“They wanna spin the block so bad”: NaLyssa Smith’s brother sends message to haters as Aces’ newest star receives rave reviews from idol A’ja Wilson

NaLyssa Smith’s brother, Rodney Smith, recently addressed critics of the Las Vegas Aces forward, calling out the intense attention for her every move. He specifically highlighted the 191 bookmarks on a social media post that featured A’ja Wilson praising Smith. Rodney noted how many people were waiting for her to fail.

He implied that they saved the video to bring it up when she has a bad game in the future.

“191 bookmarks? they wanna spin the block so bad,” Rodney tweeted on Sunday.

Wilson commended NaLyssa after she recorded 11 points and 10 rebounds, contributing to the Aces’ 86-68 victory over the Connecticut Sun on Saturday.

“Lyssa is a very fast learner,” Wilson said.

“We're throwing her in the fire, we're taking a lot of actions and she is showing up every single time. I hope that we can continue to communicate and talk. And she's asking questions and wanting to learn more and that's what we love. I hope that we can continue to do that for her and let her know how valuable she is to this team.”

Smith made her debut for Las Vegas on Thursday against the Indiana Fever. Despite the lackluster outing — four points on 16.7% shooting and seven rebounds — Aces coach Becky Hammon took note of her potential.

Given a chance to start in the following matchup, Smith made the most of the opportunity by recording her first double-double of the season. She has a strong chance of securing a permanent starting role if she can maintain this form.

NaLyssa Smith’s heartwrenching reaction to her trade to Las Vegas

NaLyssa Smith had a short-lived stint with the Dallas Wings, where she shared the court with her girlfriend, DiJonai Carrington. However, after just 18 games, it came to an abrupt end when Smith was traded to the Las Vegas Aces.

Being dealt for the first time in her career, Smith was in shock.

“sick to my stomach dawg , never seen this coming but .. i love you dallas nation, thank you 4 everything,” Smith tweeted on Tuesday.

Smith shifted her mindset and embraced the new chapter of her young career in a subsequent tweet.

“on another note tho if i could’ve chose anywhere to go it would’ve been vegas so hella excited 4 this new opportunity wit my goat,” Smith tweeted.

During her time with the Wings, Smith posted career-low numbers, averaging 6.7 points and 4.9 rebounds per game.