For the Las Vegas Aces, it’s all about timing — each player knowing how (and more importantly, when) to step up and play her part, players sharing the spotlight willingly and seeing the moment before it happens. And then?
Usually, someone twerks.
Oh, did you think that was about basketball?
Because it definitely was not.
Advertisement
But it also completely is.
Because while the Aces lead the league in scoring, rebounding and shooting percentage — and will play at Connecticut Tuesday night for the league’s best win percentage — perhaps the most important stat for Las Vegas is one that defines its team identity and its ability to climb to the top: Fun.
Yes, the Aces lead the league in fun. They have become as well known for their Tik Tok dances as their victories.
And as a result, the whole “leading the league in so many other statistical categories” part has come about with a bit more ease … and a lot more enjoyment.
“I always preach every day and all day that games are there to have fun,” coach Bill Laimbeer says. “Yes, it’s a job. Yes, it’s a responsibility. Yes, it gets to be intense. But if you don’t have fun, then you’re going to drive yourself into the ground in this.”
For A’ja Wilson, it’s the only way she knows how to play the game. The last time Wilson says she didn’t have fun with the sport was when she first picked up a basketball and couldn’t get a handle on anything. But when she saw how invested her teammates were, and how much fun they had with it, she decided to attempt to see the game from their perspectives. She tried not to determine her happiness by how much playing time she got, but rather by just enjoying the whole experience. That approach has followed her from AAU days to South Carolina to, now, Las Vegas.
“Life is just too short,” Wilson says. “I feel we get so caught up in moments, and we miss out on the actual moment because we’re constantly thinking about how to be successful within that moment, and that can bring stress and that can bring a lot of anxiety. So, for me, when I think of things that I want to approach, the way I want to approach it, I always want to have fun with it and have fun with it my way.”
Advertisement
Wilson was drafted by the Aces in 2018 when the franchise made the move from San Antonio to Las Vegas, and she has been the player around whom this team was built. So, it shouldn’t come as a surprise that Wilson’s way has become the Aces’ way. That means a lot of singing, joking and yes, a whole lot of twerking.
Because the full walkout video needed to be shared 😂
Sing it @_ajawilson22 @cgray209 🎤 pic.twitter.com/pCw426eWBf
— Las Vegas Aces (@LVAces) June 4, 2021
Aces social media manager Kris Lumague had a realization early on when he joined the franchise ahead of the 2018 season: He was never going to have enough digital space for everything worth capturing. The best thing he could do was to let whatever was happening play out as long as it might play out (or until he ran out of space).
“I just learned very quickly to always have the camera rolling,” Lumague says. “I’ve been asked ‘Hey, is this one of those things where they only do it when the camera is on?’ I’m like ‘No, they do this regardless.’ I actually wish that I had more hands to hold more cameras, because there’s stuff that I would record if I had more hands to hold more cameras.”
But the good news is that because everyone has a phone, there are always cameras at the ready (even when Lumague isn’t around).
While the Aces were stranded inside the Mohegan Sun Casino after arriving early in Connecticut due to a tropical storm, Lumague, Wilson and Chelsea Gray passed by an empty pool as they were walking to the weight room. Inspiration struck Gray and Wilson, who began reenacting a scene from Stomp The Yard (as one does).
Or consider a random Wednesday, when Dearica Hamby’s phone catches the day veteran Angel McCoughtry decided to surprise everyone by jumping in on a TikTok challenge.
@aja__wilsonpromise we were 6ft apart 😅😇😆
♬ Esco Like Yhop ft. Shawn P – Èsco Upp🗣
“They had me twerking,” McCoughtry says. “And the comments were hilarious. People were like, ‘Yo, we’ve never seen this side of Angel.’ And I have that goofy side. That just goes to show that this team, they bring it out of you, they bring that goofiness. This is probably the team I’ve been the most vulnerable with, like, sharing how I feel and things. I couldn’t do that in Atlanta. There just wasn’t that connection there.”
Advertisement
All of this might not be as entertaining or enjoyable if the Aces weren’t winning games, but they are and they continue to do so. Players and coaches link the success to this loose, fun energy that is built off the court. It’s what fuels 21-point comeback wins against the Mystics. It’s what got them through a trying season in the WNBA bubble. And it’s one reason why it’s hard to bet against the Aces in 2021. They’re having more fun than anyone else, and that makes them more dangerous than anyone else.
“When you’re out there, you’re like, ‘Dang, I genuinely care about her, and I want to be able to have her back,’” Gray says. “Sometimes people are built that way and some people are just like ‘What’s on the court is on the court.’ But I think we have fun with it and that makes it even more enjoyable.”
And, like on the court, while Wilson might be the ringleader, it’s fair to say that this is a talented ensemble cast.
Gray is the team DJ, who keeps the vibes rolling. Hamby has never seen a dance challenge she didn’t like. Jackie Young and Riquna Williams are the silent assassins. (Says Gray: “They’ve got little comments that are funny, and I’m like, ‘Did nobody hear what they said?’”) Liz Cambage isn’t afraid to push the envelope or say something brutally honest on camera. And Kelsey Plum often makes surprise appearances. (Gray: “Plum is like the peekaboo person — she’ll catch you off guard and come out of nowhere with something for like five seconds, and you’re like, ‘Whoa, Plum.”)
These are so funny 😂 🤣 @lvaces
(via @Kelseyplum10) pic.twitter.com/0fuDcuy5Ur
— espnW (@espnW) May 9, 2021
With those personalities, it might be hard to imagine how everyone fits together, and even harder to imagine it all working when the coach of the whole bunch is Laimbeer, someone who isn’t often associated with fun Tik Toks or general silliness. While he mostly has avoided the spotlight, players try to rope him into the fun, at times.
Two weeks ago, when Wilson saw him in shorts for the first time, she gave him a hard time about having knee caps (which is obviously something she had questioned since she had never seen them). Last week, Laimbeer made an appearance in Wilson’s Instagram story while the team made a stop at Walmart to pick up necessary provisions.
And while being featured in impromptu videos might not be his preference, he’s also not going to get in the way of players doing what they need to do to be themselves because he knows it’s what allows the Aces to be the Aces.
Advertisement
“Whatever they do to get their jollies and have fun and break the tension or whatever, wonderful,” Laimbeer says. “I don’t really pay attention to it.”
But the rest of the women’s basketball world? It does. It enjoys the jollies very much.
Nobody:
Us: pic.twitter.com/6syPOckbqt
— Dearica Marie Hamby (@dearicamarie) May 31, 2021
(Photo: Abbie Parr / Getty Images)
ncG1vNJzZmismJqutbTLnquim16YvK57kXBvb21gbHxzfJFqZmlwX2eBcMDIpGStp5uoerXDxKuioqaXYq6vsIytqaKtnaW1brTOsGStoJVirqSx0majnpmUYsGpsYylnJqfpZp6qrqMn6ynZZGjsW7DyKeloqaXZA%3D%3D