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<ul class="summary-list"><li>The <keyword id="11931768" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="las-vegas-aces" source="Orion">Las Vegas Aces</keyword> endured a brutal trip to Connecticut ahead of their matchup against the Sun.</li><li>They flew to New Jersey, waited hours for bags, hit traffic, and arrived after restaurants closed.</li><li>The team ended up eating at Walmart, where coach <keyword id="11931769" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="bill-laimbeer" source="Orion">Bill Laimbeer</keyword> joked he was "looking for the booze."</li></ul><p>The Las Vegas Aces spent the better part of a day traveling across the country for a road game in Connecticut.</p><p>And by the time they overcame flight delays, missing luggage, and traffic to arrive at their final destination, the No. 1 Aces had no choice but to grab food from Walmart as all the local restaurants had already closed.</p><div type="image" title="a'ja wilson" height="1729" width="2306" msid="85580841" hostid="261"></div><p>A'ja Wilson, the Las Vegas superstar who is the reigning <keyword id="11896033" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="wnba" source="Orion">WNBA</keyword> MVP, documented her team's excursion to "Wally World" on Instagram on Saturday night. She even caught head coach Bill Laimbeer joking that he was "looking for the booze" after their hellish trip to the Northeast.</p><p>Wilson's mom was a fan of Laimbeer's antics, and the coach's daughter was sympathetic to her dad's sentiments.</p><p>The Aces had woken up in the early hours of the morning that day to board their flight to Newark, New Jersey, according to <a href="https://twitter.com/BySamGordon/status/1429518011203944449">reporting from the Las Vegas Review-Journal's Sam Gordon</a>. They arrived at 2:30 p.m. local time, but instead of hitting the road for their three-hour drive to the Sun's arena in Uncasville, Connecticut, the Las Vegas team had to spend an extra few hours waiting at the airport for everyone's luggage at baggage claim. And once they finally embarked on their trip up I-95, the Aces got caught in extra traffic - perhaps because of congestion ahead of <a href="https://www.insider.com/startling-photos-capture-the-impact-of-tropical-storm-henri-2021-8">Tropical Storm Henri's landfall</a> in New England.</p><p>The less-than-straightforward journey adds to the oft-made case that WNBA teams should charter planes, particularly for big cross-country trips such as Las Vegas' this week. Had they taken their own jet directly to an airport in Connecticut, surely the Aces wouldn't have found themselves eating dinner at Walmart.</p><div type="image" title="Las Vegas Aces star Kelsey Plum." height="1406" width="1875" msid="85580843" hostid="261"></div><p>Perhaps that explains why the Las Vegas star Kelsey Plum was heard repeatedly saying "Hey, Cathy" in an apparent plea to the WNBA's commissioner, Cathy Engelbert, during Wilson's Instagram stories.</p><p>"Hey, A'ja," Plum said early in the clip. "Tell Instagram we could've been in Europe by now!"</p><p>Other teams have faced similar <keyword id="11896628" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="travel" source="Orion">travel</keyword> challenges this season. When the New York Liberty star Jazmine Jones took to Twitter to discuss one such instance in July, the team owner Joe Tsai vowed "to solve this transportation problem for good."</p><p>Perhaps the newly minted Aces owner <keyword id="11931770" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="mark-davis" source="Orion">Mark Davis</keyword> - who also owns the NFL's Las Vegas Raiders - could follow Tsai's lead. After all, Davis' net worth is estimated to be $700 million, and he has committed to <a href="https://www.sportscasting.com/raiders-owner-mark-davis-is-using-his-700-million-net-worth-to-make-an-immediate-impact-on-his-new-wnba-team/">using some of his wealth to improve</a> his newly acquired franchise.</p><p>Check out a recording of Wilson's Instagram story documenting Las Vegas' Saturday-night adventure below:</p>

Bill Laimbeer was 'looking for the booze' after a hellish road trip left the Las Vegas Aces eating dinner at Walmart

<ul class="summary-list"><li>The <keyword id="9956867" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="las-vegas-aces">Las Vegas Aces</keyword> surprised head <keyword id="6371482" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="coach">coach</keyword> <keyword id="11292645" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="bill-laimbeer">Bill Laimbeer</keyword> for his 64th <keyword id="6356124" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="birthday">birthday</keyword>.</li><li>Players secretly organized a birthday announcement from the <keyword id="6356223" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="pilot">pilot</keyword> over the intercom on their <keyword id="30815" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="60" keywordseo="flight">flight</keyword>.</li><li>The former "Bad Boy" Piston, who doesn't like attention, was embarrassed by the hilarious spectacle.</li></ul><p>The Las Vegas Aces conspired to celebrate their coach's birthday by surprising him with what he hates most: attention.</p><p>On Wednesday, former "Bad Boy" Piston and current Aces head coach Bill Laimbeer turned 64, and his players were intent on recognizing their coach's big day despite his reluctance to acknowledge the occasion. So after Laimbeer told players to "get off my bus" following a failed attempt to celebrate his 64th, the team got creative and recruited a flight attendant to organize a birthday surprise during their flight home from Seattle.</p><div type="image" title="bill laimbeer.JPG" height="1333" width="1778" msid="82806865" hostid="261"></div><p>What followed was, in all likelihood, Laimbeer's worst nightmare; the pilot made a special announcement in honor of the two-time <keyword id="152792" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="60" keywordseo="WNBA">WNBA</keyword> Coach of the Year and NBA champion.</p><p>"We also got the special request from the Las Vegas Aces, the Las Vegas representation of the Women's National Basketball Association," the pilot can be heard saying over the flight intercom in a clip shared by the team. "They were in Seattle last night to give their coach an early birthday present - kinda reminiscent of Mr. Laimbeer's glorious days with the <keyword id="396362" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="60" keywordseo="Detroit-Pistons">Detroit Pistons</keyword>, if you're old enough to remember his specatular play there."</p><p>"Anyway, we'd like to wish their coach on behalf of his team a very happy 64th birthday!" the pilot added.</p><div type="image" title="bill laimbeer" height="1683" width="2244" msid="82806866" hostid="261"></div><p>The entire plane erupted into cheers in response to the announcement, with the Las Vegas players unsurprisingly hooting and hollering loudest of all. The Aces even captured an audible "Pop-Pop!" from former player turned assistant coach Sugar Rodgers at the very end of the clip.</p><p>Needless to say, Laimbeer - who was sitting first-class - looked sufficiently embarrassed as the camera zoomed in on his face from the back of the plane.</p><div type="image" title="Screen Shot 2021 05 20 at 11.56.39 AM" height="812" width="1084" msid="82806869" hostid="261"></div><p>The pilot's kind words were entirely unscripted. Aces stars A'ja Wilson and Chelsea Gray simply offered their coach's name while requesting the announcement. What followed was "all from the pilot," according to <a href="https://twitter.com/LVAces/status/1395186009667608577">Las Vegas' official Twitter account</a>.</p><p>Check out the full video shared by the Aces below:</p>

The Las Vegas Aces embarrassed their head coach by having their pilot make a mid-flight birthday announcement for the former 'Bad Boy' Piston

<ul class="summary-list"><li><keyword id="12882154" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="becky-hammon" source="Orion">Becky Hammon</keyword> is off to a hot start as the head <keyword id="11926319" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="coach" source="Orion">coach</keyword> of the <keyword id="11896033" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="wnba" source="Orion">WNBA</keyword>'s <keyword id="11931768" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="las-vegas-aces" source="Orion">Las Vegas Aces</keyword>.</li><li>She has the Aces <keyword id="11922278" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="shooting" source="Orion">shooting</keyword>, and making, more threes than ever, and it's brought them to new heights.</li></ul><p>Becky Hammon is quickly showing that she's the type of head coach she promised she'd be: a damn good one.</p><p>In just a few weeks at the helm, the former San Antonio Spurs assistant has lifted the WNBA's Las Vegas Aces from <em>a </em>top contender to <em>the </em>team to beat. And much of the Aces' renewed success stems from one simple adjustment Hammon insisted she'd make from the moment she signed on to become the franchise's next head coach.</p><p>"We probably will shoot a few more threes, to be quite honest," Hammon said with a chuckle during her introductory press conference.</p><div type="image" title="Jackie Young." height="1405" width="1874" msid="91856263" hostid="261"></div><p>In each of the four seasons after the San Antonio Stars moved to Las Vegas and rebranded as the Aces, the team attempted fewer shots from behind the arc than any other in the league. The result, unsurprisingly, was that Las Vegas ranked dead last in made three-pointers per game for three seasons running — and second-to-last in former head coach Bill Laimbeer's final season coaching the squad.</p><p>Even with a handful of superstars capable of draining shots from range at his disposal, Laimbeer was adamant that his team "take three-point plays the old-fashioned way: a bucket and a foul," as he once told <a href="https://www.reviewjournal.com/sports/aces/bill-laimbeer-builds-aces-into-title-contender-sans-3-point-shot-2128440/">The Las Vegas Review-Journal</a>. But Hammon was quick to take a different approach — and so far, that shift is paying off.</p><p>Through the first month of the 2022 season, the Hammon-led Aces led the league with a whopping 10.6 treys per contest while attempting 25.8 three-pointers each game — good for second-most in the WNBA. With a league-high three-point shooting clip at 41.3%, Las Vegas is absolutely cashing in from beyond the arc.</p><div type="image" title="Kelsey Plum." height="1406" width="1875" msid="91856266" hostid="261"></div><p>Just this week, the Aces tied the WNBA record with 18 made three-pointers in a 28-point rout of the Los Angeles Sparks.</p><p>"Obviously we were pretty locked in from the jump," Hammon said after the contest. "As many threes as we made, which is great, I was actually more happy with our defense holding that team to 76 points. We played with a lot of possessions, we played with a lot of pace, but when we defend, we become special."</p><p>And for all of Laimbeer's fears that too much three-point shooting could prevent a team from getting to the free-throw line, Hammon's squad appears to being doing that a healthy amount, too. The Aces attempt 22.3 free throws each game and make 18.1 of them — just behind the league-leading Connecticut Sun for second in both metrics.</p><div type="image" title="A'ja Wilson." height="1667" width="2500" msid="91856268" hostid="261"></div><p>All in all, Hammon's shift has led Las Vegas to incredible offensive success to start the year. The Aces lead the league with a 112.5 offensive rating after scoring a whopping 93.3 points per game — making them the only team in the WNBA to average more than 90 points per contest.</p><p>Teams across the league have only broken the 100-point threshold four times this season; Las Vegas is responsible for three of them.</p><p>It's no wonder, then, that an offensive juggernaut of this caliber has found itself atop the WNBA standings. With a 7-1 overall record — and a perfect 5-0 slate in Commissioner's Cup games — the Aces are a full two games ahead of the next team in the Western Conference.</p><div type="image" title="Becky Hammon." height="1676" width="2235" msid="91856272" hostid="261"></div><p>But even with all of her early success, Hammon doesn't believe what she's brought to Las Vegas is all that remarkable. </p><p>"It's really simple," she said after the record-tying win over the Sparks. "If you're guarded, move it. If you're open, shoot it."</p><p>"It's not very genius."</p>

Becky Hammon made one simple adjustment that's molded the Las Vegas Aces into the WNBA's most lethal contender

<ul class="summary-list"><li><keyword id="152792" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="60" keywordseo="WNBA">WNBA</keyword> players are striking to protest the shooting of <keyword id="9813213" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="jacob-blake">Jacob Blake</keyword>, a 29-year-old Black man whom Kenosha, Wisconsin, police officers shot seven times in the back Sunday.</li><li>After players announced their decision with a powerful display of unity on national television, they gathered for a candlelight vigil inside the WNBA bubble at IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida.</li><li>WNBPA President Nneka Ogwumike, New York Liberty star Layshia Clarendon, Las Vegas Aces coach Bill Laimbeer, and WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert spoke about the night's events.</li><li>"I just want to say how proud I am of all of you," Engelbert said. "On behalf of the league, we're here to listen to your fears, listen to your frustrations, listen to your hopes, listen to your goals and your dreams, and be supportive of that."</li></ul><p><a href="https://www.insider.com/wnba-games-postponed-solidarity-with-nba-against-police-brutality-2020-8">WNBA players are abstaining from competition</a> in light of the police shooting of Jacob Blake, a Black man shot seven times in the back by a police officer on Sunday.</p><p>After <a href="https://www.insider.com/wnba-shirts-bullet-holes-washington-mystics-strike-for-jacob-blake-2020-8">players announced their decision not to play with a powerful display of unity</a> on national television, they gathered for a candlelight vigil inside the WNBA bubble at IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida. Amongst those who spoke at the unofficial gathering were WNBPA President and Los Angeles Sparks star Nneka Ogwumike, New York Liberty veteran Layshia Clarendon, Las Vegas Aces coach Bill Laimbeer, and WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert.</p><div type="image" title="FILE - In this Sept. 29, 2019, file photo, WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert speaks at a news conference before Game 1 of basketball's WNBA Finals in Washington. Engelbert said in a phone interview with The Associated Press on Friday, May 15, 2020, that the league is focusing on about a half dozen scenarios to play this summer during the coronavirus pandemic. Engelbert did not go into detail about each scenario, but said that they are looking at playing in either one or a couple of sites at most instead of at every home arena. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky, File)" height="3022" width="4030" msid="77790240" hostid="261"></div><p>Though the league was not informed of the players' choice not to play until it was happening in real-time, Engelbert pledged to players that she and the league would "support you in every way we can."</p><p>"I just want to say how proud I am of all of you," Engelbert said. "On behalf of the league, we're here to listen to your fears, listen to your frustrations, listen to your hopes, listen to your goals and your dreams, and be supportive of that."</p><p>Laimbeer, who is best known for his 11-year stint with the Detroit Pistons, marveled at how far professional athletes have come "both on the court ... but also off the court" since his tenure in the NBA. He commended the WNBA players for their tenacity and growth, adding that "the changes that you have made have been phenomenal."</p><p>"I've been asked numerous times this year about the difference between professional <keyword id="36237" type="SPORT" weightage="60" keywordseo="basketball">basketball</keyword> today and when I played," Laimbeer said. "And I answer it this way: when I played, the owners dominated, the media-dominated, and the corporations dominated. And the players were in the closet. Today, the players control the action. You have the narrative. There's no question about that. It's a given. It's a fact. And you are expressing it, and that is a good thing."</p><div type="image" title="layshia clarendon" height="1363" width="1817" msid="77790243" hostid="261"></div><p>In addition to sharing their own thoughts, Clarendon read the late Maya Angelou's "Still I Rise" to "remind us of how much power we have" because "at this moment, it feels like we're on the teetering of hope and despair."</p><p>Check out the full clip of statements from Wednesday's candlelight vigil courtesy of ESPN's Holly Rowe:</p><ul class="read-more-links"><li>Read more:</li><li><a href="https://www.insider.com/wnba-games-postponed-solidarity-with-nba-against-police-brutality-2020-8">WNBA players have forced the league to postpone Wednesday night's games: 'We stand in solidarity with our brothers in the NBA' against police brutality</a></li><li><a href="https://www.insider.com/wnba-shirts-bullet-holes-washington-mystics-strike-for-jacob-blake-2020-8">The WNBA's Washington Mystics wore shirts with bullet holes while leading the league to strike for Jacob Blake</a></li><li><a href="https://www.insider.com/nba-games-postponed-not-canceled-season-in-jeopardy-2020-8">NBA games have been postponed and the season is in jeopardy as players meet to discuss future of the playoffs</a></li><li><a href="https://www.insider.com/naomi-osaka-drops-out-of-tournament-protest-police-violence-2020-8">Naomi Osaka was 2 matches away from winning a tournament but dropped out at the last minute in protest of police violence</a></li></ul>

WNBA players joined together for a candlelight vigil after canceled games, and commissioner Cathy Engelbert said the league would 'support you in every way we can'

<ul class="summary-list"><li><keyword id="12882154" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="becky-hammon" source="Orion">Becky Hammon</keyword> has spent 8 years as an assistant coach for the NBA's San Antonio Spurs.</li><li>Last week, the 6-time <keyword id="11896033" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="wnba" source="Orion">WNBA</keyword> All-Star was hired as head coach and GM of the WNBA's <keyword id="11931768" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="las-vegas-aces" source="Orion">Las Vegas Aces</keyword>.</li></ul><p>Becky Hammon is ready to coach her own professional <keyword id="11896035" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="basketball" source="Orion">basketball</keyword> team.</p><p>And she's ready to win, too.</p><p>The longtime NBA assistant coach under San Antonio Spurs legend Gregg Popovich earned a record-breaking deal to become the head coach and general manager of the WNBA's Las Vegas Aces ahead of the 2022 season. And in her introductory press conference, Hammon made it clear that she and her team will be ready for success right from the jump — no adjustment period required.</p><div type="image" title="San Antonio Spurs assistant coach Becky Hammon speaks with Patty Mills." height="1875" width="2500" msid="88721196" hostid="261"></div><p>"I know that the Aces are close," Hammon said. "I do feel like implementing my offensive system and defensive system is something that I'm really looking forward to, and I think that a championship is well within reach."</p><p>"That opportunity in itself to walk into a situation with a winning team and the caliber of players that I'll be inheriting from [former Las Vegas head coach] Bill Laimbeer and the foundation that he laid, I'm super fortunate and super blessed and obviously very excited," she added.</p><p>Should the chips fall in the Aces' direction, Hammon will indeed inherit a stacked roster for her debut season as a head coach. Las Vegas advanced to at least the semifinals in the past three <keyword id="12153988" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="wnba-playoffs" source="Orion">WNBA Playoffs</keyword>, and with four WNBA All-Stars on last year's roster, Hammon should have plenty to work with moving forward.</p><div type="image" title="A'ja Wilson drives on Lauren Cox during a WNBA game." height="1667" width="2500" msid="88721197" hostid="261"></div><p>She'll start by working to retain the Aces' most lethal weapons. A'ja Wilson — the 2020 WNBA MVP who has rapidly become one of the league's top stars — is a restricted free agent, and other teams could pursue the 6-foot-4 guard. However, Las Vegas would have the opportunity to match any contract another franchise offered.</p><p>Superstar center Liz Cambage — who has been with the Aces since 2019 — is an unrestricted free agent. But the Aces still have their core designation, which they could use to block the 6-foot-8 Australian from leaving Sin City in exchange for a supermax contract.</p><p>Chelsea Gray, Kelsey Plum, and Dearica Hamby — league stars in their own right — are guaranteed to return to Las Vegas for the 2022 season. But 2021 starter Riquna Williams, role player Kiah Stokes, and five-time WNBA All-Star Angel McCoughtry all remain question marks heading into free agency.</p><div type="image" title="Las Vegas Aces star Kelsey Plum." height="1406" width="1875" msid="88721199" hostid="261"></div><p>"They have some really good pieces in place," Hammon said. "And what it's about is finding the chemistry with those players, building that foundation out, but then also adding a few pieces that fit the style that I wanna play and that I see moving this team in that direction."</p><p>"I can tell you the type of player that I really want is a competitive one," she added. "I will take a little bit less talent — I would love to have talent <em>and</em> super competitive — but I want really competitive players that want to be there and want to work hard and buy in right from the start."</p><p>Hammon is expected to transition to her new role with the Aces full-time in April. But until then, she'll be "pulling double duty" as she rounds out her tenure with the Spurs and ramps up her duties in Las Vegas.</p>

Becky Hammon thinks a WNBA championship is 'well within reach' for the Las Vegas Aces

<ul class="summary-list"><li>The <keyword id="12243940" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="atlanta-dream" source="Orion">Atlanta Dream</keyword> have had a tumultuous year, complete with ownership changes and player fights.</li><li>The wayward <keyword id="11896033" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="wnba" source="Orion">WNBA</keyword> franchise hired a new, highly-regarded management team as part of a total <keyword id="12387216" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="rebuild" source="Orion">rebuild</keyword>.</li></ul><p>Atlanta has been home to a WNBA team for more than a decade.</p><p>But as far as ownership and management are concerned, Monday, October 25, 2021, is "day one of the new Atlanta Dream."</p><p>Following months of tumult, the franchise began a new chapter Monday morning by naming Dan Padover as the Dream's new <keyword id="12387217" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="general-manager" source="Orion">general manager</keyword>. Formerly the GM for the Las Vegas Aces, Padover will assume Atlanta's long-vacant GM position six months after the franchise abruptly parted ways with former GM and President Chris Sienko.</p><div type="image" title="Dan Padover receives his trophy for 2021 WNBA Basketball Executive of the Year from WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert." height="1667" width="2500" msid="87263611" hostid="261"></div><p>The Dream acquired one of the WNBA's prominent front office masterminds in Padover, who comes to Atlanta fresh off of earning WNBA <keyword id="11896035" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="basketball" source="Orion">Basketball</keyword> Executive of the Year honors for the second consecutive season.</p><p>"The opportunity to bring someone like that into your organization doesn't happen that often," Dream co-owner Suzanne Abair told Insider. "When he became available, we leaped at the opportunity to have conversations with him."</p><p>"Dan [Padover] is a man of integrity," she added. "He's a straight shooter, [he values] accountability, and his ability to oversee the rebuild of our basketball operations - that to us was really the selling point for Dan."</p><p>Padover comes aboard a new-look leadership team featuring President and COO Morgan Shaw Parker and Head <keyword id="11926319" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="coach" source="Orion">Coach</keyword> Tanisha Wright, who joined the franchise in September and October, respectively. Darius Taylor - the Dream's interim head coach for the second half of the 2021 season - will support Padover as the team's assistant general manager.</p><div type="image" title="Tanisha Wright." height="1667" width="2500" msid="87263613" hostid="261"></div><p>Atlanta's ownership group - which includes Abair, real estate executive Larry Gottesdiener, and former Dream star Renee Montgomery - assumed control over the franchise mere weeks before the 2021 season began. Since then, they've been incredibly intentional in exercising the patience necessary to recruit collaborative, complementary leaders and put "the right people in the right positions," as Abair explained.</p><p>Now that those right people are in place, Abair says they'll be entrusted with "an absolute, total rebuild of the franchise."</p><p>"That's what I love about this ownership group," Shaw Parker told Insider. "They are very, very good at putting powerful leadership teams together, and they're going to let us go do our job."</p><p>"The beauty of this is that Monday - when this announcement comes out - is day one."</p><h2>Atlanta is moving forward with "a different mindset than what has been here previously"</h2><div type="image" title="Kelly Loeffler" height="2685" width="3580" msid="87263614" hostid="261"></div><p>The Dream has left much to be desired in recent years with a combined 15-39 record over the 2020 and 2021 seasons. But somehow, the franchise's off-court woes have managed to trump all over the past 14 months.</p><p>In the summer of 2020 - while the team was competing in the <a href="https://www.insider.com/how-wnba-successfully-avoided-covid-19-outbreak-in-florida-bubble-2020-10">WNBA's bubble in Bradenton, Florida</a> - <a href="https://www.insider.com/sen-kelly-loeffler-wnba-atlanta-dream-doug-collins-special-election-2020-7">former team owner and US Senator Kelly Loeffler</a> spoke out against the Black Lives Matter movement and <a href="https://www.insider.com/ted-cruz-tomi-lahren-kelly-loeffler-blast-wnba-anthem-protests-2020-7">its place in the league</a>. WNBA players - 80% of whom are Black - quickly <a href="https://www.insider.com/wnba-players-demand-kelly-loeffler-ban-black-lives-matter-comment-2020-7">called for Loeffler's removal</a> from the league.</p><p>But once that effort failed, they chose a far more creative tactic: <a href="https://www.insider.com/wnba-stars-endorse-dream-owner-kelly-loefflers-senate-race-opponent-2020-8">openly endorsing her opponent, Reverend Raphael Warnock,</a> in their Georgia Senate race. Five months later, <a href="https://www.insider.com/loeffler-wnba-effort-warnock-georgia-impacted-american-republic-future-2021-1">Loeffler was ousted from her Senate seat</a>, and research shows that the <a href="https://www.insider.com/wnba-players-raphael-warnock-endorsement-pushed-dem-in-georgia-polls-2020-12">WNBA players' efforts were instrumental</a> in Warnock's unlikely victory.</p><div type="image" title="sue bird warnock" height="1102" width="1470" msid="87263615" hostid="261"></div><p>Loeffler's ugly feud with her players left her with <a href="https://www.insider.com/kelly-loeffler-close-to-selling-wnba-atlanta-dream-ownership-stake-2021-1">little choice but to part ways with the franchise</a>. With six weeks remaining before the 2021 season tipped off, Abair, Gottesdiener, and <a href="https://www.insider.com/kelly-loeffler-sells-atlanta-dream-wnba-star-renee-montgomery-ownership-2021-2">Montgomery purchased the team</a> - and inherited all of the challenges that came with it.</p><p><a href="https://www.si.com/wnba/2021/04/21/atlanta-dream-fire-president-gm-chris-sienko">Ownership fired Sienko</a> - who had been Atlanta's GM for three years and its president for two - just a week after he steered the franchise through the 2021 WNBA Draft. Ten days later, three-year <a href="https://www.espn.com/womens-college-basketball/story/_/id/31385281/atlanta-dream-nicki-collen-leaving-wnba-coach-baylor-kim-mulkey-departure">Dream head coach Nicki Collen left Atlanta</a> to take over the helm for the Baylor Bears.</p><p>Then-assistant Mike Petersen assumed the mantle for the Dream less than two weeks before their season opener. In July, he <a href="https://dream.wnba.com/news/mike-petersen-steps-down-from-atlanta-dream-head-coaching-role/">stepped down due to health concerns</a> after leading the team to a 6-13 record. Ownership then passed the reins to Taylor, who now will serve as the team's assistant GM.</p><p>Without steady leadership, chaos at the executive levels of the franchise trickled down to the team and its players. In July, Atlanta <a href="https://www.espn.com/wnba/story/_/id/31767514/atlanta-dream-suspend-chennedy-carter-detrimental-conduct">indefinitely suspended star guard Chennedy Carter</a> - seen by many as the franchise's future - after she allegedly <a href="https://www.thenexthoops.com/features/how-chennedy-carter-earned-a-suspension/">attempted to fight All-Star teammate Courtney Williams</a> in the locker room in response to a heated exchange during a game.</p><div type="image" title="chennedy carter" height="2160" width="2880" msid="87263617" hostid="261"></div><p>Three months later, Williams found herself in hot water with the franchise, too. She and guard Crystal Bradford were among a trio of <a href="https://www.insider.com/video-atlanta-dream-fight-showcases-woes-of-wayward-wnba-franchise-2021-10">Dream players who engaged in a brawl outside of a day club</a> in late May, shortly after the 2021 season began. Kalani Brown, a 6-foot-7 center waived by Atlanta just days before the fight, was also part of the scrum.</p><p>Though the physical altercation took place some five months prior, footage of the scuffle arose and went viral early in October. The tape shows Williams and Bradford fist-fighting with a group of women while standing near a Tenders &amp; Bites food truck, with the Dream's lone 2021 All-Star seen throwing several punches in the nearly two-minute clip.</p><p>The team subsequently informed both players that they would not be re-signed to Atlanta's roster "under any circumstances," <a href="https://twitter.com/howardmegdal/status/1445559620596948993">The Next's Howard Megdal reported</a>. Williams played all 32 games for the Dream during the 2021 season and led the team in points, rebounds, and assists.</p><div type="image" title="Courtney Williams." height="1407" width="2500" msid="87263618" hostid="261"></div><h2>With the promise of a blank slate, ownership convinced top <keyword id="11893855" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="sports" source="Orion">sports</keyword> management talent to lead a complete overhaul in Atlanta</h2><p>Abair, Gottesdiener, and Montgomery waited months before filling the vacant leadership positions throughout their franchise. After Sienko's departure, Abair became the Dream's president, and Montgomery slid in behind her as vice president.</p><p>But much to the chagrin of Atlanta's fans, the Dream played an entire season without a GM in place. And while ownership heard supporters' concerns, Abair and company were steadfast in their belief that the right people were worth the wait.</p><p>"There was some frustration on some people's parts that we didn't rush to just <keyword id="12010105" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="hire" source="Orion">hire</keyword> a new management team," Abair said. "But it was important for us to be patient to find the right people - to find people that shared our values, to find the right executives that we really believed could work with us, the ownership group, to build a franchise that we could be proud of."</p><p>"But more importantly, [to build a franchise] that the city of Atlanta would embrace and be proud of," she added.</p><div type="image" title="Atlanta Dream." height="1598" width="2500" msid="87263619" hostid="261"></div><p>Shaw Parker was the first of the highly-touted new hires. A longtime NFL executive, she came to the Dream in September after many years as VP and chief marketing officer for Arthur M. Blank Sports &amp; Entertainment (AMBSE) - the ownership group for the Atlanta Falcons, Mercedes-Benz Stadium, and Atlanta United.</p><p>Before that, she spent more than 10 years working at Nike and half a decade with the Kansas City Chiefs.</p><p>"When Larry [Gottesdiener] talked about his vision for putting the resources in place to do this right, they had me," Shaw Parker said. "There's not another opportunity that I know of in men's or women's sports to really build something like this from scratch in a top 10 market."</p><p>Recruiting Shaw Parker to the Dream was the catalyst for a series of massive hires for the struggling franchise. Her impressive sports management experience and extensive relationships within the city's sports sphere lent an air of credibility to the Dream's rebuilding efforts - so much so that it helped lure the WNBA's reigning top executive into the fold.</p><p>"When Dan [Padover] saw that they had signed me, he talks a lot about the fact that he knew they were serious and they were building something very different," Shaw Parker said. "And they really have."</p><div type="image" title="Dan Padover." height="1874" width="2500" msid="87263622" hostid="261"></div><p>But before Padover officially signed on, Atlanta recruited one of his closest allies within the Aces organization. Wright, formerly an assistant coach under Las Vegas' Bill Laimbeer and a player in the league, joined the Dream as its new head coach.</p><p>Padover had previously insisted "that he wouldn't choose anyone else for his head coach if he were to make the decision," Shaw Parker said. Hiring Wright was enough to seal the deal with Padover as well.</p><p>"Hiring Morgan [Shaw Parker], a premier executive in the NFL space, was a pretty big eye-opener for me," Padover told Insider. "So I think them going after Morgan then going after Tanisha [Wright] - it was very impressive."</p><p>Though Padover had found incredible success building upon Laimbeer's framework with the Aces, he was drawn to the unique opportunity Atlanta represented. Not only will he have the chance to work alongside some of the best in the business, but he'll be the chief architect tasked with designing a team from scratch.</p><div type="image" title="atlanta dream" height="1667" width="2500" msid="87263623" hostid="261"></div><p>"I've been in this league for a decade," Padover said. "I don't ever remember someone coming into a similar situation with <em>this</em> blank of a slate... [Gottesdiener] looked me in the eye and said, 'Dan, I want you to think of this as an expansion franchise. We have nothing at the moment, but we're going to build this thing, and we're going to build it with great people.' And that really started to get my wheels turning."</p><p>"If you have a dream to be a lead of a professional basketball organization since you're a kid like I have, this incorporates all those things," he added. "It's building a roster from the ground up through the draft and through free agency. It's building a staff out, looking at facilities. It's all of the above, which for someone like myself is the dream."</p><p>Alongside Taylor - who has long dreamed of working in a front office and "can really help us bridge the gap between player and the basketball operation side, as well as the business side," according to Shaw Parker - Padover will begin to build out the team's roster through the draft and free agency. With $836,241 to work with under the salary cap and hardly any player commitments for the future, the GM pair will have free reign to craft a team that matches ownership's ambitions.</p><div type="image" title="Darius Taylor." height="1666" width="2222" msid="87263624" hostid="261"></div><p>"I can tell you that my vision is very aligned with ownership," Shaw Parker said. "Renee [Montgomery], Larry [Gottesdiener], and Suzanne [Abair] have all voiced the same vision, and this is to build the best franchise in the WNBA and to really build a model franchise - not only for the WNBA but honestly, one in all of sports."</p><h2>Building a team Atlanta can be proud of - and 'building trust with the fans and with the city itself' - starts now</h2><p>It's no secret that "this was a tumultuous season for the Dream," as Abair herself admits. Despite the plethora of hardships that came with purchasing a franchise six weeks before the start of the season - she warns others considering following suit to "buckle up because it's going to be a tough ride" - Abair and her co-owners were always focused on the upside and the opportunity Atlanta's WNBA franchise presents.</p><p>The team realizing all of that potential starts with regaining fans' trust and winning over the city.</p><div type="image" title="Renee Montgomery." height="1150" width="1534" msid="87263625" hostid="261"></div><p>"We really aim to serve the community that we seek to be a part of, and that's going to take a lot of work on our part," Shaw Parker said. "I can tell you that ownership, as well as the leadership team, we are committed to building that for Atlanta and together with Atlanta."</p><p>"I ask for Atlanta's trust, and I ask for their support as we figure out how to do this the right way," she added.</p><p>For Padover, building a winning team starts with establishing a winning culture. He and Taylor will be "very mindful of the players we bring in" to ensure that "they have the same mindset on the court and off the court and are really looking at this, like, 'Hey, we're going to make Atlanta proud of the Dream."</p><p>"Our goal is to make you proud as fast as we possibly can," Padover says. "But we're not gonna rush it."</p><div type="image" title="Elizabeth Williams." height="1405" width="1874" msid="87263626" hostid="261"></div><p>Abair knows that the city of Atlanta has done more than its fair share of waiting for positive results. She understands the frustration, and she's grateful that fans have stayed the course and offered "continued support." Success is on the horizon down in Georgia, she insists.</p><p>"Stay tuned, stay with us," Abair said. "This is day one of the new Atlanta Dream."</p>

'The new Atlanta Dream': How the wayward WNBA franchise convinced top talent to embark on a total rebuild

<p><strong><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"></div><p></p></div></div></strong></p><ul class="summary-list"><li><strong>The Las Vegas Aces eliminated the Chicago Sky in the WNBA playoffs in a wild, last-second finish.</strong></li><li><strong>With less than 10 seconds remaining, trailing by one, Aces forward Dearica Hamby intercepted a pass near mid-court, then launched a running, 38-foot shot that she banked in with five seconds left.</strong></li><li><strong>Hamby said after the game that she didn't realize how much time was on the clock and that she was in "disbelief."</strong></li><li><strong><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/?hprecirc-bullet">Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories</a>.</strong></li></ul><p>Las Vegas Aces forward Dearica Hamby hit one of the best and most ill-advised shots of her career on Sunday to help her team advance in the WNBA playoffs.</p><p>With less than 10 seconds to go, the Aces trailed the Chicago Sky by two in an elimination game. Sky guard Courtney Vandersloot was attempting to run out the clock and avoid a foul from the Aces when she made a poor pass toward half-court that was picked off by Hamby.</p><p>Hamby, perhaps misreading the clock, which still had over seven seconds left, launched a running, 38-foot shot that banked in to give the Aces the lead.</p><p>The entire arena, including the players all looked baffled by the play and the shot.</p><p>Watch below:</p><p>"I was obviously in shock," Hamby <a href="https://www.reviewjournal.com/sports/aces/dearica-hambys-near-halfcourt-shot-lifts-aces-into-wnba-semifinals-1849129/">told The Las Vegas Journal Review's Sam Gordon</a>. "I almost fainted. I'm still in disbelief." She said she didn't know how much time was left when she took the shot.</p><p>Aces coach Bill Laimbeer joked, "(She) executed the play I drew up."</p><p>The Aces now advance to the semifinals where they'll play the Washington Mystics.</p><ul class="read-more-links"><li>Read more:</li><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/kobe-bryant-instagram-criticized-missed-game-dance-recital-2019-9" data-read-more-link="" data-e2e-name="read-more-link">Kobe Bryant criticized after calling out one of his girls youth basketball players for missing a game for a dance recital</a></li><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/video-najee-harris-hurdle-megan-rapinoe-touchdown-celebration2019-9" data-read-more-link="" data-e2e-name="read-more-link">Alabama running back Najee Harris hit the truck stick, hurdled a defender, and shouted out Megan Rapinoe to score the most spectacular TD of the college football season so far</a></li><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/video-titans-colts-field-on-fire-pyrotechnics-2019-9" data-read-more-link="" data-e2e-name="read-more-link">Fire erupts on Tennessee Titans field before NFL game when a pyrotechnics device malfunctioned</a></li><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/dennis-rodman-gay-athletes-nba-2019-9" data-read-more-link="" data-e2e-name="read-more-link">Dennis Rodman says he thinks 10-20% of pro athletes are gay and that the NBA is ready for an out athlete</a></li></ul><div></div>    <div class="margin-top">        <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/serena-williams-serve-dominates-tennis-wins-served-games-2019-8">In the last 10 years, Serena Williams has won 82% of the games she's served. Here's how her serve dominates tennis.</a></h3>        <div>                    </div>    </div>

Las Vegas Aces player hits incredible, 38-foot, game-winning shot on a stolen pass in a chaotic finish

<ul class="summary-list"><li>The <keyword id="11985178" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="phoenix-mercury" source="Orion">Phoenix Mercury</keyword> are all-in on capturing their franchise's fourth <keyword id="11896033" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="wnba" source="Orion">WNBA</keyword> Championship this year.</li><li>They'll have to find a path to success without star <keyword id="12189378" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="brittney-griner" source="Orion">Brittney Griner</keyword>, who is being <a href="https://www.insider.com/brittney-griner-russia-what-status-change-wrongfully-detained-means-2022-5">"wrongfully detained" in Russia</a>.</li></ul><p>At the start of 2022, everything seemed to be falling into place for the Phoenix Mercury.</p><p>Fresh off of a WNBA Finals run, the team managed to retain the core contributors from their better-than-expected 2021 campaign. They brought on a new head coach — someone that management believed could push their star-studded roster to new heights — and recruited two of the most highly-coveted free agents to join their ranks.</p><p>Some fans suggested that, with so many All-Stars on its roster, Phoenix didn't merely have a "Big Three," like other stacked squads boast about. The Mercury didn't even stop with the "Big Four," like they had in 2021. No, Phoenix had assembled a "Big <em>Six,</em>" the likes of which the league had never seen.</p><div type="image" title="Diana Taurasi." height="1479" width="1968" msid="91385680" hostid="261"></div><p>But then, in a sparse security screening room inside <keyword id="11894337" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="russia" source="Orion">Russia</keyword>'s busiest airport in mid-February, a check of a star player's luggage suddenly threw the Mercury into retrograde. What was once a promising season morphed into an unprecedented nightmare no one could have possibly seen coming.</p><p>Even still, Phoenix's ultimate goal remains unchanged. The Mercury want a title, and they want it this year. Only now, they'll have to do it without Brittney Griner — their longtime superstar, 2021 leading scorer, rebounder, and blocker, and biggest presence on the court — as she remains wrongfully detained in Russia.</p><h2>Coming up short in last year's WNBA Finals inspired Phoenix's top brass to go big over the off-season</h2><p>As the fifth seed that survived back-to-back single-elimination games to start the WNBA playoffs, Phoenix wasn't billed as a top contender to win it all in 2021. But once they <a href="https://www.insider.com/video-sue-bird-diana-taurasi-wnba-jerseys-2021-9">survived the then-reigning champion Seattle Storm</a> in an overtime thriller on the road and later won a five-game series against the second-seeded Las Vegas Aces to advance to the Finals, the Mercury made it clear to anyone watching that they were exactly where they belonged.</p><p>That only made it hurt more when Phoenix faltered against Chicago. Saddled with injuries and struggling to keep up with the Sky's deep roster, the Mercury lost the series three games to one and left the Windy City feeling <a href="https://www.insider.com/photo-diana-taurasi-breaks-door-after-wnba-finals-loss-2021-10">universally exasperated</a>.</p><p>For many of the team's stars, those sentiments haven't waned.</p><div type="image" title="Skylar Diggins-Smith." height="1666" width="2222" msid="91385681" hostid="261"></div><p>"I've been tense. I've had moments of frustration. I've had all these emotions coming from the residual feelings of losing the championship last year," Mercury point guard <keyword id="12250181" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="skylar-diggins-smith" source="Orion">Skylar Diggins-Smith</keyword> said during 2022 media day. "That's really the taste in my mouth. That's what's on my mind."</p><p>For the Mercury's front office, the series offered clarity on what it would take for Phoenix to climb the WNBA mountaintop for the first time since 2014. General Manager Jim Pitman told Insider he and Phoenix's top brass singled out three things the team needed to get over the hump.</p><p>First and foremost, they "needed to be healthy," he said.</p><p>"If we have a healthy Kia Nurse, we have a healthy Sophie Cunningham, we have a healthy <keyword id="12145743" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="diana-taurasi" source="Orion">Diana Taurasi</keyword>, we think there's a different outcome," Pitman told Insider. "But that's part of the game. Injuries do happen, and we all understand that."</p><div type="image" title="Sophie Cunningham." height="1666" width="2500" msid="91385682" hostid="261"></div><p>Still, watching the shorthanded Mercury struggle with the injury bug inspired Pitman to take an already stacked squad and deepen it further. More options "would allow us to be really fresh as we went into the playoffs," Pitman reasoned.</p><p>And besides, the front office had already identified two key ways to diversify how the team could dismantle its opposition going forward. It'd just take some luck in free agency.</p><p>"We thought we needed a much more athletic, big wing [that] could help us guard other big wings but then could also provide us with athleticism on the offensive end," Pitman said. "And then we thought we needed a stretch-4 who could help relieve our scorers."</p><p>Those first two points — health and two new additions — were relatively benign in the grand scheme of things. And given that Phoenix was only two wins shy of a title in 2021, keeping the changes subtle made lots of sense.</p><p>But the Mercury executives' final pain point wasn't very small at all. They resolved that it was time for new leadership and, in December, they announced they were parting ways with longtime head coach Sandy Brondello.</p><div type="image" title="Sandy Brondello coached the Mercury for eight years." height="2536" width="3382" msid="91385683" hostid="261"></div><p>"Sandy had done a great job for us for eight years, but eight years is a long time with a group of players," Pitman said. "In my opinion, it was just time that we had a new voice leading the players.</p><p>"Sometimes you have to have a little change to actually take that next step forward," he said.</p><h2>Some teams spend their off-seasons in rebuild mode. Phoenix used it to 'reload.'</h2><p>By late January, just over a month after Phoenix let Brondello go, the Mercury announced their new head coach. Most recently an assistant coach under Bill Laimbeer with the Las Vegas Aces, former WNBA player Vanessa Nygaard was chosen to take over the helm as the Mercury's 10th head coach.</p><p>"Vanessa set herself apart," Pitman said. "Obviously she has a great basketball knowledge; her Xs and Os are excellent, but what really set her apart for me was her ability to build relationships and communicate."</p><p>Phoenix boasts rookies and veterans, young role players and seasoned superstars, across its roster. Pitman knew it was crucial for the Mercury's head coach to find common ground with "different levels of players." And Nygaard, he determined well ahead of the season's tip, "does that for us."</p><div type="image" title="Mercury GM Jim Pitman (left) welcomes Vanessa Nygaard to Phoenix." height="1771" width="2361" msid="91385685" hostid="261"></div><p>True to Pitman's description, Nygaard made it a top priority to connect with her players as soon as she arrived in Phoenix. She knows she "can't lead anybody unless I've developed some kind of trust and rapport with them," as she told Insider during media day, so she made that "a huge priority."</p><p>First up was the team's most famous face — WNBA all-time leading scorer Diana Taurasi. Soon after joining the Mercury's ranks, Nygaard approached the 17-year veteran and three-time WNBA champion and asked: "What do you need me to do?"</p><p>"How could I help?" Nygaard recalled asking the 39-year-old sharpshooter. "And she told me I needed to tighten the screws here and pay attention to the details. And bring in that kind of energy."</p><p>"The team had a lot of success. They have a lot of great pieces," she added. "But I think that success is focusing on details, so I've been really focusing on that."</p><p>Taurasi remembered the conversation well, she recalled the day before the season opener. Nygaard's player-first approach has set the stage for an affable, productive player-coach dynamic right off the bat. </p><p>"That's been one of the key points that's made it such a great relationship so far," Taurasi told Insider. "It's been very honest, very upfront. At the same time I asked Vanessa what she needed from me. Whenever you bring in a new coach, and you've had players on a certain team for a long time, there are things that have been useful and things that might need to change or to be tweaked."</p><p>"I think just being honest with each other has really benefited both of us forging this relationship forward and into the season," she added.</p><div type="image" title="Vanessa Nygaard." height="1901" width="2500" msid="91385686" hostid="261"></div><p>Nygaard may have been the first big change to Phoenix's squad, but she certainly wasn't the last. Roughly one week after the Mercury's new coach came aboard, the front office welcomed not one, but two of the league's top free agents to Phoenix.</p><p>As it turns out, that "athletic, big wing" Pitman realized his team needed during the WNBA Finals happened to be sitting on the opposing team's bench for the majority of the four-game series. Diamond DeShields, a 2019 WNBA All-Star, averaged roughly 13 minutes for the Sky during the Finals.</p><p>The one game she played more than 20 minutes, the 27-year-old earned 11 points, five rebounds, two assists, and five steals against the Mercury. </p><p>"We've liked Diamond for a long time," Pitman said. "We just never had an opportunity to get her. With her being a restricted free agent, it gave us a chance. And we were fortunate enough to have things work out in our favor."</p><p>He initiated a three-team trade with Chicago and the Indiana Fever. On February 3, DeShields officially joined Phoenix, which got the tall, athletic wing it coveted.</p><p>The Mercury got lucky on the other front, too. A day later, they also signed a stretch-4. But they didn't pick up just <em>any </em>stretch-4; they acquired "arguably the best stretch-4 type of player there is in Tina Charles," an eight-time All-Star and the league's 2012 MVP who led the WNBA in scoring just last season.</p><p>"Reload," Diggins-Smith said with a smile.</p><p>Three months before the season's tip, Phoenix had its "Big Six" in Skylar Diggins-Smith, Diana Taurasi, Brittney Griner, Brianna Turner, Diamond DeShields, and Tina Charles. But the team's incredible fortune was, it turns out, short-lived. </p><h2>The biggest story of this WNBA season has been Griner's detention in Russia. But her absence hits Phoenix the hardest.</h2><p>A 6-foot-9 superstar center who has played for the Mercury since they drafted her with the No. 1 overall pick in 2013, Brittney Griner spent the first part of the 2021-22 WNBA off-season like any other. Shortly after Phoenix's Finals loss, the Texas native flew to Russia to play for <a href="https://www.insider.com/brittney-griner-wnba-stars-team-owned-russian-oligarch-superstar-treatment-2022-3">European powerhouse club UMMC Ekaterinburg</a>, as she's done every winter since 2014.</p><p>Like roughly half of her fellow WNBA players, Griner heads overseas to <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/low-wnba-salaries-brittney-griner-arrest-russia-detainment-2022-3">supplement her relatively modest WNBA salary</a>. This year, the seven-time All-Star is set to take home a <a href="https://www.spotrac.com/wnba/phoenix-mercury/brittney-griner-29940/">league-maximum $227,900 annual base salary</a> from the Mercury, though she's eligible to make more between bonuses and marketing opportunities should she stay in the US for the winter.</p><p>She reportedly earned $1 million per season with UMMC Ekaterinburg, according to <a href="https://www.azcentral.com/story/sports/wnba/mercury/2017/03/12/phoenix-mercury-brittney-griner-reach-multi-year-contract-agreement/99052300/">The Arizona Republic's Jeff Metcalfe</a>.</p><div type="image" title="Brittney Griner." height="1666" width="2222" msid="91385687" hostid="261"></div><p>On February 17, after returning to Russia from New York, Griner was arrested and detained when customs agents at Moscow's Sheremetyevo Airport claimed to have <a href="https://www.insider.com/video-brittney-griner-russia-airport-security-wnba-star-detainment-2022-3">found vape cartridges</a> containing hashish oil in her luggage. Now, nearly three months later and on the eve of the 2022 season, Griner remains in Russian custody.</p><p>Her charge carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison, but investigations into her case are still underway in Russia. And as recently as this week, the US government announced a shift in Griner's classification status, deeming the two-time Olympic gold medalist <a href="https://www.insider.com/brittney-griner-russia-what-status-change-wrongfully-detained-means-2022-5">"wrongfully detained" in Russia</a>. The change signals the Biden administration will increase efforts to negotiate for Griner's release rather than wait for her case to make its way through the Russian judicial system.</p><p>Griner's arrest and subsequent detention has rocked the entire WNBA community. But nowhere has her absence been more pronounced than in Phoenix, where she has made as much of an impact on the people as she's had on the court.</p><p>"That's my sister," Diggins-Smith said. "I love her. It's toughest for people like me. Not toughest — it's toughest on her family — but I love her. I think about her every day, and I can't wait until she gets back here with us."</p><h2>Vying for a championship with an 'elephant in the room'</h2><p>Despite all of their meticulous strategizing, Pitman and his front office counterparts could never have planned for misfortune of this magnitude. Not only will the Mercury be without the physical presence of their 2021 leading scorer, rebounder, and blocker for Friday night's season opener against the Las Vegas Aces, but they'll face constant questions about her precarious situation throughout the course of the season.</p><div type="image" title="2021 WNBA leading scorer Tina Charles drives on Seattle Storm superstar Breanna Stewart." height="1666" width="2222" msid="91385689" hostid="261"></div><p>"Obviously the elephant in the room is BG," Charles said during media day. "That's one of the main persons that I was looking forward to playing with... I think of her very often."</p><p>"It's definitely difficult," she later added.</p><p>As hard as it will be for Phoenix players to forge ahead without Griner, their ambitions for the season ahead have not dampened one bit. Nygaard knows that "once you bounce the ball and start blowing the whistle," her players will be "really locked in" on the task at hand. </p><p>"Our goal here is to win championships," Pitman said. "And we're trying to do that every year. In particular, we had an opportunity this year to add some players that we think give us another strong chance to win a championship."</p><p>"Obviously, we all have BG always at the forefront of our minds," he later added. "But we're going to be ready to go on Friday when the ball tips."</p>

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