A'ja Wilson

A'ja Riyadh Wilson ( AY-zhə; born August 8, 1996) is an American professional basketball player for the Las Vegas Aces of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). Wilson is regarded by many as the best female basketball player of her generation, and is widely considered one of the greatest WNBA players ever. Wilson played college basketball at the University of South Carolina and helped lead the Gamecocks to their first NCAA Women's Basketball Championship in 2017, winning 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. In the 2018 WNBA draft, Wilson was drafted first overall by the Las Vegas Aces. She won her first WNBA MVP with the Aces in 2020, winning again in 2022, 2024, and 2025. 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 2025, she led the Aces to a third championship title, becoming the first WNBA or NBA player to win a scoring title, be a champion, Finals MVP, MVP, and Defensive Player of the Year in the same season. Internationally, Wilson plays for the United States women's national basketball team, with whom she has won two Olympic and two World Cup gold medals.