A’ja Wilson’s deep-ball evolution didn’t just happen by accident; it came with (and because of) Becky Hammon. For context, Wilson’s first four seasons produced exactly two 3-point attempts, and she made just one of them. Till then, Wilson was more of a “paint it red” kind of scorer, relying on mid-range touch but rarely wandering beyond the arc. Given her ballet-level footwork in the low post, the Aces happily fed her inside buckets on demand. But Hammon knew she had to get creative after Liz Cambage packed her bags for Los Angeles. The solution? Slot Wilson next to Dearica Hamby and give her some long-range homework. Fast forward to now, Wilson clearly did her homework well.

When you string together 11 wins in a row, confidence naturally hits an all-time high. That’s exactly where the Las Vegas Aces are right now, riding this resurgence under Hammon’s leadership. And, as usual, the centerpiece of it all is A’ja Wilson. Once again, it was Wilson who stepped up in the clutch to help the Aces pull ahead against the Atlanta Dream. Trailing behind the entire time in the first and second quarters, it looked like the Dream might finally break the Aces’ streak. But A’ja had other plans. The third quarter belonged to Las Vegas, as they outscored Atlanta by 13. It was in this stretch that Wilson truly showed why she’s considered one of the best players in the league.

With about 7:27 left on the clock, Wilson spotted Chelsea Gray wide open for a three-pointer, giving the Aces their first lead of the game at 45-44. The Dream responded with free throws from Naz Hillmon and Rhyne Howard to tie it up at 48. But A’ja wasn’t done – she hit a set of back-to-back threes to swing the momentum completely in the Aces’ favor, and from that point on, they never looked back. Jackie Young assisted both three-pointers at 2:55 and 2:30, while Dana Evans stepped in at 1:43 to assist another two-pointer by Wilson.

So, to Wilson’s credit, she has definitely worked on the long-range part of her game consistently. Last year, she went 31.7 from three, and this season she’s shooting 32.7%. Not eye-popping numbers, but when A’ja hits back-to-back threes, you can bet the Aces are nearly unstoppable. And thank Hammon and her Vegas teammates for always inspiring that confidence in her.

As Wilson herself said in 2022, “Shooters always gonna shoot, and that’s what I’m gonna do. But, you know, it’s just something I worked on in the offseason — this isn’t new to me. This is something I’ve had, it’s my game…I’m glad I’m having my teammates telling me to shoot it even if I’m stinking it up because I’m gonna say the same to them. At the end of the day, that’s just something I’m proud of actually, that I’m able and Becky’s letting me do that.”

After A’ja hit back-to-back threes, the Aces took full control and never looked back, cruising to an 81-75 win. That victory marked their 12th consecutive win of the season and propelled them into the number 2 seed. And the 3x MVP was in spectacular form once again, setting a brand-new record in the process.

A’ja Wilson continues her good run of form

Wilson finished the game with 34 points, 10 rebounds, and 4 blocks on 61.9% shooting from the field. If that sounds insane, check out her numbers over the last 12 games. She’s racked up 322 points and 150 rebounds, averaging 26.8 points and 12.5 rebounds per game during this Aces win streak.

With that, she passed Diana Taurasi for the most 30-point games before turning 30 years old. And that’s not all — she now has 11 30-point games this season, topping the list with second-place Napheesa Collier (6) and third-place Sabrina Ionescu (5). Talk about dominance.

The Aces came into the season as one of the favorites, and right now, they’ve become an extremely tough team to beat. If A’ja Wilson keeps performing at this level, it would be hard to bet against them, despite the likes of the Minnesota Lynx performing at a consistently high level.