admin But why? The answer: An absurdly stacked roster. The Aces sent four players to the recent All-Star Game—which happened to take place in their home arena—and that doesn’t even include Candace Parker, who many fans argue should have a spot on the WNBA’s Mt. Rushmore. Parker was playing this entire season with a fracture in her left foot before opting for surgery this week to repair it. There is no timetable for her return at this moment, but if the Aces get a fully-healed Parker back for the playoffs, that’s likely a wrap for everyone else’s already-faint championship aspirations.
The four All-Stars (Wilson, Chelsea Gray, Kelsey Plum, and Jackie Young) each bring their own flavor to the table, but Wilson is unquestionably the main course. She is top five in the league in points, rebounds, and blocks per game, comfortably holding down the top spot in the latter category. She is the frontrunner to win both MVP and Defensive Player of the Year, which would make her the first player to do that since, well, she did it last year. Wilson is a generational talent leading a generational team, and the rest of her squad only makes her better. Double team Wilson in the post? She can kick it out to Young, who cashes in 48.7% of her three-point attempts. That is, you guessed it, the best percentage in the league. Gray, known colloquially as the Point God, is one of the best passers the sport has ever seen. Plum is one of eight players in the league averaging at least 19 points a night. Wilson and Young are also in that group.
It’s an embarrassment of riches, really, and we haven’t even mentioned Alysha Clark, a three-point assassin and two-time WNBA champion with Seattle who comes off the bench. Led by head coach Becky Hammon—a WNBA legend in her own right, she studied under Gregg Popovich, arguably the greatest basketball coach ever—these Aces are the closest thing to appointment viewing in modern sports. Just make sure you tune in early, because things are often out of hand by the fourth quarter.
