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WNBA Finals: Aces lose ‘general’ Chelsea Gray for Game 4 vs. Liberty

October 17, 2023

NEW YORK — Chelsea Gray is out at least for Game 4 of the WNBA Finals after suffering an injury to her left foot Sunday.

The Las Vegas Aces star guard was wearing a boot on her foot and had it propped up on a scooter she used to get into practice Tuesday. She was injured in Game 3 on Sunday midway through the fourth quarter.

“It’s painful. I’m waiting for more information, it’s not good,” said Gray, who was going to wait until she got back to Las Vegas for further evaluation.

Las Vegas also will be missing forward Kiah Stokes, who had a boot on her right foot.

“I don’t know exactly, I woke up and my foot was hurting and we’re trying to figure it out from there,” Stokes said.

Game 4 is Wednesday night in New York and Las Vegas leads the best-of-five series 2-1. Game 5 would be on Friday if the Liberty even the series.

“You get to the Finals and you don’t get this time back. So it sucks in that way,” Gray said. “But I’m excited still to win a championship. We do it by committee. We haven’t been whole for a long time. Candace (Parker) has been out … so we’re kind of built for this moment.”

Gray said that she injured the foot in the fourth quarter of Las Vegas’ 87-73 loss to New York. She tried to shake it off but knew something was wrong when she couldn’t get up and down the court on the next few possessions.

“Obviously the timing (stinks),” Gray said. “There’s only a couple games left in our season.”

Gray, who is averaging 15.6 points and 6.8 assists in the playoffs this year, has been durable throughout her time with Las Vegas since joining the team as a free agent in 2021, missing only one game.

“We lost our general,” coach Becky Hammon said. “I don’t think there’s any one person that’s going to step up and fill her shoes.”

With Gray and Stokes out, the Aces will need to rely on reserves Sydney Colson and Cayla George to fill their void.

The Aces depth was one of the teams major questions coming into the season. Coming off the championship last year, Las Vegas hoped to increase its depth, but because of an injury to Candace Parker that has sidelined her since late July and Riquna Williams’ legal issues, the team hasn’t been able to do that.

The Aces have had to rely heavily on their four stars — Gray, A’ja Wilson, Jackie Young and Kelsey Plum — this season. The four have combined to average 75 of the team’s 88 points a game in the playoffs.

Gray’s injury is the latest in a long line of distractions that the defending champion Aces have had to overcome this season. Before the WNBA’s 27th season began, the league investigated the team after former Aces player Dearica Hamby said she had been bullied and manipulated for being pregnant.

The WNBA suspended Hammon for two games and also rescinded the Aces’ first-round pick in the 2025 draft for a different issue — a violation of league rules regarding impermissible player benefits.

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Unhappy with the league’s findings, Hamby then filed a gender discrimination complaint last month against the WNBA and the Aces with the Nevada Equal Rights Commission and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.

“A lot of adversity and pretty much my girls have held their tongues, been professional the whole time and went about their business,” Hammon said.

WNBA Finals Game 4

Who: Las Vegas Aces at New York Liberty

When: Wednesday, 5 p.m.

Where: Barclays Center, Brooklyn, New York

TV: ESPN

Orange County Register

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WNBA Finals: Aces lose ‘general’ Chelsea Gray for Game 4 vs. Liberty

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