A'ja Wilson and Alanna Smith Were Co-Defensive Player of the Year. Sunday Wilson's Elbow Sent Smith Off the Floor Bleeding.

The two players who shared last season's WNBA Defensive Player of the Year award met as opponents for the first time on Sunday. The matchup ended with one of them on the floor, blood running from her mouth, and her co-winner getting charged with a flagrant.

A'ja Wilson and Alanna Smith were on opposite ends of a Las Vegas Aces vs. Dallas Wings preseason game in Austin. With 7:47 left in the third quarter, Wilson was bringing the ball up the floor when Smith stepped into a passing lane to attack the steal. Wilson's right hand came up to release the ball — and her elbow caught Smith flush in the face.

Smith hit the floor. She got up holding her mouth, blood visible on her lip. Officials reviewed the play and upgraded the foul to a flagrant 1.

The Wings ruled Smith out for the rest of the game as a precaution. Before exiting, she had been the most efficient player on the floor for either team: 12 points on 5-of-6 shooting and a team-high seven rebounds in just 12 minutes.

Dallas rolled past Las Vegas 101-84.

Wilson, in her first preseason action of 2026 after missing the Aces' earlier exhibition with an illness, finished with 18 points and five rebounds. She signed a $5 million extension this offseason — the richest contract in WNBA history.

The online reaction was sharp. Clips of the play circulated within minutes. Fans called it a “dirty play by MVP” and questioned the level of physicality acceptable in preseason basketball.

The optics didn't help. Wilson is the four-time MVP and three-time Defensive Player of the Year. Smith is the co-winner from last season — a major free-agent signing for Dallas after leaving the Minnesota Lynx in April. Sunday was the first time the two had been on the floor together since splitting the trophy.

Smith's status for the regular season opener was not immediately clear. The Wings host the Indiana Fever on Saturday at 1 p.m. on ABC, in a matchup of last year's No. 1 pick Paige Bueckers and Indiana's Caitlin Clark. The Aces open a day later against the Phoenix Mercury.

The next time Wilson and Smith share a floor, it counts.