LAS VEGAS (AP) — They’ll be on opposing teams when the WNBA Finals begin on Friday but coaches Becky Hammon of the Las Vegas Aces and Nate Tibbets of the Phoenix Mercury have one thing in common: childhoods in South Dakota.
“We’re a very small state, so one thing I think people sleep on is the basketball in South Dakota,” Hammon said. “Mike Miller is another South Dakota guy. Eric Piatkowski. … Mark Ellis played Major League Baseball. We were in the same graduating class. That’s crazy to have two professional athletes in a school that size in a state that size. So that’s what we do. We do outdoors and sports.”
Hammon played against a team coached by Tibbets’ father, Fred, when she was in high school. Fred Tibbets was one of the most successful high school coaches in the state’s history, winning 111 games in a row at one point.
Although they are the same age, the two didn’t really know each other until both got jobs in the NBA as assistant coaches. Hammon was with the Spurs, and Tibbets with the Cavaliers, Trail Blazers and Magic.
In the COVID year that was played in a bubble in Florida, the South Dakota pair got friendly as their teams were staying in the same hotel. They frequently had pickleball games.
“When I came to this league, we shared an agent and so I reached out to her, and she’s been absolutely awesome ever since I took the job,” Tibbets said. “South Dakota is one of those places. There’s not a lot of us, right? I’ve never met anyone from South Dakota who didn’t like her. To me, South Dakota is a special place in that people support each other.”
Here are some other things to know heading into the Finals.
History at stake
The Aces have a chance to win a third title in four years, which would make them the second team to accomplish that feat. The Houston Comets won the league’s first four championships from 1997-2000.
Hammon isn’t focused on that just yet, though did think they had one thing in common.
“First-ballot Hall of Famers. That’s where we have something in common, you know, just elite dominance,” she said.
A’ja Wilson is the league’s first four-time MVP and Chelsea Gray is also on her way to a potential Hall of Fame career. The Comets had Cynthia Cooper, Sheryl Swoopes and Tina Thompson, who were all inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.
Finals rematch for Thomas and Wilson
Alyssa Thomas and DeWanna Bonner have faced the Aces before in the WNBA Finals when they were members of the Connecticut Sun. Las Vegas needed four games to win that best-of-five series in 2022.
“It’s always fun competing against (Thomas),” Wilson said. “It helps me elevate myself, whether it’s defensive schemes, (managing) personnel, or just taking everything to another level every game. We’re going to play our best basketball.”
Thomas had to guard Wilson a bit in that series a few years ago. She has respect for the MVP.
″She’s doing a lot of things that a lot of players could never do. Her résumé speaks for itself. I think when you have players like that, it constantly makes you want to evolve and make your game better,” Thomas said. “It elevates my game in a way. Each and every year, I try to come back and bring more.”
Expanded playoff format
This will be the first time that the WNBA has a best-of-seven championship round. Most players didn’t seem to care much about the potential of adding two more games to an already long season. They were most happy that Phoenix and Las Vegas were short flights from each other. The Mercury played New York in the opening round and with that series going the all three games, Phoenix made two cross- country flight in a short span.
“It’s great that these two teams are so close,” Mercury guard Kahleah Copper said. “Cuts down on a lot of travel for us.”
A key moment for the WNBA
As the championship series kicks off, much of the drama has been off the court. Minnesota Lynx star Napheesa Collier issued a blistering assessment that the league has “the worst leadership in the world” with a commissioner who lacks accountability.
Other players, including Wilson, Caitlin Clark and Sophie Cunningham, have backed Collier’s critique of Commissioner Cathy Engelbert. The mounting tensions come at a critical time as the league and players face an Oct. 31 deadline to reach a new collective bargaining agreement.
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