INDIANAPOLIS — It would be reductive to say that A’ja Wilson is the Las Vegas Aces. But it would not be completely untrue. There is no player whose individual performance so forcefully dictates that of her team. Wilson has the highest usage rate in the WNBA. Her presence transforms an otherwise weak defensive unit into a competent one. Wilson shapes this offense, and she fuels it, too.
That can make Las Vegas look unstoppable when the four-time MVP is at her best and very much stoppable when she is not. In Game 1 of these WNBA semifinals against the Fever, Wilson had an uncharacteristic 6-for-22 shooting, and the Aces limped to a 89–73 loss. A similar dynamic brewed for much of Game 3 on Friday. Yet it did not end the same way. Wilson went 6-for-20 shooting. But the group around her gritted through a dicey fourth quarter to win this one.
