It was a nationally televised WNBA matchup between the Las Vegas Aces and New York Liberty on Sunday afternoon in Brooklyn, a battle of two championship hopefuls.But Aces head coach Becky Hammon had a starting five nobody expected, and it could be viewed as a protest for having to play back-to-back games on the road this weekend.Hammon didn’t play four-time MVP A’ja Wilson, Chelsea Gray or Jackie Young – three usual Aces starters – with Jewell Loyd, Dana Evans and Brianna Turner taking their spots instead.It wasn’t just for the start of the game either, as all three of those players didn’t step foot on the court other than to cheer their teammates on.CLICK HERE FOR MORE SPORTS COVERAGE ON FOXNEWS.COMBecky Hammon, head coach of the Las Vegas Aces, looks on against the New York Liberty during their game at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, N.Y., on Aug.
9, 2026.(Getty Images)For a nationally televised ABC game against a rival, it was a curious move by Hammon, but the load management move is one that she defended following a 111-71 rout by the Liberty on their home Barclays Center court."The health and safety of players comes first," Hammon said, per Yahoo Sports.
"Wherever we end up, we end up, and we’ll play whatever hand is dealt to us.To me, this was a just a bigger picture type (of) scenario, so you take the ‘L,’ understanding that it pays dividends on the back end."The Aces fell to the Minnesota Lynx, 98-87, on Saturday, where Wilson (33 minutes), Young (33) and Gray (36) all played their usual workloads.WNBA MEDIA DEFENDS DIJONAI CARRINGTON AFTER DANGEROUS SOPHIE CUNNINGHAM HIT REVEALS GLARING BIASBut the short turnaround, especially on the road, led Hammon to sit her stars.
And national TV game or not, it was a move she likely would’ve done considering her stance."Not going to put (players) in any kind of jeopardy to get hurt when we’ve been expending a lot of energy and traveling a lot of miles back and forth, crisscrossing the country," Ha...