The A'ja Wilson text that turned around the Aces' season -- and how Bam Adebayo helped craft it

"A'ja Wilson was deep in thought as she left Michelob ULTRA Arena after the worst loss in franchise history. The Minnesota Lynx had demolished her Las Vegas Aces by 53 points in front of an ABC television audience that Saturday afternoon on Aug. 2. The Aces, 14-14 at the time with less than six weeks left in the regular season, had to pull themselves together for another game at home the next day."

"And Wilson knew they needed a gut check. "At first I thought, 'I don't want my teammates to feel everything I'm feeling right now,'" Wilson told ESPN. "Then I realized: How can I help them understand that this is the last time we're going to feel this way? "I was dissecting the game in my head: What did [the Lynx] do that we could not do? It was just that they played harder. That's when I decided to send the infamous text message.""

""But not just any text message. It needed to be firm, no punches pulled. And Wilson knew she couldn't be impulsive in writing it. "I took time, because I'm an emotional person and I love to wear my emotions on my sleeve," Wilson said. "There were some lessons in the X's and O's of it, but mostly it was just the heart and the feel of the game. People lose, and sometimes even get their ass kicked. But that loss was something we can't do.""

A'ja Wilson left Michelob ULTRA Arena reflecting after a 53-point loss to the Minnesota Lynx, the worst in franchise history. The Las Vegas Aces were 14-14 with under six weeks remaining and had to play the next day at home. Wilson decided the team needed a gut check and crafted a firm, deliberate text rather than reacting impulsively. She consulted boyfriend Bam Adebayo for perspective from different professional locker rooms. Wilson identified that the Lynx simply played harder, noted lessons beyond X's and O's, and insisted that such a loss could not happen again.

Read at ESPN.com