Tag: A’Ja Wilson

A’ja Wilson wins 2022 Defensive Player of the Year, with more hardware up for grabs

Can this be the first of a busy award season for A’ja Wilson?

A four-time WNBA All-Star, 2018 WNBA Rookie of the Year and 2020 WNBA Most Valuable Player, A’ja Wilson already has quite the resume as a fifth-year player.

She now gets to add to the list of accolades.

On Tuesday afternoon, the league officially named Wilson the 2022 Defensive Player of the Year award winner.

Wilson led the W in blocked shots and anchored a middle-of-the-pack Las Vegas Aces defense throughout the season en route to a finish atop the regular-season standings.

The South Carolina native earned 20 of the 56 total votes to narrowly beat out Alyssa Thomas (14) and Breanna Stewart (13) for the 2022 DPOY honor.

While Wilson will happily take ownership of the award, the prize money and the slick-looking piece of hardware, there’s more out there for her to get.

Las Vegas is three wins away from a WNBA Finals berth, and six wins away from hoisting the championship trophy for the 2022 season, which would be her and the Aces’ first. But after a rough game opening game of the semifinals for Wilson and the Aces, they find themselves down 0-1 in their series with the Breanna Stewart and the Seattle Storm.

The battle between the Aces and Storm is highlighted by the Wilson-Stewart matchup, who are both widely assumed to be the two leading candidates for the soon-to-be-announced 2022 MVP award.

So, Tuesday’s award could be one of a few for Wilson this summer. We’ll have to wait and see how many she ends up with.

(AP Photo/Rick Scuteri, File)

The Las Vegas Aces have +210 title odds at Tipico Sportsbook.

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WNBA superstars A’ja Wilson and Kahleah Copper sign massive sponsorships as the league continues to grow

WNBA players getting the bag.

Some of the WNBA’s biggest superstars are gearing up to take the center stage this week as the 2022 playoffs begin in just over 24 hours. But before they prepare to handle business on the court, business away from the hardwood is already thriving.

On Monday, it was announced that the Las Vegas Aces’ A’ja Wilson, the 2020 WNBA MVP, had signed a sponsorship deal with Ruffles to become the brand’s first-ever female athlete.

And on Tuesday, reports surfaced that the Chicago Sky’s reigning WNBA Finals MVP Kahleah Copper had inked a deal with Gatorade, where she will join teammate Candace Parker as a sponsor.

If you don’t already know the names and faces of Kahleah Copper and A’ja Wilson, you’re a casual (just kidding). Regardless, you’re going to become more familiar with the two even if you don’t necessarily follow the WNBA.

Although, there’s a good chance that you are, seeing how the WNBA’s viewership numbers continue to grow.

Each sponsorship announcement coming just ahead of the WNBA playoffs is certainly planned and it wouldn’t be surprising if some of the brands’ advertisements ran during commercial breaks of games.

Wilson and Copper will only add to the continued growth of the league.

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WNBA All-Star Game, live stream, TV channel, time, how to watch WNBA All-Star Game

The 2022 WNBA All-Star Game will be held on Sunday afternoon from Wintrust Arena in Chicago, Illinois.

The 2022 WNBA All-Star Game will be held on Sunday afternoon from Wintrust Arena in Chicago, Illinois. A’ja Wilson and Brianna Stewart received the most amount of fan votes and will be captains of their teams while they pick their respective teams.

This will be a great WNBA All-Star Game, here is everything you need to know to watch and stream the action.

2022 WNBA All-Star Game

  • When: Sunday, July 10
  • Time: 1:00 p.m. ET
  • TV Channel: ABC
  • Live Stream: fuboTV (watch for free)

WNBA Odds and Betting Lines

WNBA odds courtesy of Tipico Sportsbook. Odds were last updated Sunday at 10:30 p.m. ET.

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WNBA All-Star Game: See the teams A’ja Wilson and Breanna Stewart drafted (with trades!)

Stewie and A’ja made some great picks and trades.

Saturday afternoon was quite the day for WNBA fans.

ESPN showcased a 2021 Finals rematch between the Phoenix Mercury and Chicago Sky, which went exactly how it did last fall.

And then the rematch was followed up by the 2022 WNBA All-Star Team Selection Special, a draft live draft with each selection made by captains A’ja Wilson and Breanna Stewart.

The two squads are stacked, as expected. And from Stewie’s draft clipboard to some specific teammate pairings, there were plenty of nuggets to go along with the overall fun process.

Here’s a look at the two teams and what we make of the selections.

A’ja Wilson and Breanna Stewart lead early fan voting for 2022 WNBA All-Star Game

The fans are getting it right.

That was quick! More than a quarter of the WNBA season is in the rearview, which means the league is just one month away from its July 10th All-Star Game, which will be held in Chicago. With that date quickly approaching, the W has released its first returns of fan voting for the game.

As expected, Las Vegas Aces’ center A’ja Wilson is the leading vote-getter after the first returns. Her 21,688 votes are the most not only of any frontcourt player but also of any player in the league this season, which is a tip of the hat to her MVP-caliber 2022 campaign.

Breanna Stewart pulled in the second-most votes (20,866), and Wilson’s Las Vegas teammate, Kelsey Plum, earned the most votes amongst guards (17,158) and the fourth-most votes overall.

Other noteworthy tallies include rookie sensation Rhyne Howard of the Atlanta Dream receiving 8,516 votes, and Brittney Griner getting 3,833 votes — a very kind gesture from the fans to the future Hall of Fame center who is still being wrongfully detained in Russia.

Fan voting is available through June 20th.

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The Connecticut Sun’s defense and Las Vegas Aces’ offense stand out in Week 2 of the WNBA season

A look at what’s going on around the WNBA.

Welcome to Bet For The Win’s weekly WNBA column, where we cover everything women’s basketball from highlight plays and signature moments to bad beats and best bets. Be sure to check back here every week for your W fix.

The second full week of WNBA games came and went and we have a lot to talk about. We’re seeing two very unlikely Aces suddenly rain threes out West, we’re watching Connecticut’s defense become absurdly dominant in the Northeast and a few “late to the league rookies” are making notable contributions to the W after finishing stints in other leagues overseas.

[tipico]

WNBA superstar A’ja Wilson rocked a Bill Laimbeer jersey pregame to celebrate his birthday

A’ja Wilson celebrates Bill Laimbeer Night by rocking his Detroit Pistons jersey.

The stars of the WNBA love a good pregame outfit and perhaps no one does it quite like A’ja Wilson. 

From Sheryl Swoopes Houston Comet jerseys to repping Las Vegas Golden Knights jerseys, Wilson has made a splash in the fashion game.

On Thursday night, the former NCAA champion and 2020 league MVP pulled up to Michelob ULTRA Arena rocking a throwback Bill Laimbeer Detroit Pistons jersey from the 1980s.

There’s no coincidence here. The former Bad Boy Piston had coached Wilson from 2018 up until this current season when leadership replaced him with Becky Hammon as the team’s head coach. 

Laimbeer was back in attendance to celebrate his 65th birthday on Thursday as the Aces (-10.5) honored him with Bill Laimbeer Night.

A’ja understood the assignment.

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WNBA 2021 lottery teams playing well, A’ja Wilson blocking all shots and more from Week 1

Discussing all of Week 1s’s happenings in the W.

Welcome to Bet For The Win’s weekly WNBA column, where we cover everything women’s basketball from highlight plays and signature moments to bad beats and best bets. Be sure to check back here every week for your W fix.

The sample sizes are growing! Last week’s column covered just the opening weekend of the W, which basically served as reactions to one game (maybe two) from each team. A full week later we’ve got more data, more moments, more everything. From the Atlanta Dream’s surprising start to the league’s continued struggles with chartered flights, let’s break down what went on in the W— during the past week.

2022 WNBA season MVP futures: favorites, sleepers and predictions

Who do you have winning the MVP?

The countdown to opening night of WNBA’s 26th season has officially reached single digits. Training camps are well-underway, preseason games are happening and rosters are being trimmed to their regular-season form in preparation for the W’s May 6th start.

And while the fringe roster players are sweating out the days of training camp, wondering what their futures as WNBA players hold, the established players and team leaders are gearing up for what they hope will be a magical season. There are a select few who have the power to make that happen, we call those MVP candidates.

We take a look at the elite players’ odds to win the MVP award, while also pinpointing the sleepers and longshots.

Dawn Staley had the best response to A’Ja Wilson saying she was ready to transfer from South Carolina

A’ja wasn’t never leaving, y’all. We all know it.

Dawn Staley is one of the most demanding coaches in basketball right now. She wants the absolute best out of her players each and every game and, if you can’t give it, she won’t play you.

Even amid an incredible run last season when I asked Staley if she felt her South Carolina team could be special this season, she was hesitant to say yes because, well, sometimes they fouled too much. Or maybe they turned the ball over a bit more than she’d have liked.

That’s tough. But it’s also why she’s now a two-time champion head coach and also why she’s put so many great players in the WNBA. One of whom is A’ja Wilson.

Wilson is one of the greatest college basketball players to touch the hardwood and rewrote South Carolina’s record book a thousand times over while she was there.

But it wasn’t always smooth sailing in South Carolina with Staley. Wilson actually said on Twitter that she was ready to transfer after her Freshman year.

Wilson only played 20 minutes a game and only started once that season after being the National Player of The Year in 2014. Of course, she thought she could do more. She wasn’t getting that opportunity so she was ready to leave.

This is pretty hilarious to think about in hindsight. She had literally one of the greatest runs we’ve ever seen in college hoops and it all may not have happened.

Was Staley worried? Nope. Not at all. Why? Because, first of all, Momma Wilson was holding it down. Eva Wilson was not letting A’ja leave.

Second of all, she jokingly told A’ja she had her replacement ready.

The Tar Heels? Tuh. Ain’t no way, y’all. These two are the best. What a hilarious moment.