While attention has found its way to rookies such as Caitlin Clark, Cameron Brink, and Angel Reese, the WNBA's best player has continued to dominate. A'ja Wilson, the reigning WNBA Finals MVP, has wreaked havoc on the Las Vegas Aces' opponents to such a degree that she is now on the verge of breaking a record that belonged to Diana Taurasi.
After a 29-point, 11-rebound performance against the Seattle Storm on Friday, Wilson tied Taurasi for the longest streak of 20-point-or-more games in WNBA history. Wilson and Taurasi now co-hold the record of 13 consecutive games, but Wilson will not have to wait long to try to break the record; she and the Aces visit the Los Angeles Sparks on Sunday.
For Wilson, the streak began before this season. On August 28, she scored 23 points against the New York Liberty before tallying 26, 30, 30, and 36 points in her final four games of the 2023 regular season. Following a second consecutive WNBA title and her first Finals MVP, Wilson has come out white-hot to start the 2024 season.
To kick off the year, Wilson posted 30 points, 13 rebounds, 5 assists, and 3 blocks as the Aces beat Taurasi and the Mercury. Since then, Wilson's lowest point total is 21, and she has also recorded a double-double in all but one game so far this season.
A'ja Wilson's rise to WNBA's top player
A'ja Wilson's nearly flawless start to the 2024 season does not come as a surprise to those who have witnessed her career to this point. After stamping herself as one of the greatest college basketball players of her generation at South Carolina, Wilson was drafted No. 1 overall by the Las Vegas Aces in the 2018 WNBA Draft.
Wilson immediately made her impact known; as a rookie, she averaged 20.7 points, 8.0 rebounds, 2.2 assists, and 1.6 blocks while the Aces settled into Las Vegas. While Wilson's numbers largely dipped in her second year, the Aces made the playoffs for the first time, giving Wilson, Sydney Colson, and Kelsey Plum the postseason experience they would need to reach the proverbial mountaintop a few seasons later.
During the 2020 season, Wilson and the Aces broke out. The power forward won her first league MVP award as she eclipsed the 20-point average mark again and blocked a pair of shots per game and while Vegas finished the regular season with an 18-4 record, tied for the best in the league. The Aces would come up just short in the WNBA Finals, however, losing to the Storm in three games.
After a relatively down 2021 season, Wilson and the Aces struck gold in 2022, winning their first WNBA title as Wilson claimed the league MVP once again. Much of the same followed in 2023, with the Aces winning all but one playoff game en route to a second consecutive championship. Wilson earned her first Finals MVP award by averaging 21.3 points, 12.5 rebounds, and 1.3 blocks per game in the four-game series vs. the New York Liberty.
So far this season, Wilson has been unstoppable, averaging would-be-career highs in points (28.0), rebounds (12.3), steals (1.9), and blocks (2.6). The Aces will look to avoid suffering their first two-game losing streak since last August against the Sparks on Sunday at 6 p.m. PT.
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