WNBA Wraparound: Team USA set to face WNBA All-Stars in Phoenix, A’ja Wilson is putting together a historic season

3 highlights from last week around the WNBA

A’ja Wilson is putting together a historic season: Not enough has been said about A’ja Wilson’s dominant season thus far. Wilson, last year’s Defensive Player of the Year and Finals MVP, is averaging 27.1 points and 11.6 rebounds per game, while shooting 52.2% from the field, 40% from three and 86.7% from the free throw line. The two-time league MVP has somehow managed to elevate her game this season, and in turn, the Aces, who started the season 6-6, have one nine of their last 10 games and seem poised to once again contend for a championship. 

On Wednesday, Wilson had 24 points, 20 rebounds, 4 blocks and 3 steals, marking just the second time in league history a player has put up those numbers. She followed that up with a 33-point, 18-rebound, 5-block and 3-steal performance in a win over the Dream on Friday. 

“I just see it as I'm doing what I'm supposed to do,” Wilson said to Olympics.com about her historic season. “I'm doing what I've prepped myself, what I love to do. If this is historic, and the numbers say it, then great, but at the same time, this is something that I'm built to do. I've built myself to do it. So it doesn't come as any surprise. And it's something that I'm not really hunting. I'm glad that it's organically coming, and my teammates are helping me do that.” 

Angel Reese’s historic double-double streak comes to an end: On Saturday afternoon, Chicago Sky rookie Angel Reese's streak of consecutive double-doubles snapped at 15. She finished the night with 8 points and 16 rebounds. Reese’s streak of 15 straight double-doubles was the longest by any WNBA player in the history of the league. She’s also grabbed the most-ever 10-plus rebounding games in WNBA history at 17. 

Still, Reese remains the top rebounder in the WNBA, a remarkable feat as a rookie. For the season, she’s averaging 13.5 points and 12 rebounds per game. The Sky are 9-14 on the season, currently good for the 8th seed in the playoffs. 

Liberty defeated Sun behind Sabrina Ionescu’s big game: Facing off for the second time this season, the Liberty and Sun entered Wednesday tied for a league-best 17-4 record. It was a nail-biter, but New York came out on top, 71-68, behind 21 points from Sabrina Ionescu. 

Ionescu blocked Ty Harris’s game-tying three-point attempt in the closing seconds, and also hit a clutch floater to extend the Liberty’s lead to 3 with 4.4 seconds to play. Breanna Stewart added 18 points and 14 rebounds, as well as several key blocks in the final minute. The win makes the Liberty 2-0 against the Sun this season, and New York seems to have the upper hand in a match-up likely to be a playoff preview. 

2 WNBA games to tune into this week 

Connecticut Sun @ New York Liberty: Tuesday, July 16 at 7 p.m. 

The Sun (17-5) and Liberty (20-4) face off again in a rematch of last week’s game, this time squaring off at Barclays Center. The Liberty have looked like the best team in the league as of late, and if the Sun want to compete for a championship, they’ll have to find a way to defeat them. The Liberty have been excellent at home, holding a league-best 11-1 home record, and Sabrina Ionescu is quietly putting together the best season of her career.

Chicago Sky @ Las Vegas Aces: Tuesday, July 16 at 10 p.m. 

Angel Reese and the Chicago Sky take on the two-time defending champs, led by the MVP front-runner A’ja Wilson. Reese, selected to the All-Star game in her rookie season, has been the best rebounder in the league with 12 rebounds a night, but Wilson hasn’t been far behind, averaging 11.6 rebounds per game. 

The Aces started the year 6-6 but have been significantly better since point guard Chelsea Gray returned from injury. They're 9-1 with the 2022 Finals MVP in the lineup.

1 WNBA story to monitor this week: Team WNBA takes on Team USA at All-Star Weekend in Phoenix

On Saturday, the USA Basketball Women’s National Team will face off against Team WNBA in the All-Star game. It’s just the second time the league has utilized this format, where the Olympic team plays an exhibition game against the rest of the All-Stars. In 2021, Team WNBA defeated the Olympic squad behind 26 points from Arike Ogunbowale, who was named MVP. 

The Olympic team is headlined by four Aces players (A’ja Wilson, Chelsea Gray, Kelsey Plum, Jackie Young), two Liberty players (Sabrina Ionescu and Breanna Stewart) and three Mercury players (Diana Taurasi, Kahleah Copper and Britney Griner). The Sun’s Alyssa Thomas, the Lynx’s Napheesa Collier and the Storm’s Jewell Lloyd round out the roster.

Team WNBA includes DeWAnna Bonner (Sun), Brionna Jones (Sun), Aliyah Boston (Fever), Caitlin Clark (Fever), Kelsey Mitchell (Fever), Allisha Gray (Dream), Dearica Hamby (Sparks), Jonquel Jones (Liberty), Kayla McBride (Lynx), Arike Ogunbowale (Wings), Nneka Ogwumike (Wings) and Angel Reese (Sky). The Mystics are the only team with no representation in the All-Star game, and Jones is the only international player on the team. 

Team WNBA is significantly younger, while the Olympic team is filled with veteran players. Clark and Reese mark the first rookie duo to be named All-Stars in a decade (since Shoni Schimmel and Cappie Pondexter were selected).

One fun storyline is that Sun teammates Alyssa Thomas and DeWanna Bonner will get to face off. But they're not just teammates: Thomas and Bonner are engaged, and Bonner will then be heading to Paris to cheer on her fiance in the Olympics. 

“At the end of the day, we’re trying to prepare them for winning gold,” Bonner said.