South Carolina basketball alum A'ja Wilson won the tournament MVP and led the United States Basketball Women's National Team to a record-breaking 8th gold medal in a row last weekend when Team USA knocked off the French National Team in the Summer Olympics finale. Now, back in the US and back on a WNBA court, records continue to fall in Wilson's wake.
On Saturday, in her first game since the Olympic break, the greatest Gamecock of all-time extended her streak (one that began before the Olympics) of 20-point, 10-rebound double-doubles to seven games. She already had set the WNBA record, and her big-time performance against the New York Liberty extended it. In the matchup between championship favorites, Wilson scored 24 points, pulled down 11 rebounds, shot 8-15 from the field, blocked 3 shots, stole the ball 3 times, shot 100% from the perimeter, and went 7-8 from the free throw line.
Wilson is the runaway favorite for the WNBA MVP award this season (it would be her third) as she leads the league in points, rebounds, and blocks, and she is ranked in the top-5 in steals. She is on pace to break the W's all-time records for points scored and rebounds in a single season, and she has carried her Las Vegas Aces' squad to championship contention despite the team not playing up to its full potential thanks to injuries.
There are plenty of reasons to expect A'ja Wilson to continue her dominant play, and having just turned 28 during the Olympics, she is still in the early years of her prime. When all is said and done, the Columbia native has as good of a chance as anyone to be considered the best women's basketball player of all-time.
Wilson and the Aces will play the second leg of a back-to-back on Sunday when they face off with the Los Angeles Sparks at 6:00 PM ET.