A’ja Wilson should’ve been basking in her fourth WNBA MVP award and a semifinal win to go with it, but Aliyah Boston had other plans. Instead of a celebration, Wilson found herself locked down and frustrated in the Aces’ 89-73 loss to the Indiana Fever.
Boston made life miserable for her counterpart, forcing rushed shots and uncomfortable looks all night. Speaking ahead of Game 2, Wilson admitted the battle was physical but nothing she hadn’t seen before.
“It was no different than any other time I play Aliyah, or any other big in this league,” Wilson told reporters. “It’s always been very physical and it’s playoffs, so they let you get away with a lot of different things. But that doesn’t really change much of the game and our system, so we really just have to continue to buckle in.”
The numbers told the story. On what should have been her night, A’ja Wilson managed just 16 points on 6-of-22 shooting. Tracking from Swish Appeal’s Josh Felton showed Aliyah Boston matched up with her on 35 possessions, and ESPN Insights reported Wilson converted only 18 percent of those attempts.
LOOK: A’ja Wilson Awarded WNBA MVP Trophy In Touching Scene With BF Bam Adebayo
Still, the MVP moment itself was one to remember. On Sunday, Wilson became the first player in league history to claim the award four times — and the trophy came with a personal touch. Instead of simply receiving it from commissioner Cathy Engelbert, she was surprised by her boyfriend, Miami Heat star Bam Adebayo, who stepped in to hand it over.
Wilson got emotional as Engelbert recapped her stellar season in front of teammates and family. It capped a year where she averaged more than 20 points and 10 rebounds for the second straight season, shared Co-Defensive Player of the Year honors with Alanna Smith, and stacked up 13 games with 30-plus points — more than any other player in a single year.
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Dan has been active in sports since 2016 and has worked behind the scenes as a scriptwriter for basketball, volleyball, and other sports. At a time, Dan has also been working as a sports commentator for CBA Pilipinas. During the pandemic, he has also been actively writing betting articles for CashBet and BetNow.
