Aces’ Wilson focused on improving team instead of MVP talks

For the first time in five years, it’s hard to find mentions of Aces star A’ja Wilson in MVP conversations.

The 28-year-old has won the award three times, most recently snagging it in unanimous fashion last year in honor of a historic season that coach Becky Hammon later lamented the Aces “wasted” with an exit from the semifinals of the WNBA playoffs at the hands of the New York Liberty.

This time around, the Aces (14-13) simply aren’t a good enough team for Wilson to be in consideration — or at least that’s what most critics will tell you.

As a two-time WNBA champion, seven-time All-Star and two-time Defensive player of the year to start, it’s understandable that Wilson is unfazed by the outside noise. But that doesn’t mean she hasn’t lasered her focus toward lifting her team out of its current inconsistency.

“When it comes to those conversations, I don’t pay too much mind to it — only because of my résumé. I don’t have time to think about that. My résumé speaks volumes in itself, and I’ve worked so hard to get it to that,” Wilson said. “We have a phenomenal league with phenomenal players, and we’re gonna have great players every single season and every single year. So my mindset is to make sure our system can combat that.”

The league-leading Minnesota Lynx have one of those phenomenal players in forward Napheesa Collier, who nearly stands alone in MVP talks this year. Collier is the league’s leading scorer with 23.8 points per game, closely followed by Wilson’s 22.1. Collier’s team has shut down the Aces in two of their four matchups this season, but the Aces will look to change that in their next meeting Saturday at Michelob Ultra Arena.

“They’re the best team,” Hammon said of the Lynx. “They’re the best team offensively and defensively. That’s why they’re No. 1. … They don’t beat themselves, that’s what I see. And they just play the right way. They’re so committed to the right play. I love the way they play. I think they play the most selfless basketball in the league.”

Coach A’ja

Hammon found a perfect outlet to dip out of postpractice questions from reporters Friday as Wilson slowly approached the group.

“Ask Coach A’ja,” Hammon said in response to a question about the Aces’ improved defense in their back-to-back wins. “She had the laptop in the locker room and everything.”

It wasn’t a joke, as subsequent interviews soon revealed that she’s been watching more film and adapting a vocal role in the Aces’ defensive approach for the last two games.

If you’re imagining Wilson talking through specifics with her teammates in front of a whiteboard, you’ve got the right idea.

“I break it down, and then I come in and I just kind of throw things at them. I’m like, ‘What do we like? What do we not like? What did we learn from this game last time we played them?’ And we just kind of pick each other’s brains,” Wilson said.

On Friday, you could see Wilson’s basketball IQ as she defended the guards and called out screens at practice.

“It’s been a lot of fun. I’m really starting to see the game through a different lens,” Wilson said. “I’m (normally) literally focusing on my matchup. … But now that Becky’s kind of put it in our hands, I have to do one through five. I’m knowing everyone’s matchup, which kind of helps me kind of see the game in a different way. I never in a million years would know what a guard is doing until now.”

Although Wilson said she was “super nervous” to take on this new challenge, it’s been a collaborative effort that veteran guard Jewell Loyd said has been natural. Offering an example of the process, Wilson credited Loyd for pointing out that a priority should be placed on analyzing the opponent’s biggest strengths and what the Aces can realistically take away.

“That’s like the next level of her growth, that leadership building of understanding the game,” Loyd said. “And sometimes you have to do that. It’s not always the coaches. … And so having her lead us in that way has been awesome.”

Loyd called it an “evolution of greatness” that she witnessed playing in Seattle with Storm legend Sue Bird that she now sees in Wilson.

“She’s been unbelievable,” Loyd said of Wilson. “She’s making it about us and what we feel comfortable with. … And so having that holds us accountable as well, because it’s not just what someone else says, it’s what we say. We want to make sure we’re doing the right thing and right job. And that carries over to how we play.”

Contact Callie Fin at cfin@reviewjournal.com. Follow @CallieJLaw on X.