How Air Force documentary helped put Aces on brink of WNBA title

PHOENIX — The diamond formation features four F-16 fighter jets, 18 inches apart, flying at the speed of sound. It takes skill, timing and focus to pull it off. 

Watching it live is awe inspiring. From the ground, the sound chasing the jets through the sky is beautiful. 

Inside the cockpit, though, is terrifying. 

Execution requires synchronization and confidence, a reliance on each member carrying out their task meticulously. Pilots need to believe their colleagues won’t falter. 

“If you don’t have blind trust, the show will not work,” Air Force Lt. Col. Justin Elliot said in the Netflix documentary “Air Force Elite: Thunderbirds.” 

When Aces coach Becky Hammon first watched the film, she felt a kinship with the cohesion and camaraderie of the pilots. It resembled a championship team. 

Practice before perfection. 

Service before self. 

Trust before triumph. 

Those sayings flashed across the screen as the Thunderbirds’ trailer played. All apply to the Aces’ pursuit of winning their third title in four years. 

Hammon showed her team a clip of the documentary early in the season. Her players scheduled a movie night at the facility to watch the entire film. Their fascination grew. 

Blind trust has taken on a life of its own within the Las Vegas organization. It has pushed the Aces to just one win away from reclaiming their throne as the WNBA’s best team. 

This cohesion and belief didn’t form overnight. Like an air traffic controller training for a high-stress job, it took time and delicate care to construct a trust tower as high as the ones the Aces have built. But Las Vegas also understands the fragility of blind trust. It can “be broken in an instant,” Hammon said. 

The Aces experienced a lot of change in the past 12 months. Two of Hammon’s top assistants, Natalie Nakase and Tyler Marsh, accepted head coaching jobs with other WNBA teams. 

Kelsey Plum, a key component of the past two championship teams, moved on to Los Angeles. The Aces acquired Jewell Loyd, who was ready for a change of scenery after playing her first 10 years in Seattle. 

Four other players, including Dana Evans and NaLyssa Smith, weren’t here a year ago. 

After the Aces’ season-opening loss on the Liberty’s ring night, Hammon said her team had “a lot of work to do.” 

A lack of trust on both ends of the floor hampered the Aces. Defensive rotations lagged and over-helping ensued. Belief in the next pass faded. Minor turnovers or miscues snowballed to more problems. 

“We weren’t trusting we were going to get the ball back if we gave it up early,” Hammon said. “[Trust] is not just one linear thing. It’s layered. And I think they’ve worked hard on building up that trust.” 

Near the midway point of the season, Hammon organized a unique exercise to work on honing that reliance between one another. 

Chelsea Gray said the team walked into practice and saw a black strip of carpet covered in eggs. Players formed pairs. Each one took turns directing their blindfolded partner to walk backward through the egg maze. The goal of the whole thing: Build trust. 

“That was crazy,” Gray told The Post. “We had no idea.” 

The eggs remained unharmed, but the activity “brought a lightness to just trying to figure out our chemistry and our communication style,” Gray said. 

The Aces fell below .500 after the All-Star break and were 14-13 when the calendar flipped to August. Some wondered whether they’d dip outside the playoff picture entirely. 

But the outside doubt didn’t trickle into the Aces’ locker room. Building an identity as a unified group preoccupied the team instead. 

“It’s building habits and knowing. That’s Becky’s culture,” Gray said. “Her thing is when you make deposits in other people, you end up cashing out yourself. So it’s just try to make the next person great.” 

The Aces ended the season on an extraordinary 16-game winning streak that propelled them to second in the league standings. They battled through a three-game series against the Storm in the first round and needed all five games to topple an injury-plagued Fever team in the semifinals. 

The Aces spent the past few months working to this moment. And even when things get tough, they find ways to survive. 

The Aces’ blind trust within one another has been scattered throughout this series, but especially in Wednesday’s 90-88 win. 

The Mercury constructed a remarkable rally to tie the game twice in the final 1:41 after trailing by 17 at the start of the fourth quarter. 

With the game tied, Wilson fumbled the ball on a backdoor cut. She tensed up in frustration as the ball bounced out of bounds and the whistle blew. But as she turned to get back on defense, Loyd extended a hand to let her know it’d be OK. 

“That’s the blind trust that you see,” Wilson said. 

The mistake faded in Wilson’s mind. She looked forward to her team getting it back. That meant getting a stop on defense. 

As Alyssa Thomas glided to the rim, Megan Gustafson stood tall to force Thomas into a missed shot. As the ball bounced off the backboard, Wilson batted it away from Thomas’ fingertips and Gustafson eventually secured it. 

After a timeout, with 5 seconds remaining and the game tied, Wilson drained the game winner to finish with 34 points. 

“Throughout the course of the game, when Phoenix goes on runs, when you know we should’ve been there, it’s kind of like we just continue to understand and hold each other accountable for big moments,” Wilson said. “And don’t hang our heads for the mistake maybe in the moment and just keep encouraging each other. I think the blind trust comes from understanding your teammate is going to hold you accountable but also gonna be there for you, and they’re going to be the first one to root you on in those moments.” 

Last month, the Aces gathered to rewatch “Thunderbirds.” Smith was one of the players who wasn’t there for the first viewing. 

“It’s a good reminder just to know about blind trust [in] your teammates and how to collectively support one another,” Loyd said. 

That belief puts the Aces on the doorstep of another championship and a potential series sweep entering Friday’s Game 4.