Think A’ja Wilson was stepping off the gas after Game 1 win? Think again. The 4-time MVP cooked Alyssa Thomas and the Phoenix Mercury throughout the game, especially in the first half. She had a whopping twenty points in the first, more than double that of anyone else. That first half was also the best in her WNBA Finals career as far as points are concerned, finishing with eight rebounds and an assist. Her magic was admired by millions of fans, along with Memphis Grizzlies star Ja Morant.

Morant didn’t need a paragraph. He just typed “A’ja Wilson,” and her legend did the talking. Wilson and Morant hail from South Carolina and have long been friends. Having been courtside for the Gamecock legend multiple times, Morant would be proud to see Wilson’s script history and scale the ‘GOAT’ mountain step by step. Former Aces preseason signee Deja Kelly was stunned, too, as Wilson’s heroics left even ex-teammates speechless. “A’ja is frying omg 😭😭,” She wrote. 

And the reactions were justified as she was only the third player in WNBA history to record 20 points in a finals half, the other two being Angel McCoughtry (2011) and Kahleah Copper (2021), as Kendra Andrews of ESPN revealed.  Wilson came into her own in the second quarter, when she exploded for 13 points and single-handedly outscored the Mercury.

She finished with 28 points, eight rebounds, and three assists, tying Breanna Stewart for the most Finals games with 25/10 in WNBA history as the Aces ran away with a dominating Game 2 78-91 win. Jackie Young was Wilson’s partner in crime, exploding for 32 points and eight rebounds.

That included 21 points in solely the third quarter, marking the record for most points in a quarter of a finals game. Chelsea Gray had the strings with 10 points and 10 assists. The entire Aces team firing is a major red flag for the Phoenix Mercury and their title hopes. 

A’ja Wilson Has Ample Support In This Finals Series

A’ja Wilson has historically had two problems in 2025: their defense and their team’s lack of scoring support. Vegas ranked in the bottom half of the table regarding defense, while the Fever series showed how difficult things would get without Wilson dropping 20+ points every night.

“We’ve got to be better for [Wilson],” Dana Evans had said, “She deals with a lot. She’s getting double-teamed, triple-teamed. We have to take some pressure off of her.” Now it seems both of those weaknesses are becoming strengths. 

In Game 1, they put up a defensive clinic and the bench push. After the Mercury edged them in the first half, they switched up schemes to zone defense, and it worked.

According to ESPN, Game 1 was the zone the Aces had played most in all season, with their 20 tracked possessions of zone defense, per Genius IQ, far outpacing their regular-season high of seven zone possessions, which came on July 6. 

In game 2, they blasted through the Mercury door with some elite offense and scrappy defense. They never allowed the Mercury to take control at any point in the game, pulling off some critical disruptions.

Jackie Young was at the thick of it, forcing Alyssa Thomas to 3 turnovers, and she couldn’t defend Wilson either, getting into foul trouble early.

And when their ‘Engine’ is struggling to provide, the entire team drops down a level. Wilson and Co. again stopped Kahleah Copper in the second half after she had 15 in the first and just 8 in the second. It seems all the gears are clicking for the Aces, and overcoming a two-game lead will be a tall task for Alyssa Thomas and the Mercury.