Las Vegas Aces star A’ja Wilson said “I cried a lot” after a verbal altercation with a Fever fan in Game 2 of their first-round WNBA playoff series.
Wilson, expected to win her fifth WNBA MVP award this season, explained how she handled the incident behind the scenes after the Aces’ 94-83 victory over the Fever in Thursday’s deciding Game 3 at Michelob Ultra Arena in Las Vegas.
“I mean, honestly, I have my days. I had my moment, because I’m human,” Wilson said postgame. “But after a while, I understood I didn’t want to be a distraction to myself and to my team. And I knew what we had to do coming into tonight. So I put it behind me.
“I prayed a lot. I cried a lot. I talked to a lot of different people, and the amount of love that I received today, the amount of Bible verses that I received, it reminded me I’m covered.
“So I can’t really worry about anything else. I’m grateful to be surrounded by people that could constantly lift me up. Once I put that on the back burner, I had to come up. I had to show up for my team today, and I’m glad we got the win.”
Wilson did just that, scoring 36 points to go with 10 rebounds in the decisive game that sent Las Vegas into the second round.
She was assessed a technical foul for unsportsmanlike conduct by the officials in Game 2 after she confronted a Fever fan in the stands for stepping toward her.
After a review, Wilson did not face further discipline from the league.
The fan was escorted out of the arena bowl but returned to his seat after security determined “there was no violation of the Fan Code of Conduct.”
After the incident, Wilson explained that the fan’s actions were “unacceptable.”
She said she apologized to her teammates for receiving the technical in the Aces’ 99-89 loss.
Las Vegas will play the winner of the Golden State-Dallas series, with the deciding Game 3 being played in San Francisco on Friday.
The Aces are trying to win their second straight championship.
