{"id":33956,"date":"2025-07-24T15:00:10","date_gmt":"2025-07-24T15:00:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/33956\/"},"modified":"2025-07-24T15:00:10","modified_gmt":"2025-07-24T15:00:10","slug":"nothing-can-save-magic-johnsons-la-team-as-aja-wilson-helps-aces-avoid-trouble","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/33956\/","title":{"rendered":"Nothing Can Save Magic Johnson\u2019s LA Team as A\u2019ja Wilson Helps Aces Avoid Trouble"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"dom-traversal_domPTag__RMrin\">Blow out a birthday candle wrong, and boom\u2014your team\u2019s cursed for a decade. When you think it\u2019s quiet, chaos dribbles in. But for the LA Sparks, it\u2019s been more stumble than sizzle. Magic Johnson might still believe, but with a 9-15 record, belief\u2019s getting lonely. Cameron Brink and her crew are grinding, but the hardwood hasn\u2019t been kind. They chase the shadows of old glory, and if the spiral keeps spinning, that elusive fourth ring will keep slipping away. Dancing out of reach like a cruel tease.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dom-traversal_domPTag__RMrin\">Despite the odds, the Sparks put up a solid fight against the Washington Mystics on Wednesday. The 31-year-old veteran forward Dearica Hamby chipped in a double-double (24 pt, 14 reb), and Rickea Jackson dropped 22 points.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dom-traversal_domPTag__RMrin\">Back from the All-Star glow, the Sparks wasted no time and handed the Mystics a 93 to 86 reminder\u2014they\u2019re still ready to dance. However, former NBA champion Jeff Teague voices concern about Magic Johnson\u2019s team. He suddenly feels that LA might just be unsaveable at this point in the 2025 WNBA season.<\/p>\n<p data-article=\"true\">ADVERTISEMENT<\/p>\n<p>Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n<p class=\"dom-traversal_domPTag__RMrin\"><a class=\"es-hyperlink-new\" href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/live\/sth0jYdGPWE?utm_medium=website&amp;utm_source=website_internal&amp;utm_campaign=web_link_1\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Sharing his thoughts on the Club 520 Podcast, Teague, while talking about Dearica Hamby &amp; Co., stated<\/a>: \u201cSparks trying to make a little run, a little push. Is it too late? It might be too late, though. I mean, they\u2019re starting to find their stride a little bit, for sure.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><img id=\"img-tag-node-img-loader-0\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/USATSI_26429288.jpg\" fetchpriority=\"high\" style=\"position:absolute;z-index:0;width:100%;height:100%\" loading=\"eager\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"article-image\"\/><\/p>\n<p class=\"dom-traversal_domFigCaptionText__kuHmn\">via Imago<\/p>\n<p class=\"dom-traversal_domFigCaptionText__kuHmn\" hidden=\"\">Jun 11, 2025; Las Vegas, Nevada, USA; Los Angeles Sparks forward Dearica Hamby (5) looks to pass the ball during the second half of a WNBA basketball game against the Las Vegas Aces at Michelob Ultra Arena. Mandatory Credit: Lucas Peltier-Imagn Images<\/p>\n<p class=\"dom-traversal_domPTag__RMrin\">Teague sees the flicker, but wonders if the fire came too late. The Sparks are waking up, finding rhythm, daring to dream again. But the clock mocks them. Momentum brews, sure, but the gap yawns wide. He feels the hope, respects the hustle, yet senses time slipping through trembling fingers.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dom-traversal_domPTag__RMrin\">The LA Sparks opened the 2025 season with bruises, both on the court and in spirit. In the initial days of the WNBA, they were juggling injuries like a circus act gone rogue. Rae Burrell exited within her first minute, Rickea Jackson followed with a concussion, and Cameron Brink remains in recovery. Emergency contracts patch the roster, but the setbacks already weigh heavily on this young squad.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dom-traversal_domPTag__RMrin\">Offensive droughts haunt them like stubborn ghosts. Against Minnesota, they went ice cold\u2014two makes in twenty attempts during the third quarter, then a 13-point finish. Long scoring gaps, missed open shots, and a system still under construction have made games feel like uphill climbs. Sure, they\u2019ve beaten the Valkyries and Sky, but real tests still loom. Until then, LA drifts somewhere between rebuilding hope and recycled heartbreak.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dom-traversal_domPTag__RMrin\">And while <a class=\"es-hyperlink-new\" href=\"https:\/\/www.essentiallysports.com\/nba-legends-basketball-news-magic-johnson-asks-fans-for-favour-during-family-vacation-on-one-point-four-million-yacht\/?utm_medium=website&amp;utm_source=website_internal&amp;utm_campaign=web_link_2\" target=\"_self\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Magic Johnson<\/a> and his team search for answers and cling to hope, the Las Vegas Aces close the gap with purpose. The 2024\u00a0 WNBA MVP A\u2019ja Wilson made sure, her team finds that victory even in a game as close as the one they played against the Atlanta Dream on Wednesday.<\/p>\n<p>A\u2019ja Wilson pulls the Aces into a 12-11 record amidst Magic Johnson &amp; Co.\u2019s trouble<\/p>\n<p class=\"dom-traversal_domPTag__RMrin\">Las Vegas buzzed with post-All-Star energy as the Aces hosted the Dream in their first clash of the season. Courtside royalty Candace Parker watched her former team flip a slow start into a statement win. Trailing 24-20 after the first, the Aces found rhythm fast, leading 45-39 at halftime, then 67-59 after three, and finally closing the show, 87-72.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dom-traversal_domPTag__RMrin\">A\u2019ja Wilson owned the night with her third consecutive double-double: 24 points, 12 rebounds, 5 assists, 2 steals, and 2 blocks. \u201cAces back above .500, took care of your Dream yesterday, 87 to 72. Shout out to AG, she had 24, but the queen, A\u2019ja Wilson, 24 and 12,\u201d DJ Wells added.<\/p>\n<p data-article=\"true\">ADVERTISEMENT<\/p>\n<p>Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n<p><img id=\"img-tag-node-img-loader-0\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/Copy-of-ES-WEB-FIs-1200-x-800-px-10-1-2.png\" fetchpriority=\"high\" style=\"position:absolute;z-index:0;width:100%;height:100%\" loading=\"eager\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"article-image\"\/><\/p>\n<p data-article=\"true\">ADVERTISEMENT<\/p>\n<p>Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n<p class=\"dom-traversal_domPTag__RMrin\">Meanwhile, Dana Evans exploded off the bench, scoring nine straight in the second quarter and finishing with 14. Jackie Young matched her with 14 more, while NaLyssa Smith added 11. With each quarter, the Aces grew sharper, stronger, louder. The message? The superstars are reloaded and ready for war.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dom-traversal_domPTag__RMrin\">Hope wears heels in the WNBA, but heartbreak still finds a seat courtside. The Sparks are swinging, scraping, and still searching for air. Meanwhile, A\u2019ja Wilson and the Aces lace up with fire, climbing with every bounce. As LA wrestles with ghosts, Vegas writes poetry in motion. The league watches, breath held, waiting for the next twist.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Blow out a birthday candle wrong, and boom\u2014your team\u2019s cursed for a decade. When you think it\u2019s quiet,&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":33957,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[73],"tags":[99,434],"class_list":["post-33956","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-wnba","tag-sports","tag-wnba"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33956","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=33956"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33956\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/33957"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=33956"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=33956"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=33956"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}