“I still feel like I have more,” said A’ja Wilson recently despite giving back-to-back impressive performances throughout the season. But maybe she can use this motivation against Aces’ first-round opponents. Since the franchise’s move to Las Vegas in 2018, the Aces have been a tough competitor to the Seattle Storm. Both the teams have met each other 82 times with the Aces winning exactly half of the clashes. Thus, with the WNBA regular season concluding, it’s time for the fans to hold their breaths as the showdown begins.

Beginning the postseason on Sunday, the fourth-seeded Aces will clash against the fifth-seeded Storm at the Michelob ULTRA Arena. And a player who will hold the key for Las Vegas will be their star: A’ja Wilson. The center led the league this season in points, rebounds, and blocks tally, becoming the first player to have such a strong hold on the three departments. Hence, it is essential to analyze Wilson’s performances against the Storm this season, which will give a clearer picture of who could end up leading in the cutthroat chase.

A’ja Wilson’s dominance against the Seattle Storm

The Aces have clashed with the Seattle Storm four times this season, ending on the winning side in three of them. However, the toughest game against the Storm for the Aces was the first one in June in which the 4x WNBA Champions took the ‘Sin City’ franchise by storm. Literally! The Las Vegas-based team had, contrary to their previous two seasons, lost 2 out of their first 7 games. Trying to find their rhythm in the absence of their core player Chelsea Gray, Wilson was entrusted with the responsibility of leading from the front.

The 2x WNBA Champion had hit 6 double-doubles in the previous 7 games and hence was expected to decimate her opponents. However, the only problem: the Storm had won their previous 5 games coming into this matchup. Hinting at their better team chemistry. Thus, when Wilson took the hardwood, she was in for a tough competition from the veteran guards Skylar Diggins-Smith and Jewell Loyd. The 28-year-old did her best to outsmart her rivals, scoring 29 points with 11 rebounds. However, a decent performance from Smith and Loyd shattered Wilson’s plans of dominating the game, as the Aces lost by a 78-65 margin. This was a lesson for the 2x WNBA MVP that she would have to amp up her game if she wanted to fulfill the Aces’ dreams of a three-peat.

In the next game against the Storm, Wilson dominated with her game-high rebounds (9) as Jackie Young supported her from the offensive end, hitting 32 points. In addition to her defensive skills, the 6-ft-4 star scored 27 points in the process, which ultimately helped Vegas notch their first regular season win against the Storm in a gripping 94-83 victory.

July brought with it a host of opportunities for the Aces. The previous two months hadn’t been perfect for them with a sluggish start to the season. But going ahead, the Becky Hammon-coached team tried to find their rhythm and the matchup against the Storm proved that they were in the right place at the right time. Wilson hit a magnificent 24 points with 20 rebounds and provided the impetus to her team to get to their second win (84-79) against the Storm.

The Aces from there on capitalized on their talent and secured fourth place in the WNBA rankings, advancing to the playoffs. And just before they could step into the elimination series, they had one final game of the regular season against the Storm. This time, the South Carolina-born stood out as the highest scorer of the team with 21 points and 7 rebounds, getting her team to cruise to another finish line against the opponents.

Overall, Wilson has the highest average against the Storm from her team this season. She has scored an exceptional 101 points in those four games, averaging 25.25 per game while collecting 47 rebounds, averaging 11.75 rebounds per game. Thus, she will be the key if the Aces are to keep their three-peat dream alive.

The 2x WNBA MVP has played so well this season that she also surpassed the Seattle Storm star Jewell Loyd’s single-season scoring record of 939 points. She cruised to 1021 points, becoming the only W star to have hit the 1000 mark in a singular W season. If that doesn’t grow the rivalry, the previous outing of the Aces against the Storm during the semi-finals of the 2022 WNBA season adds fuel to the fire.

The Aces during the 2022 season had defeated the Storm by a 3-1 margin in the semifinal before advancing to the Championship Finale and usurping the Connecticut Sun by a similar tally. Hence, the Storm would be prepping to redeem themselves of that loss and if the Aces are to win the game, then Wilson has to be at her best with another athlete such as Young playing a supporting role. But it is certainly going to be a fiery competition between the two.