South Carolina basketball legend A’ja Wilson becomes WNBA’s first 1000-point scorer

A’ja Wilson became the WNBA’s most prolific single-season scorer ever last week, and on Sunday, the South Carolina basketball alum extended her record-breaking mark by becoming the WNBA’s first 1000-point scorer.

In an 84-71 win over the Connecticut Sun (the Las Vegas Aces’ 7th in a row), Wilson went off for 29 points, 9 rebounds, 3 assists, and 2 blocks, and she made over 50% of her shots from the field and turned the ball over 0 times while playing her usual brand of lockdown defense on the other end of the floor.

The game was another chapter in the greatest season in the history of women’s professional basketball. Not only has Wilson broken the season scoring record, but she will have the most points per game in league history, as well, and in her next game, she will break Angel Reese’s record for the most rebounds in a single season. Wilson also leads the W in blocked shots and blocked shots per game and is top-7 in the league in field goal efficiency, despite having an absurdly high usage rate (one of just two players with a usage rate over 30%). Her 35.2 PER (Player Efficiency Rating) will shatter the all-time best mark, as well.

A’ja Wilson will win her third MVP award when this season ends and is the clear favorite for WNBA Defensive Player of the Year, too. She also has her Aces squad playing their best ball heading into the WNBA Postseason (the playoffs begin in about a week). Vegas won the previous two WNBA Finals and are one of the favorites to win again, a victory that would make them just the second franchise ever to win three championships in a row (the Houston Comets won the first four WNBA Finals titles in a row from 1997-2000).