HENDERSON, Nev. (AP) — NaLyssa Smith was playing some of her best basketball when she suffered a season-ending non-contact left leg injury Aug. 23.
Now she has to sit and watch her Las Vegas Aces teammates try to repeat as WNBA champions and win their fourth title in five years.
“You never plan on having an injury,” Smith said Monday. “You always plan on just having a better year every single year. so it’s been tough. But I’ve been surrounded by nothing
but love and grace.”
Smith took a lot of pressure off four-time MVP A'ja Wilson by giving the Aces a key second weapon in the post. She averaged 11.8 points and 6.4 rebounds over 37 games at the time of her injury and led the league in field goal percentage at 63.8%.
“I feel like this has probably been one of my best years so far,” said Smith, in her fifth season. “So it's unfortunate it came to an end so quickly, but now that I know I can (play well), I can build on it.”
Smith said Wilson has kept in regular contact with her and that coach Becky Hammon shared how she overcame her own injury problems as a Hall of Fame player.
Losing Smith was a big blow to the Aces' title chances, though they went into Monday third in the standings with two games left. Las Vegas is a consensus second choice to win the championship behind Minnesota.
“I feel like every athlete, you're going to go through something, whether that's a hard time in your life, whether that is losing somebody in a family, whether that's just being depressed because of basketball,” Smith said. “I've gone through many trials and tribulations, so this is just another stepping stone.”
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AP WNBA: https://apnews.com/hub/wnba-basketball
