CHICAGO — Don’t hold A’ja Wilson’s greatness against her.
There has been some thought, aided by the Las Vegas Aces’ rocky start, that this was going to be the season for someone else to win MVP. That as otherworldly as Wilson is, the wealth should be shared.
That’s not fair, though. To Wilson or the game.
“There’s not a more dominant player,” Aces coach Becky Hammon said Monday night, after Wilson dropped 18 points and nine rebounds in a 79-74 win over the Chicago Sky that extended Las Vegas’ win streak to 11 and clinched a playoff spot.
“If you had to pick one right now — you could pick anybody in the league and you got one game to win, who are you taking? That answers your question. Or if you start with that as the question: Who’s as good as A’ja Wilson? That’s the point.”
Hammon is, of course, biased. Wilson, the league’s MVP in three of the last five seasons, is the driving force for Las Vegas, offensively and defensively. The Aces don’t have those titles in 2022 and 2023, or that trip to the semifinals last year, without Wilson.
But Hammon also has a point.
Wilson leads the league in total points scored and is a close second to Napheesa Collier in scoring average. She also is No. 1 in rebounding, blocks and that all-important player efficiency measure. She’s the only player to rank in the top three in points, rebounds, steals and blocks.
Really, though, Wilson’s game has been next-level since … Well, since South Carolina.
She has been top 10 in scoring, rebounding, blocks and efficiency every year she’s been in the WNBA. And most years, she’s been first or second in each of those categories. Wilson reached 5,500 points and 2,000 rebounds faster than anyone in WNBA history, and is also the only player with three games of at least 30 points, 10 rebounds and five blocks.
“It gets lost a little bit, and I don’t think that’s fair. I mean, the way that she shows up every single night, I think people get used to it,” said Jackie Young, who has played alongside Wilson her entire career.
“She puts up the numbers every single night, and because she’s won three MVPs, I don’t think that it should get lost,” Young added. “She’s still putting up these numbers every single night, and I think she should be rewarded for that.”
This is not a slight against Collier, or the season she’s having. But there is a tendency to hold transcendent players to higher standards, to judge them against themselves rather than their peers. To get so used to someone being exceptional that it becomes the expectation.
There is also a very real “fatigue” factor. Was Charles Barkley really the MVP in 1993? Or were people just tired of seeing Michael Jordan win everything? Same for Karl Malone in 1997. Nikola Jokić has three MVPs, but Hammon thinks he deserved a fourth.
“The way he impacts a game with the passing and the rebounding and the scoring, he just is so dominant in every kind of which way. A’ja has a similar dominant state line,” said Hammon, who spent eight years as an assistant with the San Antonio Spurs before being hired to coach the Aces.
“She just impacts every area of the game. First in total points. First in total rebounds. First in total blocks. Blocks, steals. She’s everywhere. She’s everywhere,” Hammon said, drawing out that last word. “That’s dominance.”
With the Aces’ struggles at the beginning of the season — after a 9-11 start there were some doubts about the playoffs — and the dominance of Collier and the Minnesota Lynx, Wilson was, for the first time in several years, largely absent from early MVP debates. Collier, who finished second to Wilson last year, was the favorite.
Might still be, though Collier’s absence for seven games because of a sprained ankle and the Aces’ second-half tear have put Wilson squarely back in the conversation. Wilson is averaging 26.2 points, 12.7 rebounds, 2.5 assists, 1.8 blocks and 1.5 steals a game during Las Vegas’ 11-game win streak.
On Tuesday, she was named the Western Conference Player of the Week for a third consecutive week.
“She’s going to be the greatest player to ever play this game when it’s all said and done,” Hammon said. “Don’t miss it.”
And never, ever take her greatness for granted.
Follow USA TODAY Sports columnist Nancy Armour on social media @nrarmour.