Kierstan Bell is having the season she promised she would.

As she faced reporters for the team’s media day in May, the 6-foot-1-inch forward had an immediate answer when asked what she was most looking forward to accomplishing in the season.

“Last year I fell short,” Bell said. “So I think just being able to come out and just prove who I am, what I can be, and what I can do. Not just for myself but for my team … in the (WNBA) it’s tough to stay.”

There’s a reason the commitment to a prove-it year resonated.

Bell averaged 2.5 points during her first two seasons for the Aces. In her third campaign with the team, she played in only six games because of a lower right leg injury as the Aces failed to win a third straight championship in 2024.

In turn, Bell spent the offseason in the sights of frustrated fans who knew her fourth-year option being extended meant her roster spot in 2025 was guaranteed. Less than 24 hours before media day, she set up her phone on a bathroom counter and went live on TikTok to interact with them.

Usually playful, Bell didn’t find any humor in one of the comments she saw pop up on the screen. A user wrote that they were going to law school to find a way out of her contract.

“Go ahead. Have fun. Aint sh- – you can do about it, Bell told the camera after reading the comment out loud. “So have a blast. Have a ball, actually. Throw a party.”

As a starter for the Aces in 12 of their past 13 games, Bell can look back on that moment with vindication. She’s a factor in the WNBA’s longest active win streak, which the Aces extended to 11 with a win over the Chicago Sky on Monday to become the second team to clinch a playoff spot.

‘A natural fit’

Before the Aces made their run from eighth in the league standings to third, they were struggling to incorporate blockbuster trade acquisition Jewell Loyd into the starting lineup.

Loyd, a veteran guard, was meant to take Kelsey Plum’s place as a key scorer alongside A’ja Wilson, Jackie Young and Chelsea Gray, but the situation reached a turning point after she was held scoreless in a loss to the Minnesota Lynx on July 25.

Afterward, Loyd convinced Aces coach Becky Hammon to move her out of the starting lineup, and Hammon said she immediately knew Bell should be the one to take her place.

“(Bell) was a natural fit. I think she knows our system the best,” Hammon said. “She’s actually a very good cutter, which helps with our ball movement and body movement a lot of times. When I’ve been consistent with her minutes, she’s been pretty solid for us.”

Bell proved Hammon right in her 2025 starting debut, recording 19 points as Loyd came off the bench to score 20.

It was a career high for Bell, the Aces’ last surviving first-round pick after being drafted 11th overall in 2022.

Bell won the 2020-21 Becky Hammon Mid-Major Player of the Year Award after averaging 24.3 points for Florida Gulf Coast. She averaged 22.8 points and 7.3 rebounds the following year.

Before Bell’s breakout performance, Hammon would often say that all it took was a green jersey at practice pitting Bell against the Aces’ starters to make her the best player in the gym.

First-year Atlanta Dream coach Karl Smesko knows Bell’s strengths just as well as Hammon as the former coach at Florida Gulf Coast. He coached her for two seasons after she transferred from Ohio State.

‘It’s been great to see her play well, get an opportunity and make the most of it,” Smesko said. “She was obviously an outstanding player for us and an exceptional cutter. … She has an energy that people like to be around. She loves to play, she loves to compete. She gets excited about being out there. Teammates always enjoy playing with her.”

Contact Callie Fin at cfin@reviewjournal.com. Follow @CallieJLaw on X.

Up next

Who: Aces at Atlanta Dream

When: 4:30 p.m. Tuesday

Where: Gateway Center Arena, College Park, Ga.

TV: KMCC-34, NBAtv

Radio: KKGK (1340 AM, 98.9 FM)

Line: Dream -3½; total 162½