Dream star makes true feelings on A'ja Wilson MVP chants crystal clear

Jeremy Beren

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Dream star makes true feelings on A'ja Wilson MVP chants crystal clear image

Dale Zanine-Imagn Images

A'ja Wilson's chances of winning a historic fourth WNBA MVP award just keep growing.

In Wednesday night's 81-75 road win over the Atlanta Dream, Wilson scored a game-high 34 points, adding nine rebounds and four blocks across her dominant 35 minutes. Wilson's efforts helped the red-hot Las Vegas Aces win their 12th game in a row -- and what once looked like a lost season in Las Vegas has turned around suddenly and dramatically.

MORE: Coming up Aces: Las Vegas wins 12th straight game, down Atlanta

For the Dream, Wednesday's defeat was a double whammy. Atlanta lost its grip on the #2 seed, ceding that position to Vegas. In addition, Wilson was garnering "MVP" chants in the second half at Gateway Center Arena -- something that rankled Dream star Rhyne Howard.

"We rely on our fans, and when they pick and choose who they want to cheer for and come in and make it feel like an away game for us, it's easy to go on a run like that," Howard said postgame.

Howard was disappointed to hear fans in Atlanta's arena support a visiting player, and the chants in Wilson's favor grew louder after Las Vegas took control of the game with a 21-6 third quarter. The All-Star forward remarked that if fans wanted to cheer for a South Carolina player, they didn't have to seek out Wilson to do so.

"You wanna come see Gamecocks, we have Gamecocks on our roster," Howard said, referring to the Dream's duo of Allisha Gray and Te-Hina PaoPao. "The last game, we had MVP chants for (Gray). Don't get here and switch up because of one player."

With Atlanta's next home game taking place on Friday against the Dallas Wings, Howard and the Dream may not have to wait long to get the hometown fans back on their side.

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Jeremy Beren

Jeremy Beren is a freelance WNBA writer with The Sporting News. A Phoenix native, he is a graduate of Arizona State University's Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication, and he has a decade’s worth of sports journalism experience. Jeremy's work has appeared in publications such as Marca, SB Nation, Athlon Sports and Vice Sports. He currently lives in Fayetteville, Arkansas.