The defending champions did not start the season that well after a huge defeat to the Phoenix Mercury. But they came back strong with four consecutive wins, led by A'ja Wilson. And that performance has now added another feather to Wilson’s hat.

After leading Las Vegas to a 4-1 start and averaging 25 points per game over five games, A'ja Wilson earned her 29th career Western Conference Player of the Week award. She has now won the award the second most times in WNBA history, only behind Tina Charles’ 33.

"We're resilient," Wilson said to ESPN’s Brandy Flores after the final road game. “It showed that we're not going to let one game dictate how we need to show up for the rest of the games.”

“It's a blessing. It really is. Just considering how great players in this league are and how many great weeks we have, just to be named, it's a blessing,” Wilson shared on winning the award.

Across the four road wins, Wilson averaged 26.5 points, six rebounds, two assists and two blocks per game while shooting 61% from the field and 66.7% from three.

After the defeat against the Mercury, the Aces defeated the Los Angeles Sparks. Then, they went on to beat the Connecticut Sun on Wednesday.

But the standout performance came on Friday in Connecticut, when she became the first player in WNBA history to record multiple 45-point games.

The road trip finale in Atlanta was the one that tested A'ja Wilson’s and the Aces’ resilience the most. The Aces missed nine consecutive shots and went more than six minutes without scoring in the fourth quarter.

But it was Wilson's interior bucket that broke the drought and gave Las Vegas an 83-80 lead with under two minutes remaining. Atlanta came back to take the lead with 36 seconds left. Chelsea Gray then scored with 3.6 seconds remaining to seal an 85-84 win.

“I'm very happy about how our team really just gelled together over this road trip after a hard loss. And especially coming off that game in Atlanta, you guys really dug deep after the game,” Wilson shared.

In all of the four games, although A'ja Wilson was the star, she was backed by a strong team, which made everything possible for them.

The supporting cast is making this Las Vegas Aces run sustainable

Alongside Wilson’s individual brilliance, this road trip revealed the Las Vegas Aces’ depth around her.

Chennedy Carter averaged 19.3 points per game across the first four games, scoring 18 or more in three consecutive matches. She has become one of the most efficient offensive weapons in the WNBA off the bench.

“She's a big energy player for us. When someone can come in and just give us a little spark, it's huge. A lot of teams can't really prep for that,” Wilson said of Carter.

Jackie Young also contributed with 14.0 points and six assists per game. Against Atlanta, it was Chelsea Gray and Jackie Young who kept the possession alive in the final seconds.

The road trip cemented the defending champions as legitimate contenders for another title. And, with Wilson maintaining this level of play, they will be one of the favorites going deep into the season.

Read more at She Got Game!

Written by

Koushik Biswas