The Las Vegas Aces were all prepared to take down the New York Liberty on Sunday and become the WNBA champion for the second consecutive year. Unfortunately, things didnt go as they quite hoped. The New York Liberty resurrected their championship dreams in Game 3, delivering a final score, of 87-73. As the best-of-five series now stands at 2-1 in favor of the Liberty, the momentum has undoubtedly shifted. Further adding to their advantage is the absence of Chelsea Gray and Kiah Stokes.

Meanwhile, ten months into Dearica Hamby’s ‘bullying’ allegation, Kelsey Plum counts on Aces riding through the Storm.

Kelsey Plum remains confident in the Aces

Kelsey Plum is no stranger to making her presence felt. The Aces’ tenacious guard is not just about style; she’s got the substance to match. She’s been a force, averaging an impressive 26 points and 3.6 assists over the first three games of the WNBA Finals. Plum’s performance stood even in Game 3, where the Aces fell short against the Liberty. She singlehandedly kept Las Vegas within striking distance, putting up 29 points and sinking 5 three-pointers.

As the Aces prepare for Game 4, the absence of star point guard Chelsea Gray due to a foot injury and Kiah Stokes being sidelined makes Plum’s role even more critical. Most recently, Plum spoke to the media about the same.

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Kelsey Plum said, ” I’m just trying to get better. And I think that over the years um just tried to chip away at getting better. But this team is uh led by committee. A lot of different areas you know. We have… AC leads defensively A’ja leads us emotionally. I think Chelsea leads us more um Xs and Os. And uh you know getting people where they’re supposed to be so um like I said earlier it’s not going to be one person that you know attempts to try to fill that gap, it’s going to be the team you know.” 

Plum continued, “I mean this team has responded all year we’ve been through a lot. I mean shoot we’ve been uh hurt, sued, arrested you name it we’ve done it. So like I said I’m confident in our group and um we’ve gone through a lot of adversity. We’ll be ready.”

After a Painful WNBA Finals Exit for Aces Guard, Aching Update Looms Over Chelsea Gray and Defending Champion

Meanwhile, why were the Aces sued?

Dearica Hamby puts forth ‘bullying’ claim

Dearica Hamby, who won a championship with the Aces in 2022, returned to the hardwood this season, donning the purple jacket of the Los Angeles Sparks. Hamby, however, had inked a two-year extension with the Aces in June 2022.

Hamby had taken to social media to accuse the Aces of questioning and bullying her for her pregnancy before informing her of her trade to the Sparks. She said in her statement, “I was accused of signing my extension knowingly pregnant. This is false. I was told that I was ‘a question mark’ and that it was said that I said I would ‘get pregnant again’ and there was a concern for my level of commitment to the team. I was told that ‘I didn’t hold up my end of the bargain’ (because ‘no one expected me to get pregnant in the next two years’).”

“Did the team expect me to promise not to get pregnant in exchange for the contract extension? I was asked if I planned my pregnancy. When I responded, ‘no,’ I was then told that I ‘was not taking precautions to not get pregnant.’ I was being traded because ‘I wouldn’t be ready and we need bodies,'” Hamby concluded.

These allegations prompted the WNBA to launch an investigation. The Aces lost a draft pick and their coach, Becky Hammon, received a two-game suspension due to the same.

Hammon responded to the allegations, stating, “[Hamby’s pregnancy] wasn’t a problem, and it never was why we made the decision. We made the decision to move Hamby because we could get three bodies in her one contract, and we wanted to get three more people in. I think it’s very evident [with] who we signed on why we made the move. It came down to math in business. That’s all it was. Nothing personal. I had a great relationship with Hamby the whole time. Which is why she probably felt the way she did. You know, it feels like a betrayal. But like I said, it’s a crappy part of my job, but somebody’s got to be the bearer of bad news.”

Dearica Hamby gave birth on March 15 and returned to the court with her new team just eight weeks later. She then filed a discrimination lawsuit against her former team accusing the Aces’ head coach, Becky Hammon, of discriminatory behavior in a legal filing submitted to the Nevada Equal Rights Commission and the EEOC. In the lawsuit obtained by ESPN and filed just last month, Hamby alleges that Coach Hammon accused her of signing a two-year contract extension with the Aces last year while knowing that she was pregnant. Hamby also claimed that the Aces retaliated against her and created an unreasonably abusive and hostile work environment.

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While the outcome of this legal battle remains to be seen, the battle on the court will continue between the New York Liberty and the Las Vegas Aces. Game 4 is scheduled for Wednesday’s Game at 8 p.m. ET. Who are you rooting for? Let us know in the comments below!