NaLyssa Smith fires 5-word thinly veiled backhanded compliment to rub salt into Wings after mauling

NaLyssa Smith and the Las Vegas Aces kept their stellar run alive, grabbing their seventh win in a row after defeating the Dallas Wings on Sunday. With this win, the Aces (21-14) improved to fifth in the standings and trail the New York Liberty (21-13) in third by half a game.

NaLyssa Smith, who was traded to the Aces by Dallas on June 30, was key in Sunday’s win. She finished with 14 points and four rebounds on 4-for-8 shooting. After she was traded to the Aces, many fans expressed their disappointment with the move, criticizing Curt Miller.

After Sunday’s game, NaLyssa Smith replied to a fan’s tweet on X, giving a sarcastic compliment to Miller. The fan’s tweet came after Smith recorded two points against the Golden State Valkyries on July 17.

The fan wrote:

Smith clapped back with a thinly veiled remark directed at Curt Miller after Sunday’s performance.

The 6-foot-4 forward made 18 appearances for the Wings this season, averaging 6.7 points and 4.9 rebounds. She struggled to make an impact in Dallas, but has already made meaningful contributions in Las Vegas, averaging 7.9 points and 6.2 rebounds in 19 appearances.

A’ja Wilson gives props to NaLyssa Smith after a solid shooting night vs. the Dallas Wings

After the game against Dallas, A’ja Wilson gave a shoutout to NaLyssa Smith on Instagram. Wilson shared a clip of Smith draining her second 3-pointer of the game and captioned it:

“My twin a sharp shootaaaaa.”

Smith started the 2025 season shooting 18.2% from 3-point range for the Wings. She finished Sunday’s game, converting both of her 3-point attempts and is now up to 40% from beyond the arc for the first time in her career.

A’ja Wilson also had herself quite a night against Dallas, finishing with a game-high 34 points with eight rebounds and three blocks, shooting 11-for-16. The Aces, now in fifth, hold a commanding position in the playoff hunt.

Las Vegas will return to the court on Tuesday to face the Atlanta Dream at Michelob ULTRA Arena. With nine games left in the regular season, Las Vegas will be gunning to rack up as many wins as possible.

About the author

Sameer is an esports and gaming journalist at Sportskeeda who covers a diverse range of topics. He is currently pursuing a BSc degree from BITS, but his love for video games pushed him to pursue a gaming journalism career. He relies on diligent research and fact-checking to deliver top-notch content. He has previously worked in the hospitality sector with the Oberoi Group.

Sameer’s gaming journey began with Rockstar Games’ GTA franchise, specifically
Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories. He strongly prefers multiplayer games, with FPS being his favorite genre, and has devoted 6K+ hours to CS:GO! However, he also dabbles in open-world, story-based games from time to time. Solo RPGs like Horizon Forbidden West hold a soft spot in his heart, and he would readily drop in it given a Jumanji-type scenario.

Sameer makes sure to follow Counter-Strike and Valorant esports tournaments, as he believes that watching a game being played at the highest level can be highly educational. He derives inspiration from Tarik's meteoric rise to become one of the biggest FPS streamers in the world following the release of Valorant.

Outside of work, you can find Sameer playing football or cheering for FC Barcelona. He also likes to read and write poetry.

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Edited by Sameer Khan