A'ja Wilson turns 30: Why the Aces star may already be the WNBA's GOAT — SkimNews
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- A'ja Wilson turns 30 on Saturday as the Las Vegas Aces face the Minnesota Lynx at 1 p.m. ET on CBS, entering her new decade as a four-time WNBA MVP — the most in league history — and three-time champion, with a fifth MVP still possible this season.
- Wilson has also won three Defensive Player of the Year awards, led the league in blocks per game in five separate seasons, and ranks 6th all-time with 591 career blocks, placing her in rare MVP-plus-DPOY company.
- Wilson holds the WNBA's all-time career scoring average at 21.9 points per game while ranking 4th in rebounds per game (9.4) and blocks per game (2.0) — a combination no other player in league history matches.
- Wilson has 6,491 career points before turning 30, the most ever before that age, surpassing Lauren Jackson (5,757) and Diana Taurasi (5,444), and she also leads pre-30 lists in MVPs (4), All-Star nods (8), and DPOY awards (3).
- Wilson told CBS Sports her primary motivation is "my haters," saying "I really do love proving people wrong," though she acknowledged rings and trophies are "cute" — and she revealed the sting of losing the 2023 MVP to Breanna Stewart, which she responded to with a championship and a T-shirt showing the voting breakdown.
- A fourth title this season would tie Wilson with Cynthia Cooper, Maya Moore, Sheryl Swoopes and Sue Bird; only Rebekkah Brunson has won five WNBA championships, and Aces teammate Chelsea Gray could join her with another Las Vegas title.
Why it matters: The article stacks Wilson's under-30 numbers — 6,491 points, 4 MVPs, 3 DPOYs, 8 All-Star appearances — against every WNBA legend's full careers, framing her as the early front-runner in a GOAT debate Diana Taurasi has long dominated with 10,646 career points. With championships and MVP hardware still accumulating and her athletic prime ahead, the statistical case for Wilson may soon become difficult to answer.
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