South Carolina Professional Athletes

The GOAT Conversation Has a New Entrant

A'ja Wilson didn't just win another award this week. She rewrote the record books.

The Las Vegas Aces center was named WNBA MVP for the fifth time on Thursday — the most in league history — becoming the first player ever to win the award in three consecutive seasons. She received 65 of 74 votes from a national media panel, a near-unanimous verdict that left little room for debate. Wilson led the league in scoring at 26.2 points per game while shooting nearly 53 percent from the field, finishing ahead of Olivia Miles, Kelsey Mitchell, and Caitlin Clark. The award was announced by former Vice President Kamala Harris, and Wilson's reaction made clear she understood the gravity of the moment.

Fellow South Carolina alumna and Indiana Fever guard Tyasha Harris called the milestone "crazy" — a word that about covers it. An ESPN analyst went further, placing Wilson in a conversation alongside Tom Brady and Michael Jordan, a take that sparked predictable outrage but underscored just how dominant Wilson's run has been.

The hardware, however, came with a bitter backdrop.

Aces Stunned, Wilson's Playoff Run in Jeopardy

Wilson's MVP coronation was followed almost immediately by playoff turbulence. The Aces dropped Game 1 of their semifinal series to the Golden State Valkyries 71-60 on Oct. 4, with Wilson posting 24 points and four rebounds but finishing with a brutal minus-12. The Valkyries — playing in the energy of "Ballhalla" — controlled the game from the jump.

Wilson bounced back with 24 points and seven rebounds in Game 2, a narrow 83-81 Aces loss on Oct. 8 that pushed Las Vegas to the brink. Then on Oct. 10, facing elimination, she put up 21 points and 10 rebounds in an 87-77 defeat that ended the Aces' season. The reigning champions were swept, a stunning exit for the team many had tabbed as a WNBA Finals favorite. Fellow Gamecock Ta'Niya Latson was also on the Las Vegas roster but did not register counting stats in the series.

Laeticia Amihere, the South Carolina forward now playing for the victorious Valkyries, was on the winning side of all three games as Golden State advanced to the Finals.

Gray's Dream Rolls On — With or Without Her

Meanwhile in Atlanta, Allisha Gray's playoff story has been one of grit and injury management. The Dream's leading scorer left Game 1 of the WNBA semifinals against the New York Liberty on Oct. 4 with a hand injury after posting 7 points in Atlanta's 92-82 victory. She was ruled out for Game 2, yet the Dream pulled off a remarkable 101-98 win on Oct. 7 to take a commanding 2-0 series lead — without their best player.

Gray's status remained in flux heading into Game 3 on Oct. 9, a tight 85-83 Atlanta win that closed out the Liberty and sent the Dream to the WNBA Finals. Fellow Gamecocks Te-Hina Paopao and Madina Okot contributed minutes throughout the run — Paopao chipping in 4 points and a plus-4 in Game 2, with both players logging time in Game 3.

The Dream's Finals opponent is confirmed following the Aces' stunning exit. South Carolina will have alumni on both sidelines when the championship series tips off — a remarkable testament to the program Dawn Staley built in Columbia.

A'ja Wilson Stands Alone

History doesn't get rewritten often in the WNBA. A'ja Wilson just did it again anyway.

The South Carolina alumna claimed her fourth WNBA MVP award this week — unanimously — becoming the first player in league history to earn the honor four times, let alone four times without a single dissenting vote. Her numbers over the final week of the regular season made the case self-evident: 30 points, 8 rebounds, 4 assists, and 3 steals in a 98-77 blowout of Seattle on Monday; 18 points and 10 boards in a 89-79 win over L.A. on Wednesday; then 34 points, 10 rebounds, and 4 assists to close out a 100-82 demolition of Phoenix on Friday. That's a 27.3-point, 9.3-rebound average across three games to end the season — a reminder, if one was needed, of what the Aces are bringing into the postseason.

Former Gamecock coach Dawn Staley didn't mince words, calling Wilson the GOAT and daring anyone to argue otherwise. "Argue with a wall," Staley said, per Just Women's Sports. The Aces will open the playoffs against the Indiana Fever — a first-round matchup loaded with Gamecock intrigue on both sides.

Fever's Gamecock Corps Takes a Hit

The same Fever team entering that series is doing so without one of its most reliable contributors. Guard Tyasha Harris suffered a broken left fibula during Indiana's regular-season finale against Minnesota on Friday — a brutal blow to a team already fighting for health. Harris had been a steadying presence all season; her final line before the injury, 4 points and 2 assists in a 66-86 loss, doesn't tell that story, but the announcement confirmed she is done for the year.

Aliyah Boston provided a brief scare in that same game, exiting early with a right lower-leg injury after posting just 4 points and 3 rebounds. The good news: the Fever subsequently shared a positive update on Boston, indicating she is expected to play in the postseason. That matters enormously. Boston had flashed her two-way value all week — 17 points, 7 rebounds, 3 assists, and a plus-23 in Indiana's 96-77 win over Minnesota on Wednesday — and the Fever can't afford to lose another frontcourt piece heading into a series against Wilson.

Raven Johnson quietly turned in one of the stronger individual performances of the week in that Friday finale, logging 6 points, 4 assists, 3 steals, and a block despite the lopsided final score. Johnson has been a feisty reserve presence for Indiana all season, and her defensive instincts will be needed if the Fever have any hope of slowing Las Vegas in Round 1.

Gray Punches Atlanta's Ticket

While the Fever stumbled into the playoffs, fellow Gamecock Allisha Gray made sure the Atlanta Dream arrived in style. Gray erupted for 24 points, 5 assists, 4 rebounds, 3 steals, and a block — a plus-21 performance — in Atlanta's 83-65 rout of the New York Liberty on Thursday that clinched the No. 4 seed and home-court advantage in the first round. Gray had also scored 14 points in a 95-84 Dream win over New York on Tuesday, giving her back-to-back statement games to close the regular season.

The Dream finished 31-13. Gray's fingerprints are all over that finish.

Five South Carolina alumni — Wilson, Boston, Harris, Johnson, and Gray — shaped the final week of the WNBA regular season in meaningful ways. Three of them now meet in the first round. Gamecock nation won't lack for storylines when the playoffs tip off.