Aces make wild A'ja Wilson stat-chasing decision in midst of blowout win

This has to come with a caveat. It's the second game of a season, and the Las Vegas Aces may have simply wanted A'ja Wilson to continue getting into regular season game shape.

But they made a really odd decision on Tuesday, and if you want to be cynical, it looked a heck of a lot like stat chasing.

The Aces were clobbering the Connecticut Sun, leading 81-48 with nine minutes to play. Wilson was chilling on the bench, surely safe to sit the rest of the way en route to an easy win.

But then the Aces put her back in the game, and fans couldn't help but notice that at the time, Wilson had nine rebounds, one away from a double-double.

Wilson did tally that extra rebound, and she checked out of the game after playing five more minutes in a contest that was long-since decided. It certainly invited some unnecessary injury risk, even if the odds of that happening aren't huge.

The lefty superstar ended up with a great stat line:

• 22 points
• 10 rebounds
• 4 assists
• 3 steals
• 2 blocks

Wilson does hold the WNBA's record streak of 20 and 10 games, with five, that she set in 2024.

She had 31 points and 16 rebounds in the Aces' season opener, and now she's got 24-10 to add to the equation in the early going.

Aces fans are surely just glad Wilson didn't pick up a knock with the game already well in hand.

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