Aces’ A’ja Wilson gets bold Becky Hammon declaration after locking up Caitlin Clark in crunch time
The Las Vegas Aces’ tussle with the Indiana Fever on Thursday night was a certified barnburner, as the game went right down to the wire in overtime. In the end, it was the Aces that came out on top after Chelsea Gray drilled a game-winning triple at the buzzer, giving Las Vegas an 86-84 win. And while Gray deservedly gets most of the praise for making the biggest shot of the night, that possession would not have been possible for the Aces to begin with had it not been for A’ja Wilson’s defense.
On the prior possession, with the Fever getting the ball back, Wilson found herself cross-matched against star guard Caitlin Clark. This looked like a mismatch on paper. Clark has the speed and agility advantage over Wilson, after all. However, the Aces MVP stood her ground and locked up Clark, forcing a turnover on a bad pass and setting up Gray’s game-winner.
A’ja Wilson takes it away from Caitlin Clark before Chelsea Gray drains a buzzer-beating three for the win in OT!
Here’s how it looked on the Prime Video broadcast: pic.twitter.com/sSSIemTF32
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) August 7, 2026
After the game, Aces head coach Becky Hammon couldn’t have given any loftier praise of Wilson’s defense as her stand against Clark showed that her defensive versatility is unmatched in the WNBA.
“I trust A’ja out there. This is why she’s the best defensive player in the world. That’s because she can guard one through five,” Hammon said, per The Sportsnista on X.
Wilson has won the WNBA Defensive Player of the Year award thrice in her career for a reason, as she doesn’t just tower over her opponents by being one of the best rim protectors in the league, but she can also slide her feet quite well.
Combine that with her elite ability to generate buckets (she had 26 points and 13 boards in the win over the Fever), and there’s no surprise that the Aces star is on pace to win her fifth MVP award – padding her all-time record even more.
The Las Vegas Aces’ tussle with the Indiana Fever on Thursday night was a certified barnburner, as the game went right down to the wire in overtime. In the end, it was the Aces that came out on top after Chelsea Gray drilled a game-winning triple at the buzzer, giving Las Vegas an 86-84 win.