Las Vegas Aces head coach Becky Hammon was promptly ejected from her team's home game against the Atlanta Dream on Tuesday night, and star player A'ja Wilson had her back. The ejection occurred in the game's second quarter with 5:06 remaining. Hammon took exception to the referee's no-calls for Wilson and went ballistic on the sidelines, continuing to shout at the nearby official.
As Hammon continued her tirade, Wilson went over and attempted to hold her back, but that wasn't enough. Hammon received two technicals in succession and was ejected from the game. Following the game, Wilson spoke about her head coach's early exit, defending her due to the way the officiating had been going.
"Becky, rightfully so, was upset with the no-call that we had down on the other end, and then there was another; I don't know what happened on the other side. But just the inconsistency that we see sometimes is frustrating," Wilson said regarding the calls and no-calls. More news: Fever-Dream Overtime Thriller Breaks All-Time WNBA Viewership Record "Tried to hold her back.
Tried to hold her back, but I guess it's just, I don't know what they saw. ... It messes up your flow a bit. It's unfortunate," Wilson said.
Las Vegas went on to lose the home game, 97-82, to Angel Reese and the visiting Atlanta Dream. While she admitted the disruption affected how the Aces played, she didn't cite it as the reason for the loss. Wilson recorded a double-double of 27 points and 14 rebounds.
Center NaLyssa Smith also fouled out of the game and left amid the losing effort. On the opposing side, the Dream received 23 points from Rhyne Howard, and 21 points apiece from Reese and Allisha Gray. Hammon's been known as an outspoken head coach, who doesn't hold back with her comments postgame, and definitely didn't during this game.
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