After helping the Olympic Women’s Basketball team win their 8th straight gold medal in Paris this summer, Las Vegas Aces center A’ja Wilson hit another milestone in her illustrious career on Sunday night.
In a 84-71 victory over the Connecticut Sun, Wilson became the 1st player in WNBA history to score 1,000 points in a season in the league’s 28-year history.
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With just under two minutes remaining in the game Wilson caught the ball just above the free throw line, took a dribble right and pulled up for a fadeaway jumper making history in front of thousands of fans at the Michelob Ultra Arena, but most importantly the two people who brought her into this world, her parents.
https://x.com/LVAces/status/1835486630880375175
“I really try to pinpoint little things,” Wilson said of how she continues to improve after winning two previous MVP awards and two WNBA titles. “Everyone can come in and say, ‘Oh, I want to win a championship.’ But what are the little things you’re going to do to get to that point? That’s what I want to be great in.
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The 28 year-old is averaging a league best 27.0 points, 12.0 rebounds, 2.6 blocks and 2.3 assists while shooting 51.9% from the field. Her season scoring average is the highest in WNBA history.
“I really have to credit my offseason work and my preparation,” Wilson said after finishing with a game-high 29 points. “I take time to get away from basketball, to let me miss it. So then when I’m in it, I don’t take it for granted. My screensaver is, ‘Rest at the end, not in the middle,’ and that’s something I tell myself every single day.”
After back-to-back championships and multiple MVP awards, Wilson has given all indications of the work that has been put in throughout her seven year career since being drafted out of South Carolina.
Her head coach Beck Hammon talked about the pressure and expectations of being a superstar like Wilson,
“It’s not easy to be A’ja Wilson every day. It just isn’t. There’s a lot of expectation,” Hammon said. “The city is lucky that they’ve gotten to see her grow up. You get to see her evolve into not only this unbelievable player, but a person who gives back to her community, who cares about the people she’s playing with and interacting with.”
This team is currently in 4th place in the playoff standings with just a couple of games remaining in the regular season. But with the overwhelming favorite to win her third award in Wilson and the pieces around her to make a run at a three-peat, nobody wants to see them in the playoffs.
Chrys Henderson is a writer for Ball Exclusives. You can follow him on X @ChrysNBA.
