A'ja Wilson was questionable for sky vs aces on Friday, July 3 after missing the Commissioner's Cup Championship. The Las Vegas Aces still met the Chicago Sky in Las Vegas as Chicago opened a four-game road trip.
Wilson's status mattered because she entered the matchup as the league's leading scorer and fourth-leading rebounder. The Aces had also won nine of the last 10 showdowns with Chicago, so her availability sat at the center of the matchup before tipoff.
Kamilla Cardoso Keeps Chicago Live
Kamilia Cardoso was coming off a 24-point, eight-rebound night against Vegas, her highest scoring output against the Aces in her career. Chicago also covered against the Aces on June 28 despite Wilson's 30-point, 15-rebound performance, which gave the Sky a recent spread result that did not match the straight-up result.
That split forms the core of the handicap. Even with Wilson listed as questionable and having missed the Cup Championship, the books still opened Las Vegas as comfortable home favorites, while Chicago had gone 5-2-0 against the spread in the last seven games against Vegas.
Jackie Young And Chelsea Gray
Jackie Young had just scored 28 points on 9-for-14 shooting in the June 28 meeting, and she came in off a season-best 31 points against the Liberty. Chelsea Gray added another layer to the Aces' attack by ranking third in WNBA assists with 7.4 assists per game and posting at least eight assists in seven of her last 10 games.
Las Vegas had also won 12 straight evening games against teams with a losing record, a run that helped explain why the market stayed with the Aces even with Wilson on the injury report. For bettors and Sky backers, the practical read was simple: her status could swing both the matchup and an 8.5-point number before the game tipped on Friday, July 3.
