The Las Vegas Aces struck first in their opening round series of the WNBA Playoffs, snatching Game 1 against the Indiana Fever behind a monster performance from MVP candidate A’ja Wilson. Dominant games from Wilson in the playoffs have come to be the norm, and following the win, teammate Chelsea Gray was honest about appreciating her greatness, as per Arion Armeniakos of The Sporting Tribune.

“You can’t wait until a person retires to appreciate greatness,” Gray said. “You have to appreciate it while it’s happening. It’s a blessing being able to see this every single day.”

A’ja Wilson finished with a game-high 38 points in the Aces’ Game 1 win against the Fever. She added 16 rebounds, two assists, two steals and four blocked shots in a game-high 35 minutes. Wilson shot 15-of-19 from the field, a perfect 2-of-2 from the 3-point line and 6-of-7 from the free-throw line.

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The Aces lead the best-of-three series at 1-0, and Game 2 will shift to the Fever’s home court. But the Aces will feel good about the chances at potentially ending the series with Wilson on their side. The four-time MVP has anchored the franchise’s three championship teams.

She’s coming into the playoffs having averaged 26.2 points in the regular season, just shy of her career high of 26.9. She’s also averaging 9.4 rebounds, 3.2 assists, 1.4 steals and 1.9 blocked shots with splits of 52.7 percent shooting from the field, 40.4 percent shooting from the 3-point line and 86.4 percent shooting from the free-throw line.

The Aces have won three of the last four championships, including back-to-back in 2022 and 2023. They were only the former Houston Comets and the Los Angeles Sparks as the only franchises to have won consecutive titles.