A’ja Wilson can make basketball look easy. She proved that Tuesday, leading the Las Vegas Aces to a 2-0 lead in the WNBA semifinals even after dealing with the stinging disappointment of her MVP snub.

The two-time WNBA MVP finished third in the voting for the award this season. Missing out on her second consecutive MVP award “hurt like hell,” she said before Tuesday’s game against the Dallas Wings.

Wilson responded to the snub by putting up 30 points and 11 rebounds in a 91-84 victory. The 27-year-old forward is the first player in WNBA history to score at least 30 points in three consecutive postseason games. And after the win, Wilson noted that there is still more to do.

“This award, it’s a cherry on top of all the mountain of ice cream that we’ve built up,” Wilson said. “The sundae is still good without the cherry. This team still has so much more to do.”

The Aces are seeking their second consecutive WNBA championship. They won the first title in franchise history in 2022.

“This is playoff basketball; these are the moments that we play for,” Wilson continued. “People want to hear: ‘Oh, [not winning MVP] is going to fuel her.’ But I’ve been fueled since I stepped foot in this league.”

Her ease with the basketball hasn’t gone unnoticed by other coaches around the league. Washington Mystics coach Eric Thibault told The Athletic that she looked “so comfortable” after Wilson dropped 40 on his team.

“The numbers she’s putting up and everything, it doesn’t look forced, it doesn’t look rushed. She plays on her time and her tempo,” he said. “She doesn’t force. She doesn’t take many bad shots. And I think that’s one thing about the great players in our league — she’s obviously in that group — is you don’t feel like you can speed them up. You don’t feel like you can rattle them, and she just looks so poised.”

Her Aces teammate Kelsey Plum called her a “selfless superstar.”

“We all talk about her and her talent and the way that she plays the game, but I don’t think we talk enough about her effort,” Plum said. “I just think she plays harder than everyone. When you have a superstar that actually plays that hard all the time, it’s unguardable.

“It’s just a pleasure to play with someone that just competes and doesn’t have an ego and just wants to win. And you see that, she wins everywhere she goes.”

Wilson has set her sights on becoming an all-time great in the game of basketball. And this season, there’s always been one goal: win another WNBA championship.

“I want another, I’m greedy,” Wilson told The Athletic. “I’m a pretty greedy person. I mean, I’ll give the shirt off my back to anyone, but when it comes to my career and my legacy, I’m greedy. I want it all.”

The 2025 NWSL Championship claimed a major viewership milestone on Saturday, as Gotham FC's 1-0 title win over the Washington Spirit became the first-ever league match to record an average of more than one million viewers.

The CBS evening broadcast averaged an impressive 1.184 million fans and peaked at 1.55 million viewers, making it the most-watched NWSL match of all time.

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The 2025 final marked a 22% viewership increase over the 967,900 fans who watched 2024's Orlando Pride victory — the previous NWSL viewership record-holder — and a 45% ratings gain over Gotham's 2023 championship win, which averaged 816,800 viewers.

Saturday's gains both matched the 22% viewership increase the NWSL regular season saw this year and also far exceeded the 2025 postseason's pre-final year-over-year increase of 5%.

Calling the one-million viewer mark "an extraordinary achievement" in Tuesday's league statement, NWSL commissioner Jessica Berman also noted that the "record-setting audience demonstrates the deepening connection fans have with our players, our clubs, and the world-class competition on the field, and it underscores the growing demand for women's soccer on the biggest stages."

"We're incredibly proud of what this moment represents for the NWSL and for everyone who continues to invest in and believe in the future of our game," Berman added.

Incoming offseason league Project B scored more major WNBA signings this week, as the upstart venture continues stacking its roster ahead of a planned November 2026 launch.

Indiana Fever guards Kelsey Mitchell and Sophie Cunningham have both publicly signed on with Project B, joining already announced talent like Seattle Storm star Nneka Ogwumike and Phoenix Mercury forward Alyssa Thomas, New York Liberty center Jonquel Jones, and Las Vegas Aces guard Jewell Loyd.

Also inking deals to join the inaugural season of Project B are Chicago Sky center Kamilla Cardoso, Golden State Valkyries forward Janelle Salaün, and Li Meng, a former Washington Mystics guard and current player in the Women's Chinese Basketball Association.

The multi-continent, Formula One-style traveling tournament circuit will ultimately sign 66 international stars, as Project B looks to field six 11-player teams in its debut 2026/2027 campaign.

Project B player signings will undoubtedly impact other offseason leagues like Unrivaled and Athletes Unlimited, but the new venture is also looming large over the ongoing WNBA CBA talks.

With negotiations racing toward this Sunday's extended deadline, Project B is putting WNBA compensation offerings under increased pressure, as the new league is reportedly anteing up multimillion-dollar salaries to its signees — far exceeding the 2025 WNBA maximum as well as the $1.1 million-max currently on the negotiating table.

World No. 1 Spain will take aim at a second-straight UEFA Nations League title this week, as La Roja take on No. 5 Germany in the first leg of the 2025 tournament's final at 2:30 PM ET on Friday.

The defending Nations League champions booked their spot in the 2025 final by dismantling No. 3 Sweden 5-0 on aggregate in the semifinal round, while Germany advanced after a tense 3-2 aggregate win over No. 6 France.

Germany must also contend with availability issues during Friday's match, as 28-year-old Bayern Munich forward and senior national team leading scorer Lea Schüller will be out due to family reasons.

To overcome that disadvantage, German head coach Christian Wück is reinforcing the team's back line, adding Athletic Bilbao defender Bibi Schulze Solano to the roster on Wednesday.

Also aiming to shut down Spain's offensive firepower on Friday is new NWSL champion goalkeeper Ann-Katrin Berger, who joined her German compatriots late following Gotham FC's title celebrations in New York this week.

While Spain and Germany will contend for the 2025 Nations League trophy this week, the pair — along with ousted semifinalists Sweden and France — have already booked spots in the top group of teams battling for tickets to the 2027 World Cup, with UEFA qualifying set to begin in 2026.

A full 19 months removed from their back-to-back Final Four runs, No. 11 Iowa basketball refuses to go away, with the Hawkeyes already notching one Top-25 win in the young 2025/26 NCAA campaign so far.

The still-unbeaten Hawkeyes took down No. 15 Baylor 57-52 last Thursday, with Iowa starting post players Hannah Stuelke and Ava Heiden combining for 28 points while guard Taylor Stremlow added another 12 off the bench in the marquee win.

"We have nice pieces," said Iowa head coach Jan Jensen this week. "But it's knowing when to play which pieces and with whom, and we're six games in."

The Hawkeyes have been finding their new identity under Jensen after a transformative period saw Iowa's longtime head coach Lisa Bluder retire while superstar guard Caitlin Clark joined the WNBA.

"Jan's been amazing," Stuelke told JWS at the Big Ten Media Day in October. "She stepped up like she needed to, and she's been growing every day since she's been the head coach, which it's really cool to see she cares. And it's a great environment for all of us."

"I have a year under my belt," Jensen echoed. "I know what this chair feels like now, and I have a little better of understanding of what that first road trip feels like, what that first big win feels like, or the tough loss feels like."

Iowa's season heats up with a ranked rivalry matchup against No. 10 Iowa State on Wednesday, December 10th.

The state rivals will tip off at 7 PM ET, with live coverage airing on ESPN.