can’t get too low. And we just gotta play defense. We gotta buckle in and get ready to just weather storms… But we can’t stop here, we can’t be satisfied,” she said—and it was spot on.
They didn’t stop until the team sealed a 90–88 win over the Mercury in front of the X-Factor. Now they’re just one win away from lifting the trophy. But still, Phoenix’s got a chance to make a comeback with four consecutive wins in a best-of-seven series.
And honestly, they’ve got the potential too. They still have their big two, Thomas and Copper, and replacing Sabally could be Bonner. So, what do you think will happen? Will the Aces be able to do what their captain wants them to?
Fuente: https://www.essentiallysports.com/wnba-basketball-news-aja-wilson-sounds-warning-for-aces-locker-room-after-satou-sabally-injury/
