A'ja Riyadh Wilson became a basketball sensation during her college days at the University of South Carolina. Under coach Dawn Staley, the Gamecocks clinched a first NCAA Women's Basketball Championship title in 2017 with Wilson named Most Outstanding Player award.
After college, the South Carolina native was selected first overall by the Las Vegas Aces in the 2018 WNBA draft. Despite the Aces failing to reach the playoffs, she quickly established herself in the pro ranks and claimed the Rookie of the Year award. Her performances earned her a call-up to the national squad and she was part of the roster that won gold at the FIBA Women's World Cup.
The following year, the Aces returned to the playoffs after a five-year absence but fell short in the semi-finals.
In the 2020 WNBA season, shortened due to the pandemic, the power forward was named league MVP as the Aces finished top of the regular season standings. Wilson also led the league in blocks with 2.0 per game. However, Breanna Stewart and the Seattle Storm proved too strong in the WNBA Finals.
A'ja Wilson: Olympic gold and back-to-back WNBA titles
Wilson and Stewart would join forces to devastating effect at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games held in 2021. Wilson led the team with 20.0 points and 2.8 blocks per game and hauled 9.3 rebounds per game. Stewart led all players with 11.3 rebounds per game, and she won the MVP award with Wilson also named to the All-Star Team.
After the Aces went out in the semi-finals in 2021, Wilson secured her second league MVP award as well as her first Defensive Player of the Year accolade in the 2022 season. She again led the league in blocks with 1.9 per game. The Aces made the Finals for the second time in three years, and they beat the Connecticut Sun 3-1 to clinch a first WNBA title.
Wilson followed that up by leading the United States to a successful defence of their World Cup crown in Australia. As in Tokyo, she and Stewart were both named to the All-Tournament First Team but Wilson was named MVP on this occasion.
In 2023, Wilson repeated as Defensive Player of the Year but Stewart - now with the New York Liberty - took the league MVP prize. The pair would go head-to-head again in the WNBA Finals, and this time it was Wilson who came out on top. She claimed her first Finals MVP award as the Aces won 3-1 to retain their crown.
Wilson and Stewart will no doubt be reunited as Team USA bid for an eighth successive women's basketball Olympic title at Paris 2024.