The Las Vegas Aces had hit rock bottom. A 14-14 record and the sting of a 111-58 thrashing at the hands of the Lynx. Something had to change, and fast. That’s when A’ja Wilson stepped forward, delivering a blunt challenge to her teammates. “I feel like one thing I did do is send a message to them and just say if you weren’t embarrassed from yesterday, then don’t come into this gym. You’re not needed or wanted here. We need the mindset to shift because that was embarrassing”. And, as it turns out, that message lit a fire under the Aces.

Since that August 2 game, the Aces haven’t lost a single one. They rolled into the playoffs on a 16-game winning streak and locked in the No. 2 seed. A’ja Wilson, meanwhile, has been nothing short of sensational. She leads the league with 23.4 points and 2.3 blocks per game, while also topping the charts in 20-point and 30-point double-doubles. On top of that, she ranks first in win shares, on/off rating, and defensive rebounds — a true MVP-level season.

That form carried straight into the playoffs. A’ja delivered an MVP-worthy stat line with 29 points, 8 rebounds, 3 steals, and 2 blocks as the Aces cruised past the Seattle Storm 102-77. And as you’d expect, she left the night with plenty of records to her name!

• Became the first player in WNBA history to have multiple seasons with 20 points and 10 rebounds per game
• She officially passed Sylvia Fowles for 8th on the all-time WNBA Playoffs rebounds list, now sitting at 427 and counting.
• She also passed Angel McCoughtry for 10th on the all-time WNBA Playoffs points list,
• It was her 22nd playoff game with at least 20 points and 5 rebounds, breaking a tie with Diana Taurasi, Lisa Leslie, and Maya Moore for the 4th-most in WNBA history
• With her performance, she also climbed the all-time WNBA Playoffs ranks for free throws made, now tied for 8th.

But it wasn’t just the personal records A’ja was racking up. The Aces have now won three straight games by 25 points or more — a feat ESPN says has never happened before in WNBA history. Talk about taking a bad result and completely flipping your season around!

But the Aces aren’t stopping here. With the championship in their sights after entering the playoffs as the No. 2 seed, they’ll be hungry for more. And tonight, following the Game 1 win over the Storm, A’ja made sure her teammates knew exactly that. Here’s what she said.

A’ja Wilson rallies her teammates

Assuming the Aces get past the Storm — which, realistically, they should, though anything can happen in basketball — their next challenge will be the winner of the Dream/Fever series. For the Aces, every game from here on is a must-win, and A’ja knows they can’t get comfortable basking in the glory of a 17-game unbeaten streak. It’s all about taking it one game at a time from here.

When ESPN’s Scott Van Pelt asked Wilson about how she expects to keep this streak going, the reigning MVP had a simple answer. “Just never getting too high with our highs and never getting too low with our lows. just being consistent in where we are and and bottling up the good things that happened throughout the game, but also learning from the bad things and things that we need to work on. so we’re not going to continue to just look at the streak. Uh in my eyes, the streak was over in the regular season. We got a whole new thing that we need to start cooking here. And that’s what I’m going to hold up to my teammates every single day is we got to bring our A game.”

It’ll be interesting to see where the Aces go from here. Of course, A’ja isn’t carrying the load alone. Jackie Young has come alive recently, posting the first two triple-doubles of her career while taking on more ball-handling duties in Kelsey Plum’s absence. On top of that, Cheyenne Parker-Tyus — who missed most of the season due to maternity leave — is finally back, giving the roster another boost. The duo combined for 25 points tonight against the Storm, making things even better for the Aces.

Going forward, the Aces really look like a dangerous team, and a potential finals clash between the two MVP candidates has all the makings of a show-stopping finish. What do you think? Will the Aces make it to the finals this year? Let us know in the comments below!