The Las Vegas Aces had Chelsea Gray back on Wednesday. Related, the Aces started looking like a championship-caliber team on Wednesday.
Gray missed the first 12 games of the season with a foot injury but came off the bench to help the Aces beat the Seattle Storm 94-83. She received a standing ovation when Aces coach Becky Hammon called her off the bench to play for the first time in 2024.
Just seconds later, Gray found Alesha Clark on the perimeter for her 1,500th career assist.
From there, the assists just got better.
Gray played on a minutes restriction and finished with one point on 0-for-2 shooting, seven assists, four rebounds and two blocks. It wasn’t a flashy debut, but it must have been a nice feeling for the Aces, who entered Wednesday on a slump with five losses in their past seven games.
Meanwhile, Jackie Young was the team’s leading scorer with 32 points, while A’ja Wilson contributed with 27 points, 9 rebounds, 4 steals and 3 assists.
The Aces, who went 34-6 last season, lost just 12 games and recorded the same number of losses. It was so bad that Wilson began to cry after the game while discussing his responsibility with the team.
Gray’s absence isn’t the only reason for the struggles, but her return was the most obvious solution for Las Vegas. Coming into the match at 9-5, the Storm are certainly coming off a quality win and have a chance to add to their big picture on Friday when they face the 13-1 Connecticut Sun.
