A'ja Wilson

With every flip of the calendar, the Las Vegas Aces remain fully aware of the day-by-day bullseye attached to their backs as the WNBA’s reigning back-to-back champions. And yet, with every contender comes a simple, unsaid message in return: your best shot might be accurate, but it’s unlikely to be as accurate as the one leaving the left hand of No. 22. Predictably at her best during a clash against a prospective Western Conference elite, A’ja Wilson sifts through her options with both a pack of Minnesota Lynx defenders eager to close in and her former podcast partner mirroring her every maneuver. Both unphased and unguardable, the two-time Most Valuable Player pivots into the heart of the paint with vigor before elevating into a smooth, and-one fallaway jumper. Like clockwork, Wilson and the Aces used a fierce fourth-quarter rally to trump Minnesota’s efforts on the way to victory on May 29, 2024. In a season characterized by her ability to exceed arguably the game’s highest bar, Wilson’s greatness, on this night, came in the form of 29 points and 15 rebounds — WNBA history’s first-ever instance of five consecutive 20-point, 10-rebound outings — alongside three assists, two steals, and four rejections.