‘I can worry about my future’: No time for pain as Alanna Smith eyes WNBA glory

Injury worries can wait, Alanna Smith lives in the present and is on the verge of a WNBA championship.

Right now, all their focus and energy is on winning the decisive Game 5 with Minnesota Lynx in a thrilling finals series against New York Liberty.

The forward suffered a back muscle injury in Game 3 on Thursday, but played through severe pain in Game 4 on Saturday to give her team a lead on the title.

In 30 minutes of play, Smith racked up 12 points, seven rebounds, two steals, two assists and two blocks, providing some big moments on both ends of the floor in a battle the Lynx won 82-80.

Smith’s lower back is still so tender that Lynx doctors have yet to treat him directly.

Instead, they worked overtime with a combination of medication, contrast ice and heat, and STEM pulse treatment to get her through the final two games and a flight from Minnesota to New York.

“It’s not every day that you get to be in New York to play Game 5 of the Finals and win the championship, so you just have to push through,” Smith told ESPN on Sunday.

“Any disc damage could be ruled out, which is the best case for me. I landed very hard on the joint and then also on the muscles. Unfortunately it hurts all the time, but it feels better than the first time, it’s bearable.” .

“My team needs me and we got to this point in the season with all the strength we had. They did a great job sticking with me and making sure I was good.”

“As soon as you’re on the pitch and you’ve got the first quarter behind you, your adrenaline levels start to rise. This is not my first rodeo with injuries and this is the story of many professional athletes, this is our job and injuries are the reality. “In this work you have to overcome some aches and pains, especially in moments like these.

“I will worry about my back in the future, now we have a chance at the championship.”

It’s been a big year for Smith and her 28-year-old, 6’4″ frame.

She began playing in Europe in 2024, moved to a WNBA season with games added to regular play with her new team, represented Australia during the Olympic break and won a bronze medal with the Opals and will play 10 of a possible 10 games have semi-finals and finals.

Regardless of Monday’s result, Smith will only have 10 days off before traveling to China to play in the offseason.

Her first year with Lynx was one of her best professional years.

“We all acknowledged that we’ve never been on a team as good as the one we are now and it’s kind of fitting that we lasted as long as we could, with both series being five games, because we not “I don’t want to leave each other,” Smith laughs.

“We all had so much fun playing together, it was an absolute joy to be with this team, the coaches and the staff. It’s really rare to be part of something like that and it’s really rare to experience that and also win.” So.

“It’s a beautiful story. When everyone gets along, works really hard, knows and respects each other’s roles, good things happen, and that’s been the case for us this season.”

Two years ago, Smith retired from the WNBA, was given up by Indianna Fever after coming from the Phoenix Mercury and three seasons in the desert, and returned to Australia, in northern Queensland, where she played for Townsville and one with Townsville NBL1 North title won.

That same year, she was controversially left off the Opals team for a one-off FIBA ​​World Cup home tournament on home soil.

She is an Olympic medalist in 2024 and one of the WNBA’s most consistent and improved players.

Now Smith can add a title with Minnesota to his impressive list of accomplishments.

“We had confidence the whole time. We were in ninth place the previous season and thought, ‘WTF? We are really, really good!’

“We have confidence and trust in our team and what we can do. We won the Commissioners Cup and nobody expected it. People were surprised by our second place, people were surprised that this finals series was hard fought.”

“We are worthy finalists and New York is also a great team and that’s why this series was so good.”

“We know we have a chance to win the whole thing, we just have to play our style of basketball and play our best game of the season.”