{"id":160985,"date":"2025-09-16T14:14:09","date_gmt":"2025-09-16T14:14:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/160985\/"},"modified":"2025-09-16T14:14:09","modified_gmt":"2025-09-16T14:14:09","slug":"aja-wilson-addresses-locker-room-superstitions-as-aces-eye-sparks-22-yo-wnba-record","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/160985\/","title":{"rendered":"A\u2019ja Wilson Addresses Locker Room Superstitions as Aces Eye Sparks 22-YO WNBA Record"},"content":{"rendered":"

Superstitions have always been a big part of an athlete\u2019s life. Take Michael Jordan, for instance. He never stepped on the court without wearing a pair of University of North Carolina Tar Heels shorts under his Chicago Bulls uniform. LeBron James fills his palms with chalk and throws it into the air, creating that signature white cloud before every game. And who could forget Sabrina Ionescu\u2019s belief! Meticulously choosing the same seat on the bus or running the same layup lines before tip-off. For many, these rituals aren\u2019t just habits but part of their game-day mindset, a way to control the uncontrollable. But what about A\u2019ja Wilson and the Las Vegas Aces? Do they have their own superstitions guiding them through the playoffs?<\/p>\n

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When We Need to Talk podcast host Alicia Jay asked A\u2019ja Wilson whether the Las Vegas Aces had any superstitions fueling their playoff push, the forward brushed aside the idea of quirky rituals. Instead, Wilson pointed to something more practical, yet just as sacred to the team. Probably that\u2019s the only superstition?<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t honestly think we have any. I think we\u2019ve been doing what we\u2019ve been doing this whole time. That\u2019s really been the same. I think maybe for us it\u2019s just our game plan as a players-only game plan. Once we started taking over the scout, we always have to make sure we do it at this time, and we\u2019re knocking it out. And we make sure that everyone\u2019s contributing to our accountability chart. So yeah, I think that\u2019s probably one superstition that we\u2019re like, \u2018All right, we have to do this.\u2018 And then we let the coaches come in.\u201d But this \u2018we have to do this<\/a>\u2018 mindset didn\u2019t come overnight.<\/p>\n

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Everything changed for the Aces after that brutal August 2 loss. A\u00a0 53-point drubbing at the hands of the Minnesota Lynx. The team sat at 14-14, a record far below what you\u2019d expect from a Becky Hammon-coached squad. A\u2019ja Wilson wasn\u2019t about to let things slide. She sent a clear, no-nonsense message to her teammates: \u201cI feel like one thing I did do is send a message to them and just say if you weren\u2019t embarrassed from yesterday, then don\u2019t come into this gym. You\u2019re not needed or wanted here. We need the mindset to shift because that was embarrassing\u201d. And since that wake-up call, the Aces haven\u2019t looked back.<\/p>\n

They racked up 16 straight wins heading into the playoffs, and their dominance didn\u2019t stop there. In Game 1 of their first-round series against the Seattle Storm, A\u2019ja Wilson led the Aces to a comfortable 102-77 victory, putting up 29 points, 8 rebounds, 3 steals, and 2 blocks. What made it even more historic was that this marked the first time in WNBA history that a team had won three consecutive games by 25 points or more (according to ESPN).<\/p>\n

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Becky Hammon had been calling out the Aces for not sticking to the basics for most of the season. But in their resurgence, A\u2019ja Wilson has been leading from the front. She\u2019s dominating with 23.4 points and 2.3 blocks per game while also topping the league in 20-point and 30-point double-doubles. On top of that, she ranks first in win shares, on\/off rating, and defensive rebounds.<\/p>\n

With Game 2 against the Storm on the horizon, the Aces now have their eyes on a 22-year-old record. They could match the Los Angeles Sparks\u2019 historic 18-game winning streak. They did it first from June 26 to August 11, 2001, and then again from August 9, 2002, through June 14, 2003.<\/p>\n

And for A\u2019ja, on a personal level, this has been a season to remember for the reigning MVP\u2026.<\/p>\n

One Ace continues to create history as Las Vegas charges toward glory<\/p>\n

For the Aces to bounce back from losing 7 of their first 12 games and still be one of the favorites to win it all comes down to one player\u2014 A\u2019ja Wilson. The reigning MVP has stamped her authority on the league once again, and right now, she looks like the clear favorite to win the award back-to-back.<\/a><\/p>\n

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She led the league with the most 30-point games this seasonShe became the first player in WNBA history to record multiple seasons averaging at least 20 points and 10 rebounds per gameShe passed Sylvia Fowles for 8th on the all-time WNBA Playoffs rebounds list with 427 and countingShe also climbed the scoring ladder, passing Angel McCoughtry to take 10th place on the all-time WNBA Playoffs points listGame 1 marked her 22nd career playoff outing with at least 20 points and 5 rebounds, pushing her past Diana Taurasi, Lisa Leslie, and Maya Moore for the 4th-most in WNBA historyShe also climbed the all-time WNBA Playoffs leaderboard for free throws made, moving into a tie for 8th<\/p>\n

The Aces and A\u2019ja Wilson have a real shot at regaining their lost glory this year. They\u2019re playing like a championship team and could even etch their names in WNBA history with 18 straight wins. But are they strong enough to take home the title? The Lynx, Dream, and Liberty (if Stewie gets healthy) will all have something to say about it. Who\u2019s your pick to win it all? Drop your thoughts in the comments below!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Superstitions have always been a big part of an athlete\u2019s life. Take Michael Jordan, for instance. He never…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":160986,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[73],"tags":[2967,97915,97916,31172,97912,646,1457,1448,49887,97909,22749,57937,402,1062,37135,1449,6677,97910,97911,10081,6451,34089,26752,6377,57939,10089,26751,10148,10147,1467,419,15712,6678,1079,99,19109,1022,10527,24,7633,97913,6034,13469,434,1764,1435,86046,2962,33783,10139,10142,10146,10145,10149,10141,19107,97914],"class_list":{"0":"post-160985","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-wnba","8":"tag-2967","9":"tag-2025076_wnba_las-vegas_dallas_0024-jpg","10":"tag-2025076_zsp_f80_03-jpg","11":"tag-31172","12":"tag-90er","13":"tag-aces","14":"tag-am","15":"tag-an","16":"tag-arlington","17":"tag-asse","18":"tag-association","19":"tag-basket","20":"tag-basketball","21":"tag-dallas","22":"tag-damen","23":"tag-der","24":"tag-ein","25":"tag-flugeln","26":"tag-gewinnt","27":"tag-juli","28":"tag-kollegium","29":"tag-las","30":"tag-mehrsport","31":"tag-national","32":"tag-nationales","33":"tag-parkanlage","34":"tag-premiumd","35":"tag-press","36":"tag-presse","37":"tag-quer","38":"tag-s","39":"tag-spiel","40":"tag-spielen","41":"tag-sport","42":"tag-sports","43":"tag-texanischen","44":"tag-texas","45":"tag-und","46":"tag-usa","47":"tag-vegas","48":"tag-verband","49":"tag-wahrend","50":"tag-wings","51":"tag-wnba","52":"tag-women","53":"tag-x0x","54":"tag-zcontractphotographer","55":"tag-zentrum","56":"tag-zlast24","57":"tag-zselect","58":"tag-zsports","59":"tag-zuma","60":"tag-zumaest","61":"tag-zumapress-com","62":"tag-zwire","63":"tag-zwischen","64":"tag-zwnba"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/160985","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=160985"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/160985\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/160986"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=160985"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=160985"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=160985"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}