Becky Hammon Stands Firm on Resting Stars Amid WNBA Schedule Critique
WHO:
Fox News - Becky Hammon is the head coach of the Las Vegas Aces.
Newsweek - The Las Vegas Aces are a team in the WNBA.
Awful Announcing - A'ja Wilson, Chelsea Gray, and Jackie Young are star players for the Las Vegas Aces.
WHAT:
Newsweek - The WNBA regular season will expand from 44 to 50 games in 2027 as part of the league’s new collective bargaining agreement.
Awful Announcing - The Aces' game against the Lynx tipped off at 1 p.m. (ET), and the game against the Liberty started at 12:30 p.m.
The New York Times - The last time A'ja Wilson, Chelsea Gray, and Jackie Young missed the same game was during the 2024 regular-season finale against the Dallas Wings, which the Aces won 98-84.
Fox News - The Las Vegas Aces lost to the New York Liberty with a score of 111-71.
Awful Announcing - The Aces' starting five combined for just 19 points in the game against the Liberty.
The New York Times - Marine Johannes led the Liberty with a career-high 27 points off the bench.
Fox News - Becky Hammon benched three starters, including A'ja Wilson, for a nationally televised game against the Liberty.
Newsweek - The Aces announced they would rest three star players against the Liberty.
Awful Announcing - The WNBA rescinded Caitlin Clark's technical foul, allowing her to play against the Liberty.
WHERE:
Fox News - The game against the Liberty took place in Brooklyn, New York.
Awful Announcing - The Aces played their previous game in Minnesota.
WHEN:
Awful Announcing - The Aces' game against the Liberty was a nationally televised matchup on Sunday.
Awful Announcing - The Aces' game against the Liberty is scheduled for Sunday.
Awful Announcing - Caitlin Clark received her eighth technical foul of the 2026 WNBA season.
WHY:
Awful Announcing - Hammon stated, “Everybody has a brutal schedule at some point... I don’t even think they do this in the NBA, though, where it’s less than 24 hours.”
Awful Announcing - Becky Hammon cited player health and safety as the reason for resting the star players.
Awful Announcing - Hammon criticized the WNBA schedule for requiring back-to-back games with less than 24 hours between them.
HOW:
The New York Times - Hammon emphasized that the WNBA follows a guideline that gives teams a minimum of 22 hours between back-to-back games, and travel must be limited to no more than one time zone.
The New York Times - Aces coach Becky Hammon stated, “The health and safety of players comes first. Wherever we end up, we end up, and we’ll play whatever hand is dealt to us.”
Awful Announcing - Hammon stated that the Aces would prioritize player health and safety over participating in big matchups.
In a significant development for women's basketball, the WNBA regular season will expand from 44 to 50 games in 2027 as part of a new collective bargaining agreement. The Las Vegas Aces recently faced the Minnesota Lynx and the New York Liberty in back-to-back games, with tip-off times of 1 p.m. and 12:30 p.m. respectively, prompting coach Becky Hammon to highlight the league's guideline of providing teams with at least 22 hours between games and limiting travel to one time zone.