A'ja Wilson Made Elderly Aces Fan's Day
After struggling for nearly the entire regular season to this point, the Las Vegas Aces have seemed to right the ship at the perfect time.
They have now won four consecutive games after defeating a tough Connecticut Sun squad 72-67 on Friday. It was mainly the Aces defense that won them the game, which appears to have been the side of the court they've emphasized lately while their offense has lacked its typical fluidity.
Although their offense did look better than it has for much of the season; especially from Kelsey Plum, who scored 27 points in the win, and WNBA MVP favorite A'ja Wilson, who added 20 to go along with 8 rebounds.
While it was an exciting game between two elite teams, Friday night's most noteworthy moment came between Wilson and a fan before the game began.
X user @phxsunz25 went viral on Friday night for replying to a picture that the Aces' X account posted of Wilson getting shots up pregame, which showed an elderly woman sitting courtside behind Wilson and holding a sign that read, "I'm 83 and hoping for a photo with A'ja Wilson".
"please tell me she got her pic with a’ja because 😭😭😭," the post's caption wrote, along with a zoomed in photo of the fan and her sign.
please tell me she got her pic with a’ja because 😭😭😭 https://t.co/hbeHwEVTgk pic.twitter.com/SWdjcQeoxZ
— maddy 🍉 (@phxsunz25) September 6, 2024
Fans were then left in suspense afterward, as there was initially no follow-up post from anyone to see whether the fan's wish had been granted.
But then the same X user offered a heartwarming update two hours later, showing a photo of Wilson smiling alongside the fan with the caption, "she got it y’all 🥹".
she got it y’all 🥹
— maddy 🍉 (@phxsunz25) September 7, 2024
(📸 @LVAces) https://t.co/gZyqMAfa1y pic.twitter.com/cuwuGDemKN
Given that the picture appears to be taken postgame, perhaps Wilson wanted to secure the win before snapping the photo.
Then again, Wilson seems like the type to have taken the photo regardless or winning or losing.
GRANT YOUNG
Grant Young covers Women’s Basketball, the New York Yankees, and the New York Mets for Sports Illustrated’s ‘On SI’ sites. He holds an MFA degree in creative writing from the University of San Francisco (USF), where he also graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in Marketing and played on USF’s Division I baseball team for five years. However, he now prefers Angel Reese to Angels in the Outfield.