While Caitlin Clark has been the gold standard when it comes to setting WNBA records this year, she’s by no means the only one providing new benchmarks. That’s especially true when it comes to scoring, and while Clark now owns most of the rookie records, it’s A’ja Wilson who took her place at the top of teh scoring pyramid.
Wilson set the new single-season points record in the final minutes of Las Vegas’s 84-71 win over the Connecticut Sun, as she became the first player in WNBA history to post 1,000 points in a lone campaign. Her record-setting bucket came with just under two minutes left in the game on one of her trademark fadeaway jumpers with the contest already well in hand.
A’ja Wilson will soon add the WNBA MVP award to her scoring record
The Aces star has been a great player for several years now, but this season she’s upped her game to unprecedented levels. Wilson’s numbers include averaging 27 points per game while adding a dozen rebounds, and she’s also giving Vegas at least two assists and two steals a game. She’s doing all this while shooting almost 52 percent, and we’ve now reached the point where Wilson is nearly unstoppable.
At times she’s had to be. The Aces have stumbled several times this year while defending their championship, so there have been times when it’s A’ja Wilson or nothing, especially when it comes to scoring.
That wasn’t quite the case against Connecticut, though. Kelsey Plum has been Wilson’s running mate in the scoring column multiple times this year, and she chipped in with 14 points on 6 for 8 shooting from the field, not to mention 2 of 3 from long distance. Jackie Young added 13 as the Aces turned this one into a route. They had a 20-point lead at the end of the third quarter, and that lead stood up as an insurmountable challenge for the Sun.
But Vegas’s calling card this season has been defense, and they came up strong in that category as well. No one from the Sun hit the 20-point mark in this one, although Marina Mabrey and Brionna Jones did shoot well as they posted 18 and 17 points, respectively.
The win sets up the Aces for a strong playoff run
With Wilson’s record now on the books, the Aces can turn their attention to the WNBA playoffs. Not that they haven’t been doing this for a while now—Las Vegas has been locked into an ongoing battle with the Seattle Storm for home court in their upcoming 4-5 matchup, although that one isn’t quite carved in stone yet. They still technically have a chance to pull even with Connecticut, but the Sun would have to lose out against both Minnesota and Chicago, which seems unlikely.
Instead the Aces will focus on their upcoming game against the Storm, which will take place in Seattle tomorrow night. It’s a pivotal game, and the Storm nearly got caught looking ahead against LA as they narrowly defeated the Sparks, 90-87, last night.
Las Vegas won their last meeting in Seattle, 84-79, and it was Young who led the Aces in scoring in that one, posting 27 points to go with Wilson’s 24. A win tomorrow night would clinch home court for the Aces and make their finale against Dallas irrelevant, and it would give Wilson and company a chance to rest and reset for a playoff run.
Wilson will add to her single-season points record in Seattle, but getting the win is far more important to her. She’s focused on doing what she calls “the little things,” but Wilson just set one of the biggest points records of all in a game the Aces badly needed against Connecticut.