Las Vegas Aces star A’ja Wilson became the fastest player in WNBA history to score 5,000 career points when she logged 22 points in Wednesday’s win over the Connecticut Sun. Needing just 238 games to hit the 5,000-point mark, Wilson surpassed Breanna Stewart (242) and became the 28th player in league history to cross the plateau.
Wilson’s 5,000th point came on a layup midway through the second quarter of the 85-59 blowout win. It was an all-around terrific showing for the three-time WNBA MVP, who added eight rebounds, four assists, four steals and three blocks to a complete stat line.
“It meant a lot to me,” Wilson said in her postgame media availability. “It’s been a special, special season for us. It’s been a lot of ups and downs, but when you can hit a milestone like this in a league like this, I can’t let it go unnoticed. I’m grateful. I’m blessed. … I’m definitely going to cherish this moment, because it’s been a lot of fun.”
The career landmark puts Wilson on pace to eventually challenge Taurasi for the all-time scoring crown. While Wilson still has a long way to go on that journey, her historic pace brings the title within realistic reach.
“Great milestone for her,” Aces coach Becky Hammon said. “Obviously impressive. It’s interesting; she gets all these individual numbers and accolades, but I can tell you she would trade them in a second for winning. Win, and all that other stuff gets to happen in a happy place. Because you score 40 and you lose, that sucks. You can’t celebrate that. She’s wired like that. She wants to win.”
Wilson passed Taj McWilliams-Franklin for 27th on the league’s career scoring leaderboard in her historic outing and boasts 5,015 points across 238 outings, good for an average of 21.1 points per game — the best in WNBA history. Diana Taurasi stands above the rest by a wide margin with the 10,646 points she amassed prior to her retirement earlier this year. If Wilson stays on her current pace, she would need an additional 267 games (just over six more seasons) to move into sole possession of first place.
WNBA career points per game leaders
|
A’ja Wilson |
21.07 |
2018–Present |
|
Cynthia Cooper |
20.98 |
1997–2003 |
|
Breanna Stewart |
20.77 |
2016–Present |
|
20.32 |
2019–Present |
|
|
Elena Delle Donne |
19.53 |
2013–2023 |
Given that pace, Wilson would be 34 when she surpasses Taurasi. That is an astounding eight years younger than Taurasi was in her final season. Wilson, of course, will have the benefit of significantly longer seasons as her career goes along.
When Taurasi entered the league in 2004, the regular season was 34 games, and it stayed that way until 2019. But ever since the COVID-shortened 2020 campaign, the number of games has gradually been increasing. The first 40-game regular season happened in 2023 and that number rose again to 44 in 2025.
It is well within the realm of possibility that Wilson plays into her mid-30s, too, considering there are nine active players in the WNBA at age 35 or older. The oldest of which is Alysha Clark, who will turn 38 on July 7.
Wilson entered the WNBA in 2018 by way of South Carolina, where she won the 2017 national championship. The Aces selected her with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2018 draft, and she was an immediate success as the league’s Rookie of the Year. She won her first MVP award in 2020, then won it again 2022 and 2024 to become the fourth player ever to earn the league’s top honor three times.
