Brianna Turner has seamlessly integrated into the Las Vegas Aces, contributing to their defensive strategy. The team's recent lineup changes and a motivational message from A'ja Wilson have revitalized their championship-winning identity.
Team Japan Mona Tateyama (19) drives against Las Vegas Aces forward-centre Brianna Turner (21) in the fourth quarter of their game at Michelob Ultra Arena.
(Candice Ward-Imagn Images)
Fighting to maintain a .500 record last season, the Las Vegas Aces had gotten away from an identity that laid the foundation for back-to-back championships in 2022 and 2023.
Tweaks to the lineup, the addition of NaLyssa Smith and a text message from A'ja Wilson quickly revived the Aces' defensive mindset, leading to 16 straight wins and a third WNBA title in four years.
This season, the message was clear on opening day of training camp.
"We're gonna win with our defense this year, that's what I really have been focused on," coach Becky Hammon said. "We're setting a defensive tone early."
Adding two-time WNBA all-defensive first-team stalwart Brianna Turner certainly helps, as the 6-foot-3 forward is expected to blend in nicely with Wilson and Smith in the frontcourt.
"She's definitely a big piece of that," Hammon said. "Her versatility, seeing her in drills and stuff, I mean, she is even probably more mobile than I probably realized.
Turner made her presence known early on in Sunday's 94-78 preseason win over the Japan National Team, when Mio Shiraishi drove the left side of the lane, and her shot was promptly swatted.
Turner may not have had stat-sheet jumping numbers in the win, but her quality of play and presence in 19:06 playing time far outweighed her two points, two steals and three blocked shots.
Brianna Turner enhanced the team's defensive capabilities, helping the Aces regain their championship form.
The Aces added NaLyssa Smith to the lineup and received a motivational text from A'ja Wilson, which revitalized their defensive mindset.
The Aces struggled to maintain a .500 record last season before making key adjustments.
The Las Vegas Aces have won three WNBA titles in the last four years.
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It was the type of performance Hammon expects, whether she has Turner in the game for 19 minutes or nine seconds.
“I thought Breezy was like, really good tonight," Hammon said after the game. "We're just looking for good, solid basketball. And on certain nights, some people, one person, is going to have it going, and we'll let them roll if it is going to be somebody probably different every night."
It was a similar sentiment Hammon mentioned on opening day of camp, when she raved over Turner's knack for turning in big moments at the right time, much like she saw from departed defensive specialist Kiah Stokes, who is now with the Golden State Valkyries.
"Having her in our rotations, I think she just gives us a lot of versatility," Hammon said. "And I think she's one of those players ... where there's gonna be nights where she plays 15-20 minutes, there might be nights where she plays five minutes. There might be times when she plays eight seconds, but those eight seconds are probably the most crucial ones of the night.
"So I'm looking forward to just kind of getting her with our group and mixing her in."
Feeling comfortable around most of the roster, outside of a handful of players, if that, has made her transition from the Indiana Fever quite seamless.
Turner and Wilson played together on the US national team; she played in college with Jewell Loyd and Jackie Young, and in Chicago with Dana Evans and Chennedy Carter.
"Just kind of knowing people before you come in, I don't really feel like I'm coming in as much as an outsider, because I've got relationships with these players over the course of the past 5-10 years," she said.
The familiarity doesn't just help on the court by building chemistry before the regular season opener, but also in the locker room, where culture is equally important to what's been one of the most successful franchises in the league since it relocated from San Antonio.
It's something the eight-year veteran appreciates and understands well as she suits up for her fourth WNBA team.
"It's really important, I mean, if we're not gelling off the court, we might not gel on the court as well," Turner said. "I've been on teams where people didn't get along off the court, and that sometimes translates on the court.
"I think as long as we're respectful to one another, we know what our common goal is. It's obviously going to translate onto the court as well."