Henderson, Nev. – A’ja Wilson entered last season trying to show that she was actually the best WNBA player, even if MVP voters thought otherwise in 2023.
Then he came out and organized one of the best performances in the history of the League.
The problem is that his teammates did not all come, and the two -time defending champion Aces never found his game and finally it was Eliminated by the eventual New York winner In the semifinals. As satisfactory as last season it was individually for Wilson, not meeting the high standards of Las Vegas when a team stays with it.
And that same impulse that fed his last season remains.
“I want to be the best,” Wilson said. “Normally, you classify yourself better when you want games and desire championships, so that was my entire mentality in this low season. It was a long low season. It was a long and boring low season because we lost. Sometimes you need that to wake you up.”
The low season, however, was not a total disappointment.
His A Nike Signature Signature shoe He was released earlier this month and became a great seller.
“I’m overwhelmed a little because it means a lot to me,” Wilson said. “Love, joy, positivity behind this, seeing so many people want to buy it, my heart is definitely full. So I am grateful. I am very excited to see the most to come.”
That includes what to come with the Aces this season.
Wilson and Ace return with most of the intact nucleus but with some notable changes. Las Vegas helped orchestrate An exchange of three teams in January That sent Kelsey Plum to Los Angeles and landed Jewell Loyd from Seattle. The aces also have what is essentially a New player at Liz KitleyA player of the publication that was recruited on the 24th a year ago but did not play due to a torn acl.
In addition, the return of the All-Star Chelsea Gray and Jackie Young guards should be healthy after playing through injuries last season.
“Being healthy is a change of play, only that everyone will organize and be a leader and know the flows and ins and outs of the game,” Gray said. “A’ja, I think only help her too. We can enter some actions and things. It is difficult when you look at the defensive. You have a double and you want to come double, who do you go out?
That was part of why the Ace had their dominant two -year stretch. They could make the opponents pay too much attention to Wilson on the front court, and she could take advantage of when the defenses backed her back to try to remove the perimeter shooting of Las Vegas.
It almost didn’t matter what kind of defense Wilson faced last season. He was on a mission from the beginning and averaged 26.9 points and 11.8 rebounds, joining Cynthia Cooper of the Houston Comets in 1997 like the League Only unanimous options for MVP.
“She gathered the biggest individual season in the history of the WNBA,” said ACES coach Beck Hammon. “It was not only in terms of historical numbers in the W, but it would be the same in the NBA. It simply had no precedents.
“However, I was very annoying for not winning a championship. So, for her, that was like, how do I get more of my teammates? ‘ We talk about that.
A long and boring low season.
Wilson does not want to experience another of those again, but also knows that competition is fierce.
New York defending champion and Breanna Stewart Figure to be in the conversation againIndiana led by Caitlin Clark Updated in the low season And it became one of the favorites, and Minnesota and Napheesa Collier Oh-tan near After wasting overtime to freedom in game 5 of the finals.
But Wilson feels a different atmosphere in the murder of the Aces compared to last year at this time, one that looks more like the team that won everything in 2022 and 2023.
“It’s a bit stinking when the mentality (with other players) was not where it is,” Wilson said. “But it is also a human nature. When you enter after winning consecutively, you have this feeling of ‘What else do we have to do?’ We have already executed and done more than people may have expected us to do.
“I think this year we have entered with a different mentality, understanding how difficult it is to get there.”
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