A’ja Wilson wasted no time asserting her dominance as the WNBA postseason tipped off. Fresh off receiving the AP WNBA Player of the Year honors, the Las Vegas superstar dropped 38 points and grabbed 16 rebounds, powering the defending champion Aces to a 102–85 Game 1 rout of Caitlin Clark and the Indiana Fever.
Speculation circulated across the WNBA that Indiana intentionally dropped its regular-season finale to lock in a first-round matchup against the Aces rather than the No. 4 seed Atlanta Dream. Sunday’s Game 1 outcome quickly dismantled that theory as the defending champions dominated the Fever from the opening tip.
“A’ja Wilson is just on another level than the rest of the WNBA. Offense. Defense. Dominant down low. Mid-range game. 40% from 3. Can block. Steal. Pass. Can defend centers and point guards. Hi usage, yet low-turnover. Only player without one single weakness,” one X user wrote, celebrating Wilson’s dominant performance.
Facing a Fever squad led by MVP contenders Clark and Kelsey Mitchell, Wilson put on a masterclass, adding 16 rebounds and four blocks to a historic 38-point performance.
Fever fans poured into the comments, unwilling to accept the belt-to-butt whipping they had just received from the game’s best player. Instead, many complained that Wilson gets a special whistle from officials.
Indiana Fever Fans Cry Foul in the Comments After Game 1 Playoff Blowout Loss
“And has absolute foul immunity!,” one fan cried. “And getting free throws for every shot, whether fouled or not!”
“Special whistle,” another Fever fan complained. “Just breathing hard beside her (Wilson) merits you a foul! Clear as day!”
Real WNBA fans knew what it was though.
“Only player without one single weakness is so damn accurate,” one fan said.
“She’s unstoppable and literally only getting better,” a netizen quipped.
“She’s the queen of the chessboard. The final boss,” an Aces fan commented.
“She’s a complete Machine. Prime LeBron James of WNBA,” another fan added.
When the Fever laid down for the final game of the season, my thoughts were that they made a bad move as far as mental readiness was concerned. It’s hard to play at 50% and then raise that level to 100% when the playoffs start.
No one from the Fever scored more than 20 points, with Aliyah Boston leading the team with 18 points. Clark added 15 points and 10 assists, while Mitchell finished with 12 points.
Clark and Mitchell both had rough shooting games in a loss to the Minnesota Lynx in the final game of the regular season. Some brushed off the performance as an irrelevant game. But that shooting struggles continued into the playoffs, where the dynamic duo combined to go 10-of-33 from the field. Clark went 3-of-10 from three-point range, and neither player scored more than 15 points.
“We want to play in transition, and obviously, when they score 102 points, like, it’s hard for us to kind of get that part of it going,” Clark told reporters when asked what the Aces did to stifle Indiana’s explosive offfense.
“I think they’re good defenders, but at the same time, we made it hard on ourselves, too. Like, I thought our actions were sloppy. I thought what we were running just wasn’t great and just nobody got an easy or open look. So I think a combination of both, but you know, got to just keep shooting at this point in the year like it is what it is,” Clark added.
The Fever have little chance of defeating the Aces if their two best players can’t find their shots. The recipe for a Fever victory is pretty simple: Clark and Mitchell have to play better than their season averages. They can’t afford significant declines in performance now that the playoffs are here.
That’s what separates the true MVP contenders from the pretenders. Wilson, already the leading MVP candidate – leading the league in scoring and blocks – elevated her play in Game 1.
That’s what champions do. Clark, Kelsey and Co. have to regroup and try to tie the series, or they’ll be going home soon, facing a long winter to figure out how to improve the squad for next season.
