A’ja Wilson created history even before stepping foot on the court for the 2024 WNBA playoffs. The Las Vegas Aces Center became the second woman in league history to be unanimously voted MVP. Her teammates jumped around ecstatically in the film room, where the news was broken to her, and she immediately got emotional. Surprisingly, going into Game 1 against the Seattle Storm, Wilson even brought about a big change in her pre-game fit.

When the 3x MVP arrived at the Michelob Ultra Arena, a different aura surrounded her. Her walk was more confident than ever, and more importantly, she was no longer wearing the signature white tee that supposedly helped her gain performance in the regular season. Wilson was wearing a red pantsuit as she strutted into the hallways of the Aces’ home. But why would she make this change when the white tee trend seemed to be working so well?

“I have to want to put on clothes. Right now, where I am, I don’t feel like I deserve to put on clothes,” was Wilson’s explanation for the white tee fits during the regular season. “Wrinkle white tee for the win,” she had written on X as the Aces bested LA Sparks for an 87-71 home game win last month. Interestingly, the Aces won most of the games and Wilson averaged 29.2 points, 12.0 rebounds, and 2.4 blocks during her “White Tee” games.

Well, shouldn’t she have stuck to the tradition going into the key playoffs best-of-3 against the Storm? Maybe it’s the newfound confidence of her 1000+ point season being validated by the MVP award.

Facing off against the Storm, Wilson will play a key role in the Aces’ pursuit of a 3-peat. If they win the 2024 championship, the Becky Hammon-led team would become the second team in WNBA history to achieve a 3-peat, after the Houston Comets’ 4-year victory run from 1997 to 2000. And in the eyes of the head coach, Wilson deserves a good chunk of the credit.

Becky Hammon bows down to A’ja Wilson’s selfless behavior that helped the Aces dominate

A’ja Wilson averaged a league-high 26.9 points, 2.6 blocks, and 11.9 rebounds (second-best to Angel Reese’s 13.1) per game. This helped the Aces notch a 27-13 regular season and end with a 5-game win streak. In July, Becky Hammon labeled the 6’4 Center as the “greatest player to put on this uniform.” After Wilson’s 3rd MVP nod, Hammon was proven right.

The head coach credited her star player for the team’s overall improvement and success. “We always talk about, ‘Make your teammate great, and then in the process you become the greatest,'” Hammon said. “A’ja is a great example of that – just making everybody great around her. She’s the greatest because she’s so authentically committed to that: pulling greatness out of other people.”

Wilson even unknowingly proved Hammon’s assessment right in the film room after getting the MVP news. With tears in her eyes, she read out personalized messages for each of her teammates. In her eyes, each member of the team, including the coaching staff, was responsible for her success. With this attitude, Wilson might just keep sweeping records and awards in the seasons to come. The Aces might even break the Houston Comets’ 4-peat.