We are reaching the latter half of the 2020s decade and it is more than safe to say that in the realm of the WNBA, it has been A’ja Wilson’s world and we are all simply living in it.
South Carolina’s very own has not even reached 30 years old – and she already has a resume that many who play in the W do not achieve for the entirety of their careers. Between the multiple All-Star Game appearances, the four league MVPs and the three WNBA championships that is only scratching the surface of what she has done, Wilson has already put herself in the most rarefied of air.
We at Beyond The W are penning these words because it appears the discourse surrounding Wilson has taken an interesting turn. There are a few individuals who are starting to lament that Wilson’s dominance over the W has become…boring.
There are a few individuals who are beginning to lament that Wilson’s dominance over the W has become repetitive.
There are a few individuals who are beginning to lament that Wilson’s dominance over the W has become…expected.
What happened to appreciating greatness? As of today, her resume speaks for itself. Is the discourse around women’s basketball so muddied nowadays that one not only has to win championships but win championships a certain way?
If what Wilson is doing is boring, then that means effectively almost every great athlete that has had sustained success has also been boring after a while.
Let us mention a bit about that word “boring” in the realm of basketball. Someone else we remember from the NBA side of things was also considered to be “boring” throughout his entire career.
That someone was Tim Duncan. Those who remember The Big Fundamental recall exactly why he was nicknamed that. There was nothing about Duncan’s game that was flashy or in your face. He simply showed up, scored buckets, got rebounds, blocked shots and won championships. Not only that, one barely heard from him during the offseason.
In fact, one barely hears from him nowadays considering he is now retired.
Wilson, to her credit, is a bit flashier than Duncan – the rollout of the A’Ones and now the A’Twos are a perfect example of that. But her getting the “boring” tag because of her sustained greatness is a massive reach.
Wilson’s primary position is the four – even though as the 3-pointers she had in Las Vegas’ most recent contest in Atlanta displayed, she can shoot the 3-pointer as if she were a two guard. The issue is Wilson has achieved sustained greatness in an era of basketball that lauds so much praise on 3-point shooters that frontcourt players like Wilson (or a Nikola Jokic in NBA terms) are underappreciated.
As recently as the 2000s, we had more appreciation for how dominant frontcourt players could lead their teams to championships because of Duncan – and, of course, Shaquille O’Neal. Fast forward to the 2010s and everyone in the NBA wants a Stephen Curry because of how accurate he is from 3-point range. Fast forward to today and WNBA general managers everywhere want a Caitlin Clark because of how lethal she can be from distance.
Today’s brand of basketball is guard-driven – especially two guard-driven. But the smartest shooting guards understand that if they have a one-dimensional game, they are the easiest to guard against.
Clark has struggled from 3-point range recently so she is finding other ways to score and help her team win – as is the case with Curry when he encounters slumps from distance. The difference between Curry and Clark is Curry’s flashiness has already won him championships. Clark is still attempting to reach that point – and one would think she will as her WNBA career continues to blossom.
Wilson is already there and is continuing to pad her stats on what is a Hall of Fame (both Women’s and Naismith) resume. If Wilson continuing to have her A’Ones and A’Twos on the WNBA’s neck is getting boring, then we will have a lot of years to be bored because her tank is nowhere near empty.
For some detractors, the greatness of a Wilson simply is not enough – one has to have both style and substance. Knowing Wilson, she prefers to let her rings do the talking.
