How A'ja Wilson stacks up to other basketball greats

During the championship rally for the Las Vegas Aces’ WNBA championship, Aces coach Becky Hammon did not mince words when talking about her team’s super star, A’ja Wilson. Hammon, who played in the WNBA, then coached in the NBA before leading the Aces to two WNBA championships, said she doesn’t know anyone as good as Wilson.  

“I played against all the GOATs. I’m going to put it out there. [Wilson] is gonna be the GOAT of the GOATs. She’s that good. I’m trying to think of an NBA comp. I’m trying to think of a WNBA comp. There ain’t nobody in the world like A’ja Wilson, who willed us on her back and said, ‘Hey, I’m about to put you on my back. Come follow me.’ And we did,” Hammon said.

Wilson is just 27, but she now has an Olympic gold medal, two World Cup golds, two WNBA titles, two WNBA MVPs, two WNBA Defensive Player of the Year awards, and the 2023 WNBA Finals MVP. She is, quite simply, one of the best active basketball players on the planet. Her ability to take over games while also pushing her teammates to be better means Wilson’s teams will always contend for a title.  

Hammon keyed in on not just Wilson’s accomplishments at 27, but how she has the potential to be even more. Let’s see how even early in Wilson’s career, she stacks up against some of the best of the WNBA and NBA, and what she can learn from each of them.

Sheryl Swoopes

Sheryl Swoopes was the first person the WNBA signed back in 1996, fresh off her first Olympic gold medal. She would add two more Olympic golds, as well as two World Cup golds and one bronze. Swoopes was the star of the Houston Comets four titles, and she won three WNBA MVPs. Swoopes’ dominance is what made Wilson seek out her advice as the Aces were on the way to the title. Wilson hasn’t met her level yet, but if she continues on her path, she will.

Diana Taurasi

Diana Taurasi was selected by WNBA fans in 2021 as the best player in the league’s first 25 years, and she is the all-time scoring leader for the league. She has three WNBA titles with the Phoenix Mercury, a WNBA MVP, and a whole cabinet full of medals: Five Olympic gold, three World Cup gold and one World Cup bronze. Wilson and Taurasi have faced each other on the court plenty of times, and won a gold together at Tokyo 2020. Taurasi’s longevity is part of her greatness, and that is something Wilson can aim to follow.

Maya Moore

Maya Moore played just eight years in the WNBA, and still is considered one of the best to play the game. In those eight years, she won four titles with the Minnesota Lynx, won the WNBA MVP and has two Olympic golds. Moore left the game before the 2019 season to focus on helping free innocent prisoners. Moore’s mark on the world is so much bigger than basketball, and Wilson has followed in Moore’s footsteps in not being afraid to speak up to injustice. On the court, Wilson has definitely followed in Moore’s ability to score from anywhere on the court.

Cheryl Miller

Cheryl Miller played basketball in the late 70s and early 80s, so the WNBA wasn’t around for her. Knee injuries kept her from playing in Europe or some of the women’s leagues that popped up in the U.S. in the 80s. But Miller’s dominance as a college and Team USA player means she can’t be ignored. She has an Olympic gold, a World Cup gold and a World Cup bronze. In winning two NCAA titles at Southern California, she owned the paint and the school’s record book. Wilson measures up to Miller in how they both approach the game while being unapologetically themselves.

LeBron James

Since Hammon said there’s not an NBA player like Wilson, let’s bring in some men’s basketball greats to discuss. LeBron James is the NBA’s all-time leading scorer, a four-time NBA champ, a four-time NBA MVP, and a three time Olympic medalist: two gold and one bronze. He’s been able to not just continue to play at a high level, but also has evolved his game as the league has changed. Wilson hasn’t been playing at that high level for nearly as long as James, but learning how to evolve her game is what she can take from him.

Michael Jordan

There’s a reason why his silhouette adorns so many shoes worn by great athletes in every sport. Michael Jordan took not just his Chicago Bulls but the NBA to a new level. He’s a six-time NBA champion, a five-time NBA MVP, and a two-time Olympic gold medalist, playing both as a college athlete at Los Angeles 1984 and with the Dream Team at Barcelona 1992. Wilson’s competitiveness is where she takes after Jordan. He famously would use any tiny slight as fuel in a game. In the 2023 WNBA MVP race, in which she took third, one voter ranked Wilson fourth. At the championship rally, she wore a shirt detailing the vote, and thanked the anonymous voter for ranking her fourth.

Does Wilson measure up to these greats? Not yet. She has barely gotten started in her young career. But because she is so young, she can do exactly what Hammon has said she can do. She has the skills and drive to become the GOAT of GOATs.