A'ja Wilson and the Las Vegas Aces faced the Seattle Storm in a playoff preview during their penultimate regular season game, with home-court advantage for the upcoming first-round matchup at stake.
A'ja Wilson has had a remarkable week, breaking the WNBA single-season scoring record and becoming the first player in league history to score 1,000 points in a season. During tonight's game, she surpassed Angel Reese's WNBA single-season rebound record set earlier this season.
Wilson came out strong, putting up 10 points in the first quarter, helping the Aces take a 29-18 lead.
However, she was limited to just one field goal in the second quarter, as the Storm outscored the Aces by three points, though the Aces still led 48-40 at halftime.
Wilson struggled again in the third quarter, missing three consecutive shots before finally sinking a jumper after six minutes.
She also missed a buzzer-beater as the Aces were outscored 21-15, with their lead shrinking to 63-61 going into the fourth.
In the fourth quarter, the Aces found life as five points from Wilson sparked a 20-4 run to seal the game and secure homecourt advantage for the playoffs.
Below are A'ja Wilson's stats from the Aces' 85-72 victory:
Wilson came into tonight's game just three rebounds short of breaking Reese's record of 446 rebounds in a single season. With her seven rebounds tonight, she now holds the top spot for most rebounds in a single season, reaching 451, with one game remaining.
A'Ja Wilson thanks Aces teammates as she eclipses 1,000-point mark
After reaching the 1,000-point milestone for the season in a game against the Sun on Sunday, A’ja Wilson took a moment in the locker room to reflect on the importance of her teammates.
In a video shared by the Aces on social media, Wilson addressed her teammates after achieving the historic feat:
"I hope y'all know how much I love each and every last one of y'all," Wilson said.
"Y'all will never understand how much y'all mean to me because there's days where I hate being A'ja Wilson. I hate it. But when I come in to work and I see y'all smiling and I see y'all just happy, [it] makes me who I am," she added.
Aces coach Becky Hammon also praised Wilson, calling her a one-of-a-kind player due to her dominance on both ends of the court (via USA Today):
"She's dominant on both ends, and that is a rare player,” Hammon said. "She's just a super humble human being, and she's about the right things all the time.”
Beyond her individual dominance, Hammon also emphasized Wilson's team-first mentality:
“She's always about her teammates, and she's always about winning. I think A'ja is a great example of making everybody great around her."
Wilson and Co. face the Dallas Wings at Michelob ULTRA Arena in their final regular season game on Thursday.