LAS VEGAS — Aces head coach Becky Hammon was fired up about end-of-season awards before her team’s game Tuesday against the Sky.
After wearing a pink wig Sunday to mimic star player A’ja Wilson and ‘‘remind everyone who the best player in the world is,’’ Hammon had another speech ready in defense of Wilson’s MVP case.
To define the conversation, Hammon said it’s not about which player is most important to their team — though she argued Wilson would win that, too — but about who is the most dominant player in the WNBA.
‘‘We’re not talking about team MVPs,’’ Hammon said. ‘‘If that was the case, let’s hand out 13 MVP trophies. This is who’s the best in the league.’’
She also seemed to take issue with the preseason buzz around Lynx star Napheesa Collier, who opened the year as the front-runner for the award.
‘‘You don’t crown someone at the beginning of the year and then walk it back so that it fits your narrative,’’ Hammon said. ‘‘You observe and you follow where the truth and the numbers lead because the numbers don’t lie.’’
Wilson’s numbers do plenty of talking. She leads the league in scoring at 23.8 points per game and broke the record for most 30-point games in a season Sunday. But Collier isn’t far behind, averaging 23 points and doing it more efficiently. The Lynx also have clinched the No. 1 seed, while the Aces will end up as No. 2 or No. 3.
Sky head coach Tyler Marsh, who was an assistant to Hammon and coached Wilson with the Aces, admitted he still sees her at the top of the list.
His definition of MVP? Someone who ‘‘elevates everyone else around them on both ends of the floor.’’
Still, the oddsmakers favor Collier. She’s the front-runner, according to FanDuel. Wilson’s odds are second-best.
Familiar faces for Marsh
Marsh said he doesn’t think it’s a coincidence that he’s back in Las Vegas during what he called “the toughest moment” of his first season , coming after a half-game suspension of star Angel Reese in the fallout of her comments last week.
Being in a familiar city — he helped the Aces win back-to-back championships in 2022 and 2023 — has helped.
‘‘It’s always good to feel love,’’ he said. ‘‘There’s a lot of that in this city and from this organization.’’
He also brought along his wife and 2-year-old son, only the second time they’ve traveled with the Sky this season.
‘‘Sometimes you can get lost in how a tough season can affect the ones around you, too,’’ he said. ‘‘It’s been good to have them here.’’
Reese report
Reese, the Sky’s franchise player, missed both games in Las Vegas, reportedly with a back injury. She attended both shootarounds, but her relationship with the organization remains unclear.
Injury report
After a season defined by injuries, the Sky are limping to the finish line. Guards Ariel Atkins and Hailey Van Lith likely are done for the season.
Neither has attended the last two shootarounds, and with only one game left — at home Thursday against the Liberty — a return seems unlikely.
Atkins is being treated for a back injury, and Van Lith still is rehabbing an ankle injury that has kept her out of the last five games.
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