The Las Vegas Aces had a 17-point lead, a raucous crowd behind them, and arguably the best player in the world in A’ja Wilson. And yet, by the fourth quarter, it was slipping away. A 2-8 Storm run turned a blowout into a nail-biter. The clock read 5:31. Timeout? None. Panic? Almost. That’s when Becky Hammon made the kind of mid-game pivot that separates champions from cautionary tales.

She subbed in 6-foot-3 veteran Kiah Stokes for rookie Aaliyah Nye—who was 3-of-6 from the field but overwhelmed on defense. Seattle’s twin towers (Nneka Ogwumike and Domnique Malonga) were crashing the paint, and Hammon knew her team needed size and composure.

“They made some adjustments,” Hammon said postgame. “I thought when we were small, they started to hurt us big a little bit. So I had to go back with Kia… they started to expose that a little too much for my liking. And… good for us for closing down the stretch when I had like zero timeouts.”

The Storm had cut the lead to three. Malonga, the 6-foot-6 rookie and No. 2 pick, missed a turnaround jumper over Wilson. Jewell Loyd—ironically, Seattle’s former star now in Vegas red—iced the game with free throws. Aces 75, Storm 70. Crisis averted.

That win didn’t show up in Stokes’ box score, but her impact was undeniable. “You find your role, find your niche, and you perfect it,” she said in an interview earlier this year. “That’s why I’ve been able to keep a job… I try to take some burden off the other four on the floor with me.”

Ten years in, Stokes has seen the game evolve. She’s won titles, fought through a foot fracture that sidelined her last Finals, and still, she’s doing the dirty work. “I know what I bring to the team,” she said. So does Hammon. And when things get messy, that might be one of the best kinds of damage control there is.

A’ja Wilson’s defense powers the Aces in a key win against the Storm

But wanna know what the best kind of damage control is? It’s having one of the top 3 players in the WNBA, a former MVP, and a walking cheat code like A’ja Wilson on the floor. And boy, did she deliver.

Not only did she steady the ship for the Las Vegas Aces, she casually rewrote the record books while she was at it. On a night when defense was the difference, Wilson turned it into her personal stage. As StatMamba noted on X, “A’ja Wilson ties Candace Parker for the 2nd most games in WNBA history with 3+ steals and 3+ blocks.” That’s legendary territory, and Wilson’s making that kind of dominance look effortless.

She finished the game with 3 steals and 4 blocks.

Oh, and let’s talk numbers. In 2024 alone, Wilson led the league in:

• Defensive rebounds (372)
• Total blocks (98)
• Blocks per game (2.6)

And she anchored the Aces dynasty with her tenacious defense. At just 28 years old, Wilson already has:

• 3 WNBA MVPs (2020, 2022, 2024)
• 2 WNBA championships
• 2 Defensive Player of the Year awards
• 1 Finals MVP
• And she’s a six-time All-Star

But here’s where it gets even more jaw-dropping: in just 233 games, she’s racked up 457 blocks, making her 10th all-time in WNBA history. She’s also poured in 4,919 career points—ranking 29th all-time—all while playing less than 7,300 minutes.

Sure, she’s only had 285 career steals (98th all-time), but let’s be real—Wilson’s a rim protector first, lockdown force always. And thats how the Aces survived a scare, by unleashing A’ja Wilson.