LAS VEGAS — It's wheels up to Uncasville, Connecticut, as the WNBA Finals shift all the way across the country for Game 3 and a potential Game 4. And in a notable first, the Connecticut Sun and Las Vegas Aces will do it via charter flights.
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA - SEPTEMBER 13: Las Vegas Aces players, including Iliana Rupert #21, Kiah Stokes #41, Chelsea Gray #12, Aisha Sheppard #4 and A'ja Wilson #22, huddle on the court after the team's 85-71 victory over the Connecticut Sun to win Game Two of the 2022 WNBA Playoffs finals at Michelob ULTRA Arena on September 13, 2022 in Las Vegas, Nevada.
“It was huge for us, especially coming off Game 5,” Sun forward DeWanna Bonner told Yahoo Sports. “[The Aces] were able to close their series out a little bit earlier than us, so to have a couple days to be [in Las Vegas] was nice.” There’s an ease to flying charter that isn’t there with commercial flights. Professional athletes have all the same headaches the everyday flier does and maybe even more given their height and recognizable status .
“This way we get there at I don’t know, 6 a.m. their time and we get the day to sleep, rest and we get a full day in Connecticut to get another night of East Coast time,” Aces point guard Chelsea Gray said. Feeney deals with a travel agent to help book and re-book flights, but it still takes up a “good chunk” of his day to do that. It can also trigger other changes, like staying an extra night at a hotel on the road. The 2021 season was the most difficult, he said, but this year still had its challenges with cancellations and delays.
They got in at around 1 p.m. local time and the team was unable to practice. That won’t be the case with pre-planned charters this week. The same short turnaround would be between Game 4 on Sunday and Game 5 on Tuesday, if necessary.