South Carolina Basketball: A’ja Wilson looks to make history while winning her second WNBA Finals championship

South Carolina basketball legend Aja Wilson is the best player in the WNBA, and this postseason has proven it. For some reason, she was snubbed for her third MVP award in favor of Breanna Stewart (who is a great player), but Wilson has played circles around Stewart all postseason, including in the first two games of the WNBA Finals against her New York Liberty team.

Wilson’s Las Vegas Aces won both Game 1 and Game 2 in convincing fashion, and they are just one victory away from a sweep in the series and a second-straight WNBA championship.

Game 3 is in about an hour at 3:00 on ESPN and the ESPN app. When the Aces and Liberty hit the floor in what could be the final game of the best-of-five series, Aja Wilson will be looking to make history while she closes out the series for her second title.

Wilson has logged 11 career playoff games with 20 points and 10 rebounds. In the history of the WNBA, only Tamika Catchings and Candace Parker (Wilson’s current teammate on the Aces who is out with an injury) have ever had more. Both Catchings and Parker have accomplished the feat 12 times.

If Wilson puts up the numbers fans are accustomed to seeing from her, she will tie that mark today. She will, without a doubt, shatter that record eventually, as she just turned 27 years old in August and is at the peak of her powers as the world’s best player.

If the Aces do pull out the victory today, and Wilson does match the all-time record for playoff 20-and-10 performances, the WNBA Finals MVP trophy will belong to her for the first time. Teammate Chelsea Gray took home the award in 2022. Gray, Jackie Young, and Kelsey Plum have been standouts for Vegas in this series, as well.

Wilson’s former Gamecock basketball teammate Alaina Coates is also a member of the Aces roster, playing a reserve role in the front court.