Breaking Down A’ja Wilson’s Historic Season

As the WNBA regular season quickly comes to a close, Las Vegas Aces’ center A’ja Wilson is finishing up another dominant year. Already a two-time MVP, Wilson has been a superstar as a professional since being drafted in 2018.

Selected first overall and already boasting six All-Star selections, Wilson has always been expected to dominate. This season, however, she is producing at a level the league has never seen before.

Despite already possessing one of the best resumes in WNBA history, Wilson continues to improve her game, destroying defenses and clamping up on opponents at a level that she, or the league, has never witnessed in the league’s 28-year existence.

Wilson Has Been a Fearless Rim Protector and Rebounder

The star center leads the WNBA in blocks

The two-time Defensive Player of the Year has been a vacuum on the glass this season for the Aces, noticeably increasing her already impressive rebounding average. Averaging 11.9 per game, Wilson is on track to average the first double-double of her career.

If it weren’t for rookie sensation Angel Reese’s dominance on the boards, Wilson would be the WNBA’s rebounding leader. Instead, she’ll have to settle for building on her career-best average by 2.5 rebounds per game.

Poised for another DPOY award, Wilson also leads the WNBA in blocks by a wide margin – 0.5 over the Seattle Storm’s Ezi Magbegor. Wilson is averaging another career-high 2.7 blocks per game, a stat she has led in during four separate campaigns of her career.

No One Can Defend A’ja Wilson

Her offensive repertoire is both dominant and efficient

Wilson is a dominant low-post presence that commands attention on both sides of the ball. This has been more true than ever this season as she leads a stacked Aces team to another playoff appearance. With Wilson, who was recently sidelined by an ankle injury, the Aces have the most star-studded lineup in the WNBA that includes fellow All-Stars Kelsey Plum and Chelsea Gray.

The Aces sit fourth in the league and second in the Western Conference, trailing the Minnesota Lynx, but lead the entire association in team points per game. Plum and Jackie Young have been essential for the team’s offensive explosions, but this, too, is primarily the work of Wilson.

Not only does Wilson lead the WNBA in points per game with 27.4 – by far the best mark of her career, but she’s posting the highest scoring average in league history. Wilson’s 2024 season passes the prior top mark, Diana Taurasi’s 25.3 in 2006, by over two points per game.

Wilson’s efficiency can’t go without mention, either. At 6-foot-5, she is among the tallest players in the league, but there are still a handful that stand taller. Still, she sits sixth in the league with a 52.7 mark from the field. She’s made 130 or more shots than any player sitting above her.

Her production this season has been unmatched on both sides of the ball, with career numbers across the board. The former South Carolina star is no stranger to the spotlight of being the best player on her team, and her play this year has only emphasized that further.

All eyes have been on the incredible rookie play of Reese and playmaking wizard Caitlyn Clark, but those two will both have plenty of opportunity in the spotlight. But for now, A’ja Wilson, in the prime of her career at 28 years old, is the MVP, a complete basketball talent, and the best player the WNBA has ever witnessed.