A'ja Wilson

Intro A’ja Wilson grew up in Hopkins, South Carolina, in a family that valued education and athletics. Her father, who played professional basketball overseas, was her first mentor and inspired her love for the game. In college, A’ja attended the University of South Carolina, where she became a legend under Coach Dawn Staley. She led the Gamecocks to their first-ever NCAA Women’s Basketball Championship in 2017 and earned numerous accolades, including SEC Player of the Year (four times) and the prestigious Naismith College Player of the Year Award. After being selected as the No. 1 overall pick in the 2018 WNBA Draft by the Las Vegas Aces, A’ja wasted no time proving her worth. She became the league’s Rookie of the Year and, over the next few seasons, emerged as a franchise cornerstone. In a move that shocked the basketball world, A’ja Wilson joined the Aurora Hoops League after feeling that the WNBA, while groundbreaking, had plateaued in its ability to innovate and grow the sport globally. A’ja saw the AHL as a bold new frontier that aligned with her vision of breaking barriers and redefining what women’s basketball could be.