Sparks' Dearica Hamby 'fought back tears' during 'heartbreaking' return to Las Vegas, loss to Aces

Facing the Las Vegas Aces on Aug. 18 was a difficult moment for Dearica Hamby , who had filed a lawsuit against the team just a few days before. The Los Angeles Sparks forward recently opened up about how emotional she was feeling while playing her former team.

"I fought back tears the entire game," Hamby said on a recent episode of "Good Game with Sarah Spain." "It was heartbreaking, but people don't fully know and understand. They're just going off the sport aspect of it. So, I understand that.

"But it was a moment that, leading up to it, I had severe overwhelmingness and anxiety in my stomach. But that process has passed. I'm just looking forward to the right thing being done."

The Aces won that game 87-71, but Hamby, who tallied 13 points and 11 rebounds, was just glad that experience is over.

Hamby joined the league in 2015 as the sixth overall pick by the San Antonio Stars, who relocated to Los Angeles and rebranded in 2018. She was named Sixth Woman of the Year in 2019 and 2020 then won a WNBA title with the Aces in 2022. During that championship parade, Hamby announced she was pregnant with her second child.

Hamby stayed with the Aces until she was traded in January 2023, and it soon became clear there was a complicated situation brewing. The Wake Forest alum filed a complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission in September of that year, and this summer she filed a lawsuit against the WNBA and the Aces, claiming the team discriminated against her because of her pregnancy.

Hamby heard a lot of boos at Michelob ULTRA arena in August, but she is not trying to blame the fans who supported her when she was part of the Aces.

"I don't know if they were new fans -- I think a lot of the old fans probably weren't participating in that," Hamby said. "But just the love and heart that I poured into being a part of that, and I didn't ask to leave, so to say."