A'ja Wilson
A'ja Riyadh Wilson (born August 8, 1996) is an American professional basketball player for the Las Vegas Aces of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). Wilson played for the South Carolina Gamecocks in college, and helped lead the Gamecocks to their first NCAA Women's Basketball Championship in 2017, and won the NCAA basketball tournament Most Outstanding Player award. In 2018, she won a record third straight SEC Player of the Year award, leading South Carolina to a record fourth straight SEC Tournament Championship, becoming the all-time leading scorer in South Carolina women's basketball history, and was a consensus first-team All-American for the third consecutive season. Wilson swept all National Player of the Year awards (Wade, AP, Honda, USBWA, Wooden, and Naismith) as the best player in Women's College basketball for 2018. In the 2018 WNBA draft, she was drafted first overall by the Aces.
Wilson with Las Vegas in 2019 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
No. 22 – Las Vegas Aces | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Position | Power forward | |||||||||||||||||||||||
League | WNBA | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Personal information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Born | Columbia, South Carolina, U.S. | August 8, 1996|||||||||||||||||||||||
Listed height | 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Listed weight | 195 lb (88 kg) | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Career information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
High school | Heathwood Hall Episcopal (Columbia, South Carolina) | |||||||||||||||||||||||
College | South Carolina (2014–2018) | |||||||||||||||||||||||
WNBA draft | 2018: 1st round, 1st overall pick | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Selected by the Las Vegas Aces | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Playing career | 2018–present | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Career history | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
2018–present | Las Vegas Aces | |||||||||||||||||||||||
2018–2019 | Shaanxi Red Wolves | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Career highlights and awards | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Stats at WNBA.com | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Stats at Basketball-Reference.com | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Medals
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Wilson won her first WNBA MVP in 2020, as well as her first Olympic Gold medal in the 2020 Summer Olympics. In 2022, Wilson helped lead the Aces to their first title in franchise history, a feat she repeated in 2023 while earning Finals MVP.