A’ja Wilson of Aces Sets WNBA Single-Season Rebounding Record

In a notable achievement during the Las Vegas Aces’ 85-72 victory against the Seattle Storm, A’ja Wilson set a new WNBA single-season rebounding record by grabbing seven rebounds. This accomplishment allowed her to surpass Chicago Sky rookie Angel Reese, who is currently on the injured list.

Just last week, Wilson had made headlines by breaking the single-season scoring record for the WNBA. On Sunday, she also became the first player in the league’s history to score over 1,000 points in a single season.

Reflecting on her achievements, Wilson commented, “It’s a blessing. This league is tough, so if my name can be in the record books in some sort of way, it’s a blessing. So that’s cool.” During subsequent postgame interviews, she expressed surprise when informed about her rebounding milestone, leading to some light-hearted banter with Aces coach Becky Hammon.

“No, she didn’t know,” Hammon quipped. “You can tell.”

Wilson explained her perspective, saying, “Only because I don’t hunt rebounds, so it’s not something that’s always on my mind.”

Hammon responded humorously, saying, “She doesn’t hunt rebounds. She just has 13 of them all the time.”

Wilson added, “I’m 6-foot-4 and I’m around the basket, I hope I can grab a couple rebounds for my team. But when it comes to just getting them to get them, I’m not focused on that. I’m focused on putting the ball in the hoop.”

Reese’s rebounding record, set just a few weeks ago on September 1, stood for less than three weeks. Unfortunately, she played only two more games before a wrist fracture ended her promising rookie season. Reese had averaged 13.1 rebounds, while Wilson has achieved a career-high average of 11.9 rebounds, something she had never managed to do before this season.

Hammon highlighted a particular moment that demonstrated Wilson’s outstanding rebounding capabilities. “Earlier in the year,” she recalled, “it was midway through the third, and I looked at her and said, ‘A’ja, you have two rebounds.’ She replied ‘OK.’ In the next minute and a half, I think she had seven. If you remind her — oh hey, the other half of your job is to freaking rebound — then she’ll be like, ‘OK, I got you.'”

The recent victory also secured the Aces’ home-court advantage in the first round of the playoffs, where they aim to defend their back-to-back championships. Their win over Seattle locked the Storm into the fifth playoff seed, while Las Vegas, currently in fourth place, has a chance to move up to the third seed with a victory against the Dallas Wings on Thursday. The Aces could ascend if the Connecticut Sun lose to the Sky.

Wilson, however, is not preoccupied with playoff seeding. “I don’t care what seed we are,” she stated. “It would be nice to just like have a higher seed, play at home, cool, but that doesn’t matter. It’s a whole new basketball that you get a chance to play when it comes to playoffs, and it doesn’t matter what number is by your team’s name. You’ve just got to go out there and start playing the best basketball, and I think that’s what we’re trying to strive to.”

The Aces have turned their season around after initially struggling post-Olympic break, going 8-1 in their last nine games. The only loss during this stretch occurred against the New York Liberty, a match Wilson missed due to an ankle injury.