A'ja Wilson and the Las Vegas Aces could not have dreamed up a better finish to the 2025 season. For months, they looked off the pace, and after years of being a legitimate title-contender, it was almost jarring to see them stinking it up in the middle of the pack. But the memory of their slow start to the season is fading with each passing day, and the Aces ended the season with a bang, winning their 16th game in a row by demolishing the Los Angeles Sparks on the road, 103-75.
Wilson has looked like the MVP favorite amid the Aces' incredible hot streak, and that continued on Thursday when she put up 23 points, 19 rebounds, four assists, two steals, and four blocks while going 9-17 from the field in a commanding performance against the Sparks' overmatched frontcourt.
In so doing, the three-time MVP moved into third on the leaderboard for most points scored in a single season with 937 points, passing Breanna Stewart who scored 919 points two seasons ago. The Aces star, however, could not come quite close to the record she set just last year when she averaged 26.9 points in 38 games for a total of 1,021 points.
Las Vegas may no longer have as deep of a team as they did during their previous runs to the championship. But with Wilson back to form (she averaged 26.1 points during the Aces' 16-game winning streak to end the season) and the rest of the Aces' supporting cast playing incredible basketball as of late, this Aces squad is entering the playoffs as the arguable favorite to win it all.
Napheesa Collier also looked like the favorite to win MVP, but with Wilson back to being her typically dominant self, the Aces star may have overtaken her in that regard.
Aces face Storm in the first round of the 2025 WNBA playoffs
As hot as the Aces may be heading into the playoffs, that doesn't matter much now that the playoffs are about to begin. Las Vegas, by virtue of earning the two-seed with their 16-game win streak, drew the Seattle Storm in the playoffs, a team they went 2-2 against in the regular season.
Wilson is going to be an unstoppable force, but it will be up to the likes of Chelsea Gray, Jackie Young, and Jewell Loyd to tip the matchup heavily in the Aces' favor. Slowing down Nneka Ogwumike is also going to be crucial, but Wilson, the best defender in the WNBA, can definitely hold her own against the former MVP.
