NBA fans might argue that the most powerful two-way force in the game is Giannis Antetokounmpo, but at least there’s competition: Victor Wembanyama and Anthony Davis are at least worthy of mention in that conversation.
In the WNBA, there’s no question, with all due respect to Napheesa Collier. A’ja Wilson is the most dominant two-way force, finishing in the top three of both MVP and Defensive Player of the Year voting in two of the past three seasons and winning each award twice.
Wilson’s offensive numbers have dipped somewhat to start a tumultuous year for the Las Vegas Aces, but 20.8 points, 10.8 boards, and 4.3 combined steals/blocks is nothing to complain about. The Aces will take on the Los Angeles Sparks tonight at 10 p.m. ET.
Las Vegas is a 10.5-point favorite at DraftKings Sportsbook, with the point total set for 166. Below, I’ve detailed my favorite prop bets centered around Wilson.
Best A’ja Wilson Prop Bet on DraftKings Sportsbook
A’Ja Wilson U25.5 Points (-120)
The Sparks’ defense isn’t very good, to be clear — so far this season, they’ve allowed the league’s fourth-most points — but 26 points is an extremely high line for a player who hasn’t hit that number since her first game of the season and is averaging more than five points fewer. It’s been a transition year for her and the team — during the offseason, the Aces dealt Kelsey Plum to Los Angeles for Jewell Loyd, and the team is just 2-2 two seasons after winning the second of back-to-back WNBA titles — so it’s no surprise that she’s gotten it going slowly. She’s playing just 32.8 minutes per game, fewer than she did last season, and her usage rate is down by 2.4 percentage points.
This season, Wilson has sacrificed somewhat to allow Loyd, who ranked in the top 10 in usage rate in two of the past three seasons, to find her role. Jackie Young has also seen a slight scoring and efficiency uptick, as has Chelsea Gray. Part of Wilson’s scoring dip can be attributed to shooting variance — she’s made just 43.5% of her shots and 20% of her triples — but the Sparks have been good at closing out on opposing three-point shooters either way, so it’s not a guarantee she gets back on track tonight. Wilson also had some of her biggest scoring performances of last season with Gray sidelined for the first month.
