The Las Vegas Aces recalled Chelsea Gray on Wednesday. On a related note, the Aces started to look like a championship-caliber team on Wednesday.
After missing the first 12 games of the season with a foot injury, Gray came off the bench and helped the Aces to a 94-83 victory over the Seattle Storm. Aces coach Becky Hammon opted to bring her off the bench, prompting a standing ovation from her when she came on for the first time in 2024.
A few seconds later, Gray found Alysha Clark on the perimeter for the 1,500th assist of her career.
The assists only improved from there.
Gray played on a minutes limit and scored one point on 0-for-2 shooting, seven assists, four rebounds and two blocks for the game. It wasn’t the loudest debut, but he had to feel good for an Aces team that entered Wednesday in a clear decline with five losses in its last seven games.
Meanwhile, Jackie Young led all scorers with 32 points, while A’ja Wilson contributed 27 points, nine rebounds, four steals and three assists.
After going 34-6 last season and winning a championship, the Aces matched that loss total in just 12 games. It was bad enough that Wilson started crying after the game while he talked about his responsibility to the team.
Gray’s absence wasn’t the only reason for those problems, but his return was the clearest solution available to Las Vegas. The Storm, who entered the game at 9-5, are definitely a quality win, and they will have a chance to make it even bigger on Friday against the 13-1 Connecticut Sun.
