With over 4800 adjectives in the English language, words are still failing to encapsulate accurately what South Carolina basketball legend A'ja Wilson is accomplishing to start the 2024 season.
Everyone uses words like dominant (see previous paragraph), transcendant, and amazing to describe special (there's another one) athletes like Wilson. Calling her game on the floor beautiful doesn't do justice to her ruthless aggression. Focusing on the brutality of her defensive acumen or the intensity of her offensive plan of attack misses the mark by neglecting just how easy she makes everything look.
In reality, the only adjectives that work are the ones that don't adject anything. Indescribable, incomprehisible, unfathomable, and impossible will do, but even those are thrown out too frequently when describing anything remotely impressive.
It's barely hyperbole to say that Wilson is setting a new record every night in the WNBA. The Columbia native has matched or broken several all-time records already this season and seems all but a lock for her third MVP trophy and third WNBA Finals championship, despite the regular season being less than a quarter finished.
So far this summer, Wilson has set a new record for most consecutive 20-point, 10-rebound double-doubles, matched the all-time mark for consecutive Conference Player of the Month honors, and began the year on the fastest scoring and rebounding pace in the history of the league.
There also had never been a 35-point, 10-rebound, and 5-steal performance in the near 30 years of the WNBA. That is, there had never been one before A'ja Wilson logged one on Wednesday night.
Against the Dallas Wings, Wilson cleared those numbers with ease as she scored 36 points, pulled down 12 rebounds, and stole the ball 6 times. She also added 2 assists and a block while shooting nearly 70% from the field for the game. She was perfect from behind the 3-point line and missed just one free throw. Simply put, A'ja Wilson made WNBA history again.
Wilson's Las Vegas Aces squad is tied for the 2nd-best record in the league despite missing all-star point guard Chelsea Gray so far to start the year. Once Wilson's supporting cast is at full strength, the regular season will feel like just a formality as the best player in the world leads her team to October once again.