“The absolute best”: LeBron James crowns A’ja Wilson as the WNBA’s undisputed after monster performance
Future Hall of Famer LeBron James heaped praise on Las Vegas Aces center A'ja Wilson on Thursday following a historic performance on Wednesday. In the Aces' 95-81 win over the Wings on Wednesday, Wilson recorded a WNBA-first with 36 points, 12 rebounds, and six assists over 34 minutes played. On Thursday morning, LeBron James took to social media to react.
Wilson's play has seen her cement her place as arguably the best player in the WNBA in the eyes of many. The way LA Lakers star and four-time NBA champion LeBron James sees things, Wilson is the absolute best.
While reposting a tweet that featured photos of Wilson from Wednesday's game against the Wings, including the Aces star wearing his Nike LeBron 21s, James wrote:
"THE ABSOLUTE BEST!!!!!!!!!!!"
Wilson’s dominant performance helped the Aces extend their regular season to 5-2, which currently has them sitting in fourth place. While the WNBA doesn’t seed teams in the playoffs based on conference records, the Aces’ 5-2 record also sees them sitting in second place in the Western Conference.
As the team looks to three-peat as WNBA champions, the Aces will be back in action on Friday when they host the Seattle Storm at Michelob Ultra Arena in Vegas. The game will see the team look to secure their second straight win after Wilson’s performance on Wednesday caught the attention of LeBron James.
ESPN analyst joins LeBron James in praising A’ja Wilson for historic performancea
Of course, LA Lakers star LeBron James wasn’t the only one left in awe of A’ja Wilson’s historic performance on Wednesday. In addition to the tweet shared by LeBron James, ESPN analyst Andraya Carter spoke about Wilson’s play.
The way she sees things, the reigning WNBA Finals MVP can sustain her elite level of play through the remainder of the season. As she explained on Thursday’s installment of First Take, not only is Wilson dominating for the Aces, but she’s doing so without Chelsea Gray on the court:
"This is sustainable for A'ja Wilson. This level of play. She can do it through the WNBA finals. She can do it through the playoffs. She's playing this way without the second best player on the team on the floor in her point guard. She's playing at this level. We haven't even seen what she's going to do”
Currently, the reigning WNBA Finals MVP is averaging career-highs across the board in scoring, rebounding, blocks, and steals. In the case of her scoring output, Wilson is averaging 27.9ppg throughout the first seven games of the season, up from 22.8ppg last year.
Similarly, she’s also averaging a career-high 12.4rpg, up from 9.5 last season, while on the defensive end of the ball she’s averaging a career-high 2.0spg and 2.6bpg. While Wilson has already won the WNBA MVP award twice, if she continues to dominate the game at this level, she could wind up winning a third MVP award this season.
Of course, as previously mentioned she and the Aces are also looking to become just the second team in WNBA history to win three straight titles, adding to the hype surrounding this season.