A'ja Wilson

A'ja Wilson

Wilson with the Las Vegas Aces in 2024
No. 22 – Las Vegas Aces
Position	Center
League	WNBA
Personal information
Born	(1996-08-08) August 8, 1996 (age 28) Columbia, South Carolina, U.S.
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
2× WNBA champion (2022, 2023) WNBA Finals MVP (2023) 3× WNBA MVP (2020, 2022, 2024) 2× WNBA Defensive Player of the Year (2022, 2023) 6× WNBA All-Star (2018, 2019, 2021–2024) 4× All-WNBA First Team (2020, 2022–2024) All-WNBA Second Team (2021) 3× WNBA All-Defensive First Team (2022-2024) WNBA All-Defensive Second Team (2020) WNBA Peak Performer (2024) WNBA scoring champion (2024) 4× WNBA blocks leader (2020, 2022–2024) Commissioner's Cup champion (2022) WNBA Rookie of the Year (2018) WNBA All-Rookie Team (2018) 2× Best WNBA Player ESPY Award (2023, 2024) Best Female Athlete ESPY Award (2024) 2× USA Basketball Female Athlete of the Year (2015, 2022) FIBA Women's Olympics MVP (2024) FIBA Women's Olympics All-Star Five (2020, 2024) FIBA Women's World Cup MVP (2022) NCAA champion (2017) NCAA Tournament MOP (2017) AP Player of the Year (2018) Honda Sports Award (2018) Naismith College Player of the Year (2018) John R. Wooden Award (2018) Wade Trophy (2018) USBWA National Player of the Year (2018) Lisa Leslie Award (2018) 3× All-American – USBWA, WBCA Coaches' (2016–2018) 3× First-team All-American – AP (2016–2018) Third-team All-American - AP (2015) SEC Female Athlete of the Year (2018) 3× SEC Player of the Year (2016–2018) 2× SEC Defensive Player of the Year (2016, 2018) 2× SEC Tournament MVP (2017, 2018) 4× First-team All-SEC (2015–2018) 3× SEC All-Defensive Team (2016–2018) SEC Freshman of the Year (2015) SEC All-Freshman Team (2015) SEC Female Athlete of the Year (2018) McDonald's All-American (2014)
Stats at WNBA.com
Stats at Basketball Reference
Medals Women's basketball Representing the  United States Olympic Games 2024 Paris Team 2020 Tokyo Team World Cup 2018 Spain 2022 Australia

A'ja Riyadh Wilson (/ˈeɪʒə/ AY-zhə; born August 8, 1996)^[1] 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 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. On July 7, 2024, in a matchup against the Dallas Wings, she became the Aces' all-time leading scorer in franchise history.^[2] She is also a New York Times best-selling author. She also won the gold medal in basketball at the 2024 Summer Olympics. On September 15, 2024, A'ja Wilson became the first WNBA player to score 1,000 points in a season when she had 29 in the Las Vegas Aces' 84–71 win over the Connecticut Sun.