A'JA WILSON

HER FOURTH MVP AWARD. HER THIRD WNBA TITLE. IT WAS A VERY GOOD YEAR.

- BY SEAN GREGORY / LAS VEGAS

A'JA WILSON IS A PICTURE OF SHEER JOY AND utter domination. As she approaches the vehicle that will drive her and her Las Vegas Aces teammates up the Strip for a parade feting the team's third WNBA title in four years, her right hand grips a cocktail glass containing a pink slushy adult beverage, a pink Stanley tumbler for hydration and libation, and a pink tambourine. As a child, Wilson would shake this instrument during sermons in her South Carolina Baptist church. Today she'll rock it on the bus while waving at delirious fans. Aces win. Again. Amen.

Covering Wilson's left hand is the golden gauntlet worn by Thanos, the Marvel supervillain. Under each of the six Infinity Stones that control the universe, Wilson, the 6-ft., 4-in. superstar, has written one of her season's honors: Scoring title, her second; 5K—in June she became the fastest player in WNBA history to reach the 5,000-point milestone; DPOY, for defensive player of the year, her third; MVP, her record fourth; Finals MVP, her second; and Champ, her third. She's the first player, in WNBA or NBA history, to win a championship, claim the scoring title, and be named Finals MVP, league MVP, and Defensive Player of the Year in the same season. And she's one of just four players in either league to win four MVP trophies before the age of 30, the others being Bill Russell, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, and LeBron James.