The WNBA Finally Has Stars. Why Is It Fighting Them? | The Riley Gaines Show
Caitlin Clark and Sophie Cunningham are giving the WNBA exactly what every league says it wants: attention, rivalry, ratings, personality, memes, and real fan emotion. So why does the league keep looking uncomfortable with the very energy that is making people watch? On this episode of The Riley Gaines Show, Riley breaks down Clark’s return to elite form, the Fever’s surge, the technical foul controversy, and Sophie Cunningham pushing back on the
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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.
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Becky 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.
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But 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,” Hammon said as she continued defending her decision.
“It is what it is. I know these are big matchups, and these are what people want to see, but you should ensure that it’s fair.”
As per the WNBA’s new collective bargaining agreement, which was agreed upon by both the league and player before the start of this season, has language stating the league will “make reasonable and good faith efforts” to provide at least 20 hours between the scheduled start of a team’s first game of a back-to-back and the scheduled start of its second game.
Head coach Becky Hammon of the Las Vegas Aces looks on during a game against the Minnesota Lynx on Aug. 8, 2026, at Target Center in Minneapolis, Minn. (NBAE via Getty Images)
Meanwhile, the WNBA has a guideline that gives teams a minimum of 22 hours between back-to-back games, where travel mustn’t be more than one time zone. It’s similar to what the NBA does during its own schedule.
For this weekend back-to-back, the Aces tipped off on Saturday at 1 p.m. ET, and they were slated for Sunday’s game at 12:30 p.m. ET. Also, the Lynx played their second game of a back-to-back themselves on Saturday afternoon, but both games were at home as they played the Dallas Wings at 3:30 p.m. ET.
The Liberty obviously didn’t mind not facing key starters for the Aces in what was an easy victory, but even Jonquel Jones couldn’t blame Hammon for thinking about the future.
“Obviously, they have to do what’s right for their team,” she said, via Yahoo Sports. “They have to do what’s right for their bodies. But as competitors, we really wanted to match up against them.”
The WNBA schedule will only grow as the seasons continue and its popularity expands. Next season, there will be a 50-game slate for the first time in league history – up six games from 2026.
Becky 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)
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But what Hammon did on Sunday afternoon in Brooklyn could be more than just focusing on her team’s health and safety moving forward with important games left to play closer to a playoff push.
Perhaps this was her way of telling the WNBA that, while it fell within the guideline of a minimum of 22 hours between games, she doesn’t care if the game is on national TV or not.
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