A'ja Wilson Incredulous Over WNBA Teams Poaching Aces Assistant Coaches
On Saturday, the Chicago Sky announced they had hired former Las Vegas Aces assistant coach Tyler Marsh as their head coach for the 2025 WNBA season.
All indications are that this was a great hiring for Chicago. This was made clear by Chicago Sun-Times reporter Annie Costabile, who wrote in a November 2 article, "[Marsh] has been praised for his player-development skills, specifically his work with three-time MVP A’ja Wilson".
However, players on the Aces don't seem to be very happy about losing their beloved assistant coach. This was shown by Las Vegas guard Sydney Colson posting on X, "Excuse me?! We’re grieving, have some 🤬 respect!" in a response to Sky superstar Angel Reese after Reese posted "W." in response to the hiring announcement.
Colson isn't the only Aces player who has made their frustration apparent, as 2024 WNBA MVP A'ja Wilson also posted about it by writing on X, "boff assistants is crazy…," along with a gif of an upset man from a viral video.
boff assistants is crazy… pic.twitter.com/hEnDvloNIj
— A'ja Wilson (@_ajawilson22) November 3, 2024
Wilson is alluding to the fact that another former Las Vegas Aces assistant Natalie Nakase was named as the head coach of the Golden State Valkyries back in October.
Perhaps it shouldn't come as a surprise that former Aces assistant coaches are receiving head coaching jobs, considering how elite the Aces have been over the past few seasons. But Becky Hammon and her roster — whoever ends up being on it — will have to get used to not having a few familiar faces around next season.
Grant Young covers Women’s Basketball, the New York Yankees, and the New York Mets for Sports Illustrated’s ‘On SI’ sites. He holds an MFA degree in creative writing from the University of San Francisco (USF), where he also graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in Marketing and played on USF’s Division I baseball team for five years. However, he now prefers Angel Reese to Angels in the Outfield.