LeBron James Saw Some of Himself in A'ja Wilson
The Las Vegas Aces are officially reeling.
After being defeated by the Dallas Wings (who entered the game with a 7-22 record) by a score of 93-90 on Tuesday night, the Aces are now 2-4 in August and look like a shell of the squad that won the last two WNBA titles; despite containing the same star players from those championship teams.
The one Aces player who has consistently played at an all-world level this season is superstar A'ja Wilson. The massive WNBA MVP favorite was a lone bright spot in Tuesday's loss for the Aces, scoring a whopping 42 points and grabbing 6 rebounds in 37 minutes played.
Wilson's elite performance caught the attention of NBA legend LeBron James, who wrote on X Tuesday, "Lil sis going crazy right now!!!! @_ajawilson22," along with two faces with steam emojis and one flexing arm emoji.
Lil sis going crazy right now!!!! @_ajawilson22 😤😤💪🏾
— LeBron James (@KingJames) August 28, 2024
Perhaps King James was inclined to show his "Lil Sis" some love after she was seen wearing a pair of “South Beach” LeBron 21 PEs during Tuesday's game, which were inspired by the “South Beach” LeBron 9 Elite from 2012, per Nick DePaula.
A’ja Wilson’s “South Beach” LeBron 21 PEs are clean pic.twitter.com/ypKW1wnAlE
— Nick DePaula (@NickDePaula) August 28, 2024
While LeBron may not be the best player in the NBA any longer, there's no doubt that A'ja Wilson is the best female basketball player in the world right now.
Her 27.1 points per game this season is currently leading the WNBA by a wide margin, as the league's second-best scorer Kalheah Copper is averaging 22.6 points per game.
Wilson is also leading the WNBA in blocks per game (2.7), and her 11.7 rebounds per game is second to rookie Angel Reese (12.9).
Despite her individual brilliance, Wilson can't carry these Aces to a three-peat alone. Some of her other teammates will need to find their groove if Las Vegas is going to be a factor in the postseason.
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.