A'ja Wilson makes her feelings known on teams poaching Aces assistant coaches with retro family band parallel

The Las Vegas Aces have been gradually losing their staff under head coach Becky Hammon this offseason. However, they have replenished these losses with new hires, including Ty Ellis, Larry Lewis and former NBA player Jon Lucas.

As the Aces saw their assistant coaches leave for other teams, WNBA MVP A’Ja Wilson made her feelings known about the situation. On her Threads account, Wilson likened the Aces’ predicament of losing assistant coaches to a retro family band led by a woman.

“Our assistant coaching staff looking like Gladys Knight & the Pips eYEA,” she wrote on Monday.

Post by @aja22wilson

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Gladys Knight & the Pips were an American funk band that gained popularity in the 1970s and 1980s. Gladys Knight was the only woman in the group, which was mostly made up of her family members.

Knight was a founding member of the group, which also saw numerous departures in the 1950s, resembling what is happening with the Aces. The band’s most well-known core members include Gladys, her brother Bubba and cousins William Guest and Edward Pattern.

The Aces saw two of their assistant coaches leave for head coaching posts in the WNBA: Tyler Marsh, who was hired as the next head coach of the Angel Reese-led Chicago Sky, and Natalie Nakase, who became the first head coach of the expansion squad Golde State Valkyries.

The Aces won the 2022 and 2023 WNBA titles with those assistant coaches. The only one who stayed on Hammon’s staff is Charlene Thompson-Swinson.

Led by MVP Wilson, the Aces finished last year’s regular season with a 27-13 record, good for the fourth seed in the league. They were defeated by the eventual champions, the New York Liberty, in the semifinals.

Aces’ head coach Becky Hammon views A’Ja Wilson as the best women’s basketball player in the world

A’Ja Wilson had a remarkable 2024 season, not only earning the MVP award but also becoming the first player to score over 1,000 points in a single season. After reaching this milestone, her head coach Becky Hammon lauded Wilson's achievements.

"She's the best basketball player in the world … She pushes the envelope for best person in the world too," Hammon said last September.

While the Aces will need time to adjust to their new coaching staff, the team is still one of the favorites to win the 2025 WNBA title with an intact roster led by Wilson.

Wilson averaged 26.9 points, 11.9 rebounds, 1.8 steals and 2.6 blocks per game last season, solidifying her status as one of the league's elite players.