A'ja Wilson is not concerned that the Las Vegas Aces' record will undermine her hopes of retaining the WNBA MVP crown, after producing her best display of the season.
Wilson poured in 37 points as the Aces beat the Dallas Wings 90-86 at College Park Center on Wednesday, when they were forced to hold off a late rally from their hosts.
That is the joint-most points achieved by any player in a WNBA game this season, and Wilson also added 10 rebounds for her eighth double-double of 2025.
She now has four 30-point games this year, with two of those coming on her last two outings after she scored 34 against the Golden State Valkyries last Saturday.
Wilson – who was named the league MVP in 2020, 2022 and 2024 – has averaged 22.3 points per game this year, with only Napheesa Collier (23.2) bettering that figure.
Despite Wilson's fine form, the Aces have struggled for consistency and hold an even record at 11-11, prompting suggestions she may be handicapped in the MVP race.
But Wilson is focused purely on the Aces' results, saying: "I don't really care what people have got to say. If they're talking about me, if they're not, I couldn't care less.
"My biggest thing is making sure that the Aces are doing what we need to do, so every time people see us play, they understand the standard that we play with, and that we're going to bring it every single night."
Wilson is due to feature in Saturday's All-Star Game, having been selected for the team captained by the Indiana Fever's Caitlin Clark.
However, she will be assessed after falling on her wrist during Wednesday's win, having missed a defeat to the Washington Mystics last week following a similar incident.
"I'll get with my medical team this time around, because I did fall on it today, so we'll see what we've got," Wilson said.
Las Vegas enter the All-Star break having won back-to-back games for the fourth time this season, but they are yet to embark on a winning streak of three or more games.
Head coach Becky Hammon believes they need to learn from a nervy finish, having seen the Wings miss two late 3-point attempts after drawing within two points.
"We've got to learn to be better, and again, put that elusive 40 minutes together, but we're moving in the right direction," Hammon said.
"We were doing a lot of really good things. It hasn't always correlated to wins, which is ultimately what we're trying to do, but there's a lot of little progress."
