Crystal Dangerfield

On the list of adjectives used to describe the first half of May 31, 2024’s star-powered battle between the Las Vegas Aces and Atlanta Dream, “low-scoring” and “slow starts” may have been perhaps most accurate. All of that went out of the window — fittingly, with a shot off the window — from the moment Crystal Dangerfield checked in. Tasked with supplying life into Atlanta’s offense, the former 2020 Rookie of the Year zips the length of the floor with vitality, feigning the possibility of a dribble handoff to her teammate just well enough to catch Sydney Colson unprepared. In need of one final move with the WNBA’s reigning two-time Defensive Player of the Year stonewalling the rim's path, Dangerfield hangs a high-arcing floater off the glass and softly through the net, drawing the crowd’s admiration. Dangerfield’s box score demonstration was of the just-as-quick type, as she used just six minutes of action to turn in seven points, one rebound, and one 3-pointer, contributions that proved key in helping Atlanta prevail in a thriller over the reigning champions.