Aces superstar A’ja Wilson had arguably the best year of her career. She averaged 26.9 points and 11.9 rebounds per game during the 2024 WNBA regular season and broke the league’s single-season records for total points and rebounds, making a solid case to win her third MVP award. But to cap off her great season with a title, DJ Wells believes the center will have to embark on a run akin to Stephen Curry’s in 2022.
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On Jeff Teague’s Club 520 podcast, the co-host claimed he could envision Wilson putting the Aces on her back and carrying them to the championship as the superstar guard did with the Warriors two years ago. He said,
“Shout out to A’ja Wilson, craziest season ever… She’s on that like last time Steph won that chip. He was the marquee, had help but he was that. I think this year she might really surprise in the playoffs. I know there’s a lot of good teams but when she is locked in, bro, ain’t much you can do with her.”
During the 2021-22 regular season, Curry averaged 25.5 points per game and led the Warriors to a third-place finish in the Western Conference standings. However, he took it up a notch in the 2022 playoffs and averaged 27.4 points to lead his team to a surprise championship win.
During that run, he saved his best for the last. He put up 31.2 points per game in the championship series against the Celtics, and won the Finals MVP award, ending his long wait for the coveted prize. Wells expects something similar from Wilson during the 2024 WNBA playoffs.
He acknowledged that just like Curry had help from Klay Thompson, Draymond Green, Jordan Poole, and Andrew Wiggins, Wilson also has the services of stars Chelsea Gray, Kelsey Plum, and Alysha Clark. However, they haven’t played as well as they did in the past.
The Aces’ underwhelming regular season
The two-time reigning WNBA champions had a calamitous start to the 2024 season. Without Gray, who was missing from action due to a foot injury, they started the year 6-6, an astonishingly poor record, considering they cruised to the title last season. However, as soon as she returned, the Aces turned a corner on both ends of the floor.
They won 10 of their next 11 games and were seemingly back on track. However, they suffered another slump in form and lost five of their next seven games, suggesting that their problems ran deeper than Gray’s absence.
But they recovered admirably, finishing the year with nine wins in 10 games, including five straight in their final games. Still, they haven’t played like the formidable force that won the title in the last two campaigns. In 2023, they won 34 games in the regular season and lost just one game en route to their second straight championship.
Without Wilson’s heroics, they likely wouldn’t have finished fourth in the standings. They will open their playoff campaign on Sunday against the Seattle Storm, a team they’ve beaten three times in a row.
They’ll fancy their odds of advancing to the second round, but Wilson will have to be on top of her game to ensure her team doesn’t slip up at the first hurdle.
