Going up against A’ja Wilson should be every WNBA player’s worst nightmare. She is a four-time MVP, a three-time DPOY, a three-time champion, and a two-time Finals MVP. She dominates on both ends of the floor and there’s not much anyone can do about it.
After a historic NBA performance, the idea of facing Wilson just became even scarier. Her partner, Bam Adebayo, scored 83 points against the Washington Wizards, surpassing Kobe Bryant on the single-game scoring list. Wilson has never scored that many points in a game, but she sure will try. She said on Threads that Adebayo’s performance gave her something to go after.
Facing Wilson, who is on track to cement herself as the all-time WNBA GOAT, is already scary enough. Now imagine doing it when she’s trying to score 80 points on you. Wilson may have made the post in jest, but don’t take it too lightly. She is incredibly competitive and more than capable of putting up crazy numbers. Since WNBA games are shorter than NBA games, exceeding 80 points is a massive challenge, but Wilson could definitely still up her current career high.
A’ja Wilson already tied the WNBA single-game scoring record in 2023
The first WNBA player to score over 40 points was Cynthia Cooper. She put up 44 points in 1997. Since then, many players have reached that mark, including current stars A’ja Wilson, Breanna Stewart, Arike Ogunbowale, Jewell Loyd, Rhyne Howard, Kelsey Plum, Satou Sabally, DeWanna Bonner, and Paige Bueckers.
Only three players have exceeded the 50-point mark. Riquna Williams did it in 2013 when she scored 51 points for the Tulsa Shock. Liz Cambage broke her record in 2018. She scored 53 points—a historic number Wilson matched in 2023 against the Atlanta Dream.
Wilson put up 53 points on 16-23 shooting from the field and 20-21 from the free-throw line. She only shot ONE 3-pointer. It also only took her 33 minutes to score 53 points. Liz Cambage did it in almost 37 minutes on 17-22 shooting from the field, 4-5 from three, and 15-16 from the free-throw line. When Riquna Williams scored 51 points, she also only played 34 minutes, but she went 8-14 from three.
Wilson is also the only player to record two games with at least 40 points in two different seasons and one of two players to record a 40-point and a 50-point game in the same season. Cambage is the other one.