During Game 4 of the semifinals between the Indiana Fever and Las Vegas Aces, tensions flared — not just on the court, but in the postgame press conference as well. The Fever had pulled off a 90–83 win to force a decisive Game 5, but it wasn’t just the result that had people talking. Aliyah Boston attempted more free throws than the entire Aces team, something that clearly didn’t sit well with A’ja Wilson. “But Aliyah did say I have a special whistle. She shot 13 today. She said I have a special whistle, which is cool,” Wilson made those remarks after the game, and it’s clear they’ve stayed with her ever since.

Weeks removed from that heated exchange, the Aces are now WNBA champions, but A’ja Wilson clearly hasn’t forgotten Aliyah Boston’s “special whistle” comment. During the Aces’ 2025 championship celebration run, Wilson took to her Instagram Stories, posting a photo with the caption: “The only special whistle I know.” A subtle jab? Maybe.

But the case for the “special whistle” will always be there. Wilson led the league in both free throws made and attempted during the regular season, hitting 248 of 290 attempts, which comes out to about 85.5 percent. She carried that dominance into the postseason as well, making 80 of 102 free throws, and no one even came close. When it came to getting to the line and converting, Wilson was untouchable.

And when it came to getting to the line, no one came close. During the Fever series, there were moments when it was hard to ignore just how many fouls were being called in Wilson’s favor. One clear example came in Game 4, with the Fever leading 79-74 and just two minutes left on the clock. Wilson drove to the basket, made the shot, and still went to the free-throw line, even though Boston didn’t make contact. Moments like that have happened before, so it’s easy to see why Wilson gets called out at times.

Throughout the series, watching A’ja Wilson and Aliyah Boston go at each other was pure entertainment. It was power versus power, skill versus skill — two bigs refusing to back down. In Game 1, Boston made Wilson work for everything. Wilson missed 14 shots in the paint, four of them right at the rim. Nothing came easy. Per Swish Appeal’s Josh Felton, Boston matched up with Wilson on 35 possessions and held her to just a 16.7% effective field-goal percentage.

But Wilson wasn’t staying down for long. She bounced back in a big way and became the driving force behind the Aces’ comeback after dropping Game 1. She put up 66 points and 17 rebounds in the last two games,  a clear sign she’d shaken off those early struggles against Caitlin Clark’s teammate. The All-Defensive Second Team selection proved why she earned that spot, finishing fourth in total rebounds (361 in 34 games) and adding 41 blocks this season. But even that wasn’t enough to slow down a locked-in A’ja Wilson.

That said, Wilson had plenty of praise for her coach as the Aces captured their third championship in four years.

A’ja Wilson praises coach Becky Hammon

Call her a foul baiter if you want, but Wilson’s greatness is impossible to ignore. She racked up playoff career-highs with 26.8 points, 3.3 assists, and 2.1 steals, while matching her career-best with 2.5 blocks. Her 322 points, 120 rebounds, and 55 combined steals and blocks set a new playoffs record.

And if that wasn’t enough, she dropped a Finals series record 114 points, tied her career-high with 38 in a single playoff game, and pulled off a feat no one in WNBA or NBA history has ever done: winning Most Valuable Player, Defensive Player of the Year, Finals Most Valuable Player, and the scoring title all in one season. Basically, Wilson rewrote the history books

But none of this would have been possible without Becky Hammon, the mastermind behind the Aces’ success. Wilson made sure she got full credit during the trophy parade. “I cannot talk long because Becky will have me crying up here,” Wilson said. “But when you’re talking about a woman that pours into you, that sacrifices for you, that loves you for who you are, that’s that mother-f-king Becky Hammon. And she believed in us when no one did. She brought us back to life. And I’m so appreciative of what you do and how you pour into each and every last one of us.”

Hammon boasts the best winning record in WNBA Finals history at 10-2, and her 9-1 record in playoff series even surpasses Phil Jackson’s NBA mark of 86.2 percent. She was the driving force behind the Aces’ turnaround, taking a team that was below .500 halfway through the season and steering them all the way to the championship.

A’ja Wilson and the rest of the Aces will enjoy the end-of-season celebration, but for many, the offseason brings uncertainty. With a new collective bargaining agreement potentially on the horizon(hopefully), free agency could reshape the team, and the core of Wilson, Young, and Gray might not stay intact. Whether that actually happens is something only time will tell.