Have you ever stopped to revel in how lucky we are to witness two greats playing in their prime? Breanna Stewart and A’ja Wilson are two of the biggest names of the WNBA — two former MVPs, two All-Star captains, and two future Hall of Famers. Night after night, We tune into them as they defy the odds of gravity and gravitas. They’ve led their teams to the top two spots in the league’s standings. They both rock Instagrammable fits through their pre-game tunnels. They’re both the “super-est” players on their respective teams and chasing another WNBA Championship ring. 

Before that, they’re both vying for a chance to hoist the trophy of the 2023 WNBA Commissioner’s Cup Championship Game presented by Coinbase. The third-annual in-season tournament has seen variations of this duo — Stewie’s former Seattle Storm team taking the crown in 2021, where she snagged the MVP award, and Wilson’s Aces winning the Cup in 2022. This year would be the first time we see the two of them bout head-to-head for a prize pool of $500,000. 

Thirty games into the season — and a regular-season series tied at 1-1 — both Stewart and Wilson have proven what we already know. They’re really good at gettin’ buckets. But let’s break it down even further as to just how special this moment is. 

Stew York City

I’m a Marvel Comics fan by marriage. So, when I first heard about Breanna Stewart, Jonquel Jones, and Courtney Vandersloot joining forces in New York with Sabrina Ionescu and Betnijah Laney, I imagined the Avengers assembling. I thought Samuel L. Jackson had to be at the center of this plan. But it was, in fact, Liberty General Manager Jonathan Kolb (sans eye patch). He wanted to build something special, so why not have one of the most special talents in the history of women’s basketball at its center? Once Stewart elected to come to play for the Liberty in February, she made it clear that this was a decision for the betterment of the league. 

“I decided to go to New York because I want to continue to be great,” Stewart told ESPN after announcing the move with a Statue of Liberty emoji on social media. “And I want to go to the place where I can continue to help this league become better, to continue to raise the standard.” 

We had months before the season to fester on will-they-won’t-they Seafoam scenarios. The Liberty lost by 16 in their opening matchup against the Mystics, but in the first home game at Barclays Center, Stewart’s dominant 45-point career-high performance rocked the nay-sayers to sleep. After shooting over 70 percent from the field in 30 minutes, the roaring Brooklyn crowd gave her a well-deserved standing ovation. She grinned and said, “It feels like I made the right decision.” She broke the franchise’s single-game scoring record in only her second contest in a Liberty jersey. Unreal.

In year seven, Stewart has shown that her superpowers are still evolving. Mid-range? Splash. Slashing reverse lay? Easy. Three-ball from the top of the key? Money. This mixed bag of tricks at 6-foot-4 makes her nearly impossible to defend. Averaging over 20 points and almost ten rebounds per game, Stewart has become an MVP favorite once again. It’s a no-brainer; she’s helped resurrect a franchise from five consecutive seasons finishing below .500 to second place in the standings and its first championship banner within arms distance. Adding two-time Commissioner’s Cup Champion to her laundry list of accolades has a nice ring to it, too. 

M’VP Wilson

A’ja Wilson tried tap dancing, karate, and swimming as a kid before falling in love with basketball. Thank goodness she traded in her click-clack patent leather shoes for sneakers with a high-pitch squeak. Without it, we’d be deprived of mind-bending on-court performances, viral locker room antics, and an 11-foot-tall bronze statue.

We’d miss out on back-to-the-basket post moves that look effortlessly cool. And free-throw line jumpers that cut through the net like a razor blade. And a suffocating defense that ends with a block into the fourth row. 

With a 38-point loss to the New York Liberty on August 6 in the rearview, Wilson had a message for the media — and anyone willing to listen. “I don’t need a stat sheet to validate who I am in this league,” she said in the post-game press conference. She finished with dismal 9 points on 2-14 shooting in the match. “That’s not going to shatter my confidence to continue to shoot that basketball.”

In her fifth season, we have ample receipt of Wilson’s ability (averaging 20 ppg) and her ability to bounce back after a loss. When Connecticut Sun snapped the Aces’ 7-game hot streak this season, they limited Wilson to only 13 points and handed Las Vegas their first L. But the next time they faced off, Wilson erupted for a 23-point-13 rebound double-double with a side of 5 assists to lead her team to victory.

The Dallas Wings inched out a win over the reigning champs in July while holding Wilson below her average on 38 percent shooting. Three weeks later, she retaliated with a monstrous six blocks, 22 points, and a W. 

Wilson now has the Liberty on this revenge list, highlighted and circled. Now, we wait. 

Years from now, we’ll look back and talk about the Stewart-Wilson rivalry era as lore. We’ll say things like, “You just had to be there,” and, “Back in my day, Stewie teased us throughout free agency with emojis.”

On Tuesday, August 15, at 9 pm ET, eyes will be glued to Amazon Prime to see another iteration of a Stewart-Wilson battle. Cash is on the line, bragging rights to tweet out, and a rose-gold trophy to uphold. The Aces and Liberty matchup a total of four times in August. Again I ask, how lucky are we?   

WNBA reporter Jordan Robinson writes a column on WNBA.com throughout the season and can be reached on Twitter at @HeyJordanR. The views on this page do not necessarily reflect the views of the WNBA or its clubs.