South Carolina women’s basketball: A historic night for A’ja Wilson

A’ja Wilson is no stranger to breaking records, but even by her standards, Wednesday was a historic night.

Wilson had 27 points, seven rebounds, three assists, and two blocks in Las Vegas’ 78-72 win at Golden State. With the two blocks, Wilson became only the tenth player in WNBA history with 500 career blocks. 

Wilson is averaging a league-best 2.3 blocks this season. If she continues to lead the league, it would be the fourth consecutive and fifth overall time she has led the league in blocks. She is one of just three players to lead the league in blocks three or more times.

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Wilson, who became the first player in league history to score 1,000 points in a season last year, passed 5,000 career points earlier this season. Combined, she is the fastest player in league history to reach 5,000 points and 500 blocks. 

Wilson’s 27 points gave her 152 career 20-point games, tied with Breanna Stewart and Cappie Pondexter for the third most in WNBA history. She has scored at least 20 points in nearly 60% of the games in her career, a faster pace than anyone else.

Wilson also has the fourth-most 25-point games in WNBA history. (Unfortunately, I haven’t been able to track down the full list for this stat.)

This season, Wilson is averaging 21.5 points and 9.1 rebounds, both second in the league. The MVP race was widely believed to be Napheesa Collier’s to lose, but Collier is expected to miss at least two weeks after spraining her ankle against Las Vegas. Collier is still the favorite, but the door is open for Wilson to claim her second consecutive and fourth overall MVP award.

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