South Carolina Basketball: A’ja Wilson going for 2nd WNBA championship

South Carolina basketball legend Aja Wilson has become the best player in the WNBA. The two-time MVP should be a three-time winner of the award but was snubbed this season in favor of UConn alum Breanna Stewart.

Wilson will have the opportunity to prove her superiority on the court as she will go head-to-head with Stewart for a title over the next week.

Wilson’s Las Vegas Aces and Stewart’s New York Liberty are facing off in the WNBA Finals. The best-of-five series will start with two games in Vegas before the series shifts to New York for two contests. Game 5 will be in Las Vegas. Because the series is a best-of-five, games 4 and 5 will only be played in necessary.

Aja Wilson won the WNBA’s Defensive Player of the Year award this season for the second straight year, and the Aces’ defense was the highest-rated in the sport. Wilson led the league in blocks, as well, meaning the paint might be shut down in the series.

However, the Liberty play the most perimeter-oriented game in the WNBA as Stewart and Sabrina Ionescu led the Liberty to 444 made 3-pointers on the year, 73 more than the second-place Aces. Coach Becky Hammons’ Aces squad can match up on the outside, as well.

If Wilson and the Aces can be disruptive on the perimeter, they can cause serious problems for New York. Stewart and Ionescu have both struggled with efficiency this postseason as opponents have been aggressive defending the arc. The Aces could be well-suited to do just that as they boast five of the WNBA’s top 1-on-1 defenders in basketball this season (though, one of them, future Hall of Famer Candace Parker, is out with an injury).

The Aces and Liberty were the runaway best teams in the W this season, and Wilson and Stewart are the league’s top players. Fans of women’s basketball couldn’t have asked for a better WNBA Finals matchup, but the Aces seem to be the better bet in this one.

Fans can be confident that the greatest player in the game today will avenge her MVP snub.