Chelsea Gray Details How Fever Helped Prepare Aces for WNBA Championship

Most expected the Aces to breeze past the Fever in this semifinal series, if only because Indiana's roster had five players (including the inimitable Caitlin Clark) sidelined for the rest of the season with injuries. But the Fever's resiliency and grit shone through, which Becky Hammon alluded to during her Aces exit interview earlier this week by saying, "Indiana played great," Hammon said, per a YouTube video from The Ballers Magazine.

"They had great individual performances, I think they're coached great... that was a very good team, a very resilient team that had just went through Atlanta. Like, I don't think, instead of trying to not take away from our credit, why don't we give them credit?" she continued.

Chelsea Gray Credits Fever When Speaking About WNBA Finals Dominance

Becky Hammon wasn't the only member of the Aces who gave the Fever their flowers, as star point guard Chelsea Gray also gave the team credit when speaking with Sue Bird for an October 17 episode of Bird's Eye View.

"Seattle and Indiana prepared us for Phoenix, honestly," Gray said. She later added, "You have Indiana; super fast, with Kelsey Mitchell downhill. Defending in your grill, Lexie Hull. You have a presence inside with Aliyah Boston, that's gonna be a bruiser. They're aggressive defensively."

Gray later continued, "Indiana, they were off to the races every single time. And so, us having those two series prepared us more for Phoenix than we even understood."

While Fever fans would have preferred their team to be in the WNBA Finals rather than having helped another team prepare for it, it's some solace knowing that the Fever's fingerprints were still on that championship series.