"Tried my best not to cry": WNBA’s oldest player Alysha Clark overwhelmed with emotions in first outing against former team

Playing against your former team can be an emotional affair and that certainly was the case for Alysha Clark. The WNBA's oldest player returned to the Michelob ULTRA Arena on Friday to face the Aces for the first time as a Seattle Storm star.

Clark was on the court for 28 minutes against her former team as the Storm recorded a 90-83 win against the Aces.

She spent two seasons with the Vegas franchise from 2023 to 2025. The 37-year-old was part of the Aces team that won the 2023 WNBA Championship. So quite unsurprisingly, Clark received a warm reception on her return.

In what turned out to be an emotional night for Clark, the Aces welcomed her with a tribute video on the jumbotron. The video montage was heartwarming enough to make the three-time WNBA Champion struggle to hold back her tears.

The forward shared a clip of the beautiful moment on her social media after the game, expressing her heartfelt gratitude in a moving message.

"🥹🥹❤️❤️Thank You, Vegas! I tried my best not to cry, lol, but the love was overwhelming in the most beautiful way, so I couldn't help myself 🫶🏻," she wrote.

Alysha Clark sends an emotional message to Aces fans on Instagram (Source: Alysha Clark/ Instagram)

The reception of the home fans also moved Clark. They delivered a hero's welcome to the Storm star, which visibly made her overwhelmed with emotions.

In her two years in Las Vegas, Clark made 97 appearances. Despite playing a significant role in the team last season, she left as a free agent and re-joined the Seattle Storm for the 2025 season.

Clark has been a part of three franchises (Storm, Mystics, and Aces) throughout her WNBA career, winning three WNBA titles. Returning to Seattle for the first time since their title win in 2020, Clark will hope to achieve similar success playing alongside Skylar Diggins and Nneka Ogwumike.

Alysha Clark sends love to former teammate Sue Bird after her induction into the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame

Seattle Storm forward Alysha Clark sent her felicitations to former teammate Sue Bird after her induction into the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame. The Seattle legend was bestowed with the honor on June 14 and was joined by fellow greats Alana Beard and Sylvia Fowles.

Clark offered her love to Bird after their loss to the Valkyries at Chase Center, as she attended the post-game conference alongside Exi Magbegor.

"Congrats, Birdie, that's amazing. Sue is somebody who just embodies leadership, and she just embodies a champion...It was awesome being able to play with her for so long and learn from her, win alongside her. And it's more than deserving," Clark said. (5:57)

Sue Bird spent her entire WNBA career with the Storm, winning four championships during that time. Clark joined forces with her in 2012, and the duo won two titles during their time together.

About the author

Arian Kashyap is a basketball journalist at Sportskeeda with over two years of experience at Essentially Sports and Spice Bite and a Bachelor's in Physical Education and Sports Sciences.

Arian's favorite team is the Miami Heat and it’s mainly down to Dwyane Wade being his favorite player of all time. Arian loved how explosive Wade was as a player and he had all the attributes, whether that be shooting, defending or passing. Arian really liked how he won titles both with and without a dynasty behind him.

Arian has also worked with Bhaichung Bhutia Football Schools and was the manager for a Delhi-based women’s team called Garwhal Untied. Garwhal won the Delhi league and were runners-up during his tenure.

Arian has judged essay writing competitions for the Commonwealth Students Welfare Group of India in 2023 and was a part of the U-14 team for the Bhaichung Bhutia Football Schools academy that qualified for the AIFF Round in 2023.

When not working or watching sports, Arian likes riding his motorcycle and reading.

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Edited by Satagni Sikder