Lost in the hype surrounding 2024 WNBA No. 1 pick Caitlin Clark and all that’s transpired since she entered the league in mid-May is the play of Las Vegas Aces superstar A’ja Wilson and just how dominant she’s been. Wilson is the unquestioned best player in the league, the two-time league MVP, two-time DPOY and two-time WNBA champion is doing some amazing things nightly for the reigning two-time defending champion Aces. The former South Carolina Gamecocks star puts in the work and brings her hard hat nightly.
But Wilson’s play has gone under the radar this season. With the hoopla and noise surrounding the aforementioned Clark, and many of her draft mates, mainly Chicago Sky rookie Angel Reese, Wilson has become an afterthought in a league where she reigns supreme. In fact, Wilson’s name hasn’t been mentioned much since she landed a signature shoe deal with Nike in May, one day before the season began.
Draymond Green Gives Wilson Her Flowers
Despite not winning the MVP award last season, Wilson outplayed the winner (Breanna Stewart) and secured the WNBA Finals MVP as the Aces defeated the New York Liberty 3-1. This season Wilson has been on a tear, averaging 27.9 points, 12.4 rebounds, 2.6 blocks per game and 2.0 steals per game. She leads the league in noth scoring and rebounding, ranks second in blocks, and tops in efficiency (34.6). She’s on pace to have the greatest scoring season in the 27-year history of the league, and that got the aforementioned Green talking heavy on his podcast, “The Draymond Green Show.”
“The best thing since sliced bread in the WNBA is A’ja Wilson. I’m not necessarily in the mindset that’s it’s all Caitlin Clark. No. Aja Wilson is great. A’ja Wilson to me is the American Dream. Coming from a two-parent household, she grew, got better, young black girl, had everything against her, beat the odds to become what soon will be known as the greatest player to ever grace the WNBA. That’s quite honestly my opinion I think A’ja Wilson is as marketable as anyone in the WNBA, but you have to figure out how to market the product.”
Strong words from Green, but in many ways he’s correct about Wilson, who’s all-around skill set on both ends of the floor is definitely putting her in position to he considered the best women’s player the WNBA has witnessed when she’s done. It doesn’t hurt that she’s also winning titles to accompany those individual accolades along the way.
Wilson Makes History
Not long after Green’s proclamation about Wilson did she go out and do something that hasn’t been done in the league before. In Wednesday’s win (95-81) win over the Dallas Wings, Wilson put up a staggering 36 points, 12 rebounds and six steals. It’s the first time in league history that a player has put up a stat line of at least 35 points, 10 rebounds and five steals in a game.
Following her 36/12/6 masterpiece on Wednesday, Wilson told reporters, “I just take what the defense gives me and just the flow of the game. My teammates really just keep me afloat.”
What’s so great is how Wilson goes about her business, she almost looks like she’s floating on air against her opponents. She’s become the most unstoppable force in the league, and she does it in a variety of ways and on both ends. In a league littered with supremely talented women, Wilson stands alone as the best on both ends of the floor.
