1 week Ago
When A’ja Wilson walks into a speaking engagement during the 2025 Final Four in Tampa, Florida, her aura damn near grabs you by the throat. She’s striking in a pristinely tailored Gamecock-red pantsuit and matching tie, but it’s beyond the physical—it’s the charming way she can oscillate between standing on business and being a shenanigan-loving goofball. Like the of when she and former teammate Sydney Colson were dancing on the bench to “Time Today” by MoneyBagg Yo during a game.
They only stopped when their head coach, Becky Hammon, came in their direction, avoiding eye contact with her like two up-to-no-good little rascals until she left. Once she did? They finished the song, of course, punctuated with A’ja saying, “Aye, ugh!” while hitting The Whoa. To me, that’s part of what gives her this awe-inducing presence: the fact that she contains multitudes and has developed a sharp discernment on which ones to pull out—and how much of them to give—at any given moment, all while still managing to show up as her full self.
Then again, mastering this makes sense for someone who’s had to bear the weight of the world without so much as slightly buckling under its burdensome load. But as the adage goes, to whom much is given, much is required. In A’ja’s case, “given” should be “earned.
” In 2018, she was the No. 1 draft pick for the WNBA, landing with the Las Vegas Aces (where she still is now) after the franchise found a new home and team name in Nevada by way of a 15-year stay in San Antonio. Since then, A’ja helped win the Aces back-to-back WNBA championships in 2022 and 2023.
She won her first MVP title in 2020, secured it a second time in 2022, and just this past season in 2024, she nabbed the award , and this time, unanimously. She’s just the second player ever in the WNBA’s nearly 30 years to get every vote for the honor, and she’s among an exclusive group of just four women who have won MVP thrice. This past season, she became the first player ever in the league to score more than 1,000 points in a single season.
She also became a best-selling author in 2024, and in May 2025, her brand-new Nike A'One signature shoe and collection officially becomes available. The first Black woman to have a signature shoe with the brand was WNBA legend Sheryl Swoopes in 1995—a year before A’ja was born. We see these accomplishments and rightfully marvel at a woman who makes being the best player in the world look easy.
She has no questions or uncertainties about who she is, what she can do, or what path she’s on—but it wasn’t always this way. We talk about all of this over Zoom, just a few days before we each land in Tampa. It technically takes 45 minutes until her lunch from Chipotle arrives, but while we wait, it gives me a chance to see her multitudes reveal themselves one by one.
We get into how she overcame imposter syndrome, how she sets boundaries and leans into the fullness of her emotions, the intangibles basketball has given her, the people who are her safest places, and so much more. You’ve been having an exciting offseason: retiring your jersey at South Carolina, releasing your Nike shoe, TIME Woman of the Year, Paris Fashion Week—just very much outside! Which of these milestones stands out most as a favorite? It’s a tie between my jersey retirement and launching my shoe. The jersey retirement was cool because I had friends from middle school that came out for me.
And with the shoe, we’ve had pop-ups in Columbia and Vegas, the two cities where I spend most of my life, and the turnout has been incredible. Seeing how much people want the shoe has warmed my heart. Like you said, I’ve been outside and people that know me know I’m not an outside person—I feel like I start itching when I’m outside too long.
I’m a homebody. I’m a huge Escape Room girlie, too, because I like when my brain can work and be challenged. Between those, movie theaters, visiting my parents, and playing with my puppies, I usually don’t do too much.
I love me a good Netflix binge serial killer vibe. I love diving into stories and figuring out why people do what they do. It’s really dark and really cold, and I have a blanket that I’m snuggled up with.
I have certain blankets for certain rooms and moments. All blankets don’t blanket the same, so I have a bunch. .
But when people see me on court, they’re like, You are an introvert. I am—I just love what I do, especially making people smile through the entertainment of basketball. But I also know when I close that door and I take a deep breath, I am so at peace with staying in my bed and in my room.
It’s allowed me to become a leader and a role model. I’ve always had a passion for helping others. My grandmother instilled that into me.
Basketball has allowed me to do that by just playing the game and giving that young girl or that young boy a sense of “I could do that.” I want to show them that you don’t have to lose yourself in sports—it’s not always about the wins and the losses. It’s also helped me understand how to create bonds and relationships with different people.
I love to help people figure out their why and then watch them thrive in it. That’s so spot-on. For me, I gained 60 sisters through Alpha Kappa Alpha, and like you said, I probably would have pulled my hair out if I’d never been in a team setting before, because how are 61 of us gonna navigate this?! But when you play on a team of 12 phenomenal women, you may have 60 different personalities! There are so many hidden gems in sports, whether it’s the people or what they bring out of you, that’s in between the game and the court that gets lost sometimes.
Basketball has allowed me to really understand people on a deeper level than just what the actual sport itself may bring. Statistically, young girls drop out of sports around middle school and that breaks my heart because it’s so much bigger than the wins, losses, or that coach who’s yelling at you. I think as young girls, we lose ourselves because we feel like we’re not good enough.
I was that person when COVID hit and we were playing in the bubble. I struggled because I felt like I wasn’t being good enough. I felt like I let people down and I lost myself in that.
I was like, I had to regain that and have this rebirth of who I want to be as a player in the league. I had imposter syndrome, I wanted to be a people pleaser, and I got to a moment where I was having anxiety attacks. This was all right after winning my first MVP.
You would think after that, it’s like, “Oh yeah, A’ja’s here!” but I was struggling. I was like, I’m heavy on my faith, but I also love asking for help because I see no problem in it. Once I got it, I was able to see my true self and it helped me pull myself out of that.
Now I feel better than I’ve ever felt in my whole career. But if I didn’t have that moment of recognizing I probably would still be in a hole right now. I got help from a phenomenal therapist.
We just had conversations, and it’s amazing when you can unpack things in a healthy, safe way and how that can help you. I was so grateful for her. Then also my family.
My parents were looking at me like, “Hmm, this ain’t our daughter” and it was one of the things that prompted me to get help for sure. 2022 was a big year for me and for my team, and I think that was my stamp of “I’m here and I’m really her.” I think sometimes, in particular as Black women, we struggle with saying that because everyone’s like, “Oh, she’s cocky or she’s this or she thinks she’s all that.
” I’m 100 percent that. I had to come to grips with saying that because growing up as young girls, we’re constantly told, “Don’t do too much.” But no.
I’m okay saying that. If you would have asked me that two years ago, I probably would have said that I’m starting to grow into it. But at this point in my life and with how I feel in my career and who I want to be as a woman, I’m starting to master it.
In the beginning, I really didn’t like saying no because I get people’s vision. But that’s still me thinking about the other person and I’ve learned that I have to consider myself, too. Setting boundaries also helps me weed out the fake and the real, because the real ones are gonna support and respect the boundary and work with me within it.
You really realize who respects you on a whole other level. It has been a game changer for me and changed my outlook of life. It's pretty natural.
When people see us as professional athletes, they feel like we are just this superhuman, this machine, this person that can’t have anything wrong with them. And it’s not necessarily that something’s wrong, but sometimes I have to unpack a lot, and I may not get an opportunity to tell my teammates I love them every single day. So it may just come up in a speech or in a moment.
I try to give so much to people that help me because I want them to understand that I don’t do any of this without them. Like, yes, my name may be on this trophy or this moment, but I don’t get this without these individuals. I get really emotional about that and I want to share these big moments with them.
So it may come out in tears, cuss words, or pure happiness. But! I told myself I’m not gonna do it this year because I’m standing on business. Sometimes I just can’t help it though.
I literally always joke around with my mom like, “You went from ‘not being one of my little friends’ to being one of my best friends.” They are retired now and can travel with me or just come to Vegas whenever they want, which is crazy. Now, I will say, parenting your parents is a lot! If I have to take a phone off airplane mode one more time, I might scream.
My mom, she's the boss—Eva is the one. If you want to get to me and my dad, you gotta go through her. And God bless you.
My dad is the social butterfly. If you met him, you’d think you’ve known him for half your life—he’s just a big, open teddy bear. I’m still Little A’ja in their eyes.
People tell us all the time we should have a TV show, and I’m, like, absolutely not. Never. Not even a podcast.
Yes! The tattoos on the back of my arms represent my mom and dad and they’re on the tongues of the shoe. I wanted to pay homage to them and make sure they had a piece in it because I wouldn’t be where I am without them and the sacrifices they made. I feel like all of us have guardians in our lives that we’re so thankful for, whether it’s parents or coaches, and I wanted people to know that those people are with them whenever they put on the shoe.
It was so crazy to me that the Nike team actually made it happen. I’m like, . And my fans literally have my tattoos with them, so it gives them a piece of me like we’re really connected.
It meant the world to me that I was able to do that. I have an amazing boyfriend who really is my safe space. He’s truly a gift.
He’s obviously in the same field so we bounce off different things with one another to where it’s like, no, we’re not alone. He’s helped me through a lot and welcomed me to be who I’m going to be. I know he’s like, “I don’t know what A’ja I’m going to get today, but I’m blessed to be beside her.
” And it’s the same for me. When you can be your true self in front of someone, in front of your partner, that’s the purest form of love. At any point if I ever need a voice to hear or just a hug, he’s always there.
Publicly, not even a lot. I don’t see a hard launch in our future, honestly. I know people are always like, “Please!!” but I think we’re really at peace with where we are, and I’m happy with where we are.
An amaretto sour. Bojangles. Ooh, that’s a good question.
I say my jewelry. A Nintendo Switch. I would have to say Victoria Monét.
“Take You Out” by Luther Vandross. Yeah, girl! I can’t listen to that bumpity bump. My nerves get rattled.
I listen to that before, but to settle, it’s some Luther, some Mary J. I’m very R&B. It’s about to be this Nintendo Switch! I have, like, this.
..Mario Party Jamboree? I don’t know what it is! I love .
I quote it. It’s sad. And .
I’m a little bit both, yeah. My Summer Fridays lip gloss. The pink one.
I’m addicted. “That’s a girl right there.”.
