![]() Three weeks later, she retaliated with a monstrous six blocks, 22 points, and a W. The Dallas Wings inched out a win over the reigning champs in July while holding Wilson below her average on 38 percent shooting. But the next time they faced off, Wilson erupted for a 23-point-13 rebound double-double with a side of 5 assists to lead her team to victory. When Connecticut Sun snapped the Aces’ 7-game hot streak this season, they limited Wilson to only 13 points and handed Las Vegas their first L. In her fifth season, we have ample receipt of Wilson’s ability (averaging 20 ppg) and her ability to bounce back after a loss. “That’s not going to shatter my confidence to continue to shoot that basketball.” She finished with dismal 9 points on 2-14 shooting in the match. “I don’t need a stat sheet to validate who I am in this league,” she said in the post-game press conference. With a 38-point loss to the New York Liberty on August 6 in the rearview, Wilson had a message for the media - and anyone willing to listen. And a suffocating defense that ends with a block into the fourth row. And free-throw line jumpers that cut through the net like a razor blade. We’d miss out on back-to-the-basket post moves that look effortlessly cool. Without it, we’d be deprived of mind-bending on-court performances, viral locker room antics, and an 11-foot-tall bronze statue. Thank goodness she traded in her click-clack patent leather shoes for sneakers with a high-pitch squeak. M’VP WilsonĪ’ja Wilson tried tap dancing, karate, and swimming as a kid before falling in love with basketball. Adding two-time Commissioner’s Cup Champion to her laundry list of accolades has a nice ring to it, too. 500 to second place in the standings and its first championship banner within arms distance. It’s a no-brainer she’s helped resurrect a franchise from five consecutive seasons finishing below. Averaging over 20 points and almost ten rebounds per game, Stewart has become an MVP favorite once again. This mixed bag of tricks at 6-foot-4 makes her nearly impossible to defend. Three-ball from the top of the key? Money. In year seven, Stewart has shown that her superpowers are still evolving. She grinned and said, “It feels like I made the right decision.” She broke the franchise’s single-game scoring record in only her second contest in a Liberty jersey. After shooting over 70 percent from the field in 30 minutes, the roaring Brooklyn crowd gave her a well-deserved standing ovation. The Liberty lost by 16 in their opening matchup against the Mystics, but in the first home game at Barclays Center, Stewart’s dominant 45-point career-high performance rocked the nay-sayers to sleep. We had months before the season to fester on will-they-won’t-they Seafoam scenarios. “And I want to go to the place where I can continue to help this league become better, to continue to raise the standard.” “I decided to go to New York because I want to continue to be great,” Stewart told ESPN after announcing the move with a Statue of Liberty emoji on social media. He wanted to build something special, so why not have one of the most special talents in the history of women’s basketball at its center? Once Stewart elected to come to play for the Liberty in February, she made it clear that this was a decision for the betterment of the league. But it was, in fact, Liberty General Manager Jonathan Kolb (sans eye patch). Jackson had to be at the center of this plan. ![]() ![]() So, when I first heard about Breanna Stewart, Jonquel Jones, and Courtney Vandersloot joining forces in New York with Sabrina Ionescu and Betnijah Laney, I imagined the Avengers assembling. But let’s break it down even further as to just how special this moment is. Thirty games into the season - and a regular-season series tied at 1-1 - both Stewart and Wilson have proven what we already know. This year would be the first time we see the two of them bout head-to-head for a prize pool of $500,000. The third-annual in-season tournament has seen variations of this duo - Stewie’s former Seattle Storm team taking the crown in 2021, where she snagged the MVP award, and Wilson’s Aces winning the Cup in 2022. ![]() They’re both the “super-est” players on their respective teams and chasing another WNBA Championship ring.īefore that, they’re both vying for a chance to hoist the trophy of the 2023 WNBA Commissioner’s Cup Championship Game presented by Coinbase. They both rock Instagrammable fits through their pre-game tunnels. They’ve led their teams to the top two spots in the league’s standings. ![]() Night after night, We tune into them as they defy the odds of gravity and gravitas. Have you ever stopped to revel in how lucky we are to witness two greats playing in their prime? Breanna Stewart and A’ja Wilson are two of the biggest names of the WNBA - two former MVPs, two All-Star captains, and two future Hall of Famers. ![]()
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