Aces coach Becky Hammon benches 3 starters in what looks like WNBA scheduling protest in national TV game

It was a nationally televised WNBA matchup between the Las Vegas Aces and New York Liberty on Sunday afternoon in Brooklyn, a battle of two championship hopefuls.

But Becky Hammon had a starting five nobody expected, and it could be viewed as a protest for having to play back-to-back games on the road this weekend.

Hammon didnt play four-time MVP Aja Wilson, Chelsea Gray or Jackie Young – three usual Aces starters – with Jewell Loyd, Dana Evans and Brianna Turner taking their spots instead. It wasnt just for the start of the game either, as all three of those players didnt step foot on the court other than to cheer their teammates on.

For a nationally televised ABC game against a rival, it was a curious move by Hammon, but the load management move is one that she defended following a 111-71 rout by on their home Barclays Center court.

"The health and safety of players comes first," Hammon said, per Yahoo Sports. "Wherever we end up, we end up, and well play whatever hand is dealt to us. To me, this was a just a bigger picture type (of) scenario, so you take the L, understanding that it pays dividends on the back end."

The Aces fell to the Minnesota Lynx, 98-87, on Saturday, where Wilson (33 minutes), Young (33) and Gray (36) all played their usual workloads.

But the short turnaround, especially on the road, led Hammon to sit her stars. And national TV game or not, it was a move she likely wouldve done considering her stance.

"Not going to put (players) in any kind of jeopardy to get hurt when weve been expending a lot of energy and traveling a lot of miles back and forth, crisscrossing the country," Hammon said as she continued defending her decision.

"It is what it is. I know these are big matchups, and these are what people want to see, but you should ensure that its fair."

As per the WNBAs new collective bargaining agreement, which was agreed upon by both the league and player before the start of this season, has language stating the league will "make reasonable and good faith efforts" to provide at least 20 hours between the scheduled start of a teams first game of a back-to-back and the scheduled start of its second game.

Meanwhile, the WNBA has a guideline that gives teams a minimum of 22 hours between back-to-back games, where travel mustnt be more than one time zone. Its similar to what the NBA does during its own schedule.

For this weekend back-to-back, the Aces tipped off on Saturday at 1 p.m. ET, and they were slated for Sundays game at 12:30 p.m. ET. Also, the Lynx played their second game of a back-to-back themselves on Saturday afternoon, but both games were at home as they played the Dallas Wings at 3:30 p.m. ET.

The Liberty obviously didnt mind not facing key starters for the Aces in what was an easy victory, but even Jonquel Jones couldnt blame Hammon for thinking about the future.

"Obviously, they have to do whats right for their team," she said, via Yahoo Sports. "They have to do whats right for their bodies. But as competitors, we really wanted to match up against them."

The WNBA schedule will only grow as the seasons continue and its popularity expands. Next season, there will be a 50-game slate for the first time in league history – up six games from 2026.

But what Hammon did on Sunday afternoon in Brooklyn could be more than just focusing on her teams health and safety moving forward with important games left to play closer to a playoff push.

Perhaps this was her way of telling the WNBA that, while it fell within the guideline of a minimum of 22 hours between g