When it comes to the WNBA, there are three certainties: a winner, a loser and A’ja Wilson breaking records.
That’s the thing.
A’ja Wilson can’t stop winning.
Breaking a record here, moving up on a list there, Wilson has become an unstoppable force. Even when the Aces lose a game, she still comes away with a win, whether it’s Player of the Week or a new franchise record.
Through the first month of the season, Wilson is an early favorite to win her fifth MVP award and Defensive Player of the Year, and she is on track to move up to sixth on the all-time blocks list, needing just 22 more. She’s doing this all before she turns 30.
Wilson currently needs 22 more blocks to move into sixth place on the all-time list. When asked about it, she told The IX that while these accolades are nice, her main goal is to grow as a player year after year.
“I mean, it’s cool,” Wilson told The IX, “but it’s still, for me, I’m just like, I can’t really pay any attention to that. My biggest thing is just like, how can it be better than last year? Like, that is my biggest area of growth that I always want to measure myself on. That’s the true grade of just, like, am I better than last year? Did I add something from last year to this year? It’s too early to see now, but I’m definitely feeling good about just coming into this season and being ready to rock and roll.”
During Saturday’s matchup against the Minnesota Lynx, she dropped 24 points, including a 3-pointer. She also had 10 rebounds to secure the double-double.
Going into that game, she needed 25 blocks to move up. She managed to get three blocks, inching closer to Lauren Jackson’s 586 blocks, which have her at sixth on the all-time blocks list.
“That feels great,” Wilson told The IX. “It really does. Like, on the defensive end, it’s something that’s so key that I knew I needed to up coming into this league. Now, would you tell me, a rookie A’ja, that she would win this Defensive Player of the Year in this league? I would probably laugh in your face, but it’s pretty amazing to see the growth in that area that I’m really just trying to get after.”
Despite the Aces struggling against the Dallas Wings in their 96-66 loss, Wilson still managed to play a critical role in their comeback attempt. She scored 18 points in this game and had five rebounds and two assists.
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Thanks to her recent performances, Wilson came out on top as the Western Conference Player of the Week. This is the 30th Player of the Week accolade of her career.
This week, she averaged 30 points per game, nine rebounds per game and 2.7 blocks per game.
When asked about what these accolades say about Wilson’s skill, head coach Becky Hammon made her statement simple.
“It says that she’s the best,” Hammon told The IX, “and she continues to be the best.”
People outside of the Aces’ organization are also acutely aware of Wilson’s prowess. Now that she has improved her three-point shooting, she has become even more of a force on the court.
“A’ja is, when she gets the ball, … one of the hardest players in the world to stop,” Wings forward Jessica Shepard told reporters after the game Tuesday.
During the 2025 season, Wilson was the main reason the team made its midseason turnaround to become a championship team. She sent a text after the infamous 53-point loss to Minnesota, which sent them on a 16-game win streak.
Now, she’s leading them in their attempt at a second back-to-back championship run.
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Jewell Loyd joined the Aces roster last season. After being in the league for 12 years, Loyd has seen players grow and become stars, Wilson included, and she continues to be impressed by her teammate, noting that Wilson’s point totals amount to however many she decides to score.
Loyd plays a critical role for the Aces, especially on offense. She, Jackie Young, and the rest of the team do their best to get players away from Wilson and create ball movement. However, whenever Wilson has the ball, multiple defenders attempt to stop her.
“I mean, she’s getting these pictures of her surrounded by five people every night, four people every night, and still being efficient,” Loyd said. “It’s really hard to do in this league, and she’s done it season after season, so that’s pretty amazing.”
Young shared the same sentiment with The IX. After being drafted first overall in 2019, Wilson took her under her wing, and they’ve had solid chemistry and been close ever since.
“There’s pictures where you’ve seen four or five people around you, and so that’s the attention she heard every night,” Young told The IX. “I think she’s just so great at what she does, and just making the right read.”
Despite one loss this week, Wilson just can’t stop winning. After it was announced that she earned the Western Conference Player of the Week, Wheaties announced that she would be on their next round of cereal boxes.
Wilson is widely considered to be one of the best players in the league, and at this point in her career, it seems she has no intention of slowing down anytime soon.
“I don’t know,” Loyd told The IX about Wilson’s potential. “I never would have put any limits on anybody, because I think she’s limitless.”
