Английская Википедия:A'ja Wilson

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Шаблон:Short description Шаблон:Use mdy dates Шаблон:Infobox basketball biography A'ja Riyadh Wilson (born August 8, 1996) 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.

Personal life

Wilson was born to Roscoe Jr. and Eva Wilson. She said on NPR's Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me! that she was named for her father's favorite song, "Aja" by Steely Dan. Her middle name Riyadh came from the Saudi Arabian capital where Aja's maternal aunt was deployed in Operation Desert Storm. Her mother had a court stenographer business while her father played basketball professionally in Europe for 10 seasons. Her older brother Renaldo also played professional basketball overseas. Wilson spent her grade school and high school years as one of the few black students in Heathwood Hall Episcopal School, a southern Columbia private school.

Wilson is a Christian. She grew up in a Christian family and one of her grandfathers was a minister.

After graduating from high school in 2014, she attended the University of South Carolina, majoring in Mass Communications. She represented the Gamecocks as a forward in basketball. She completed her Senior year at South Carolina. Wilson is a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority.

In 2019, Wilson played for the "Home" roster during the NBA All-Star Celebrity Game at the Bojangles Coliseum in Charlotte, North Carolina. The roster was made up of celebrities with Carolina roots.

Wilson started Burnt Wax Candle Company and established the A'ja Wilson Foundation that advocates for preventing bullying and education around dyslexia. She is part of the WNBA's social justice council. She and Minnesota Lynx forward Napheesa Collier host a podcast about the WNBA, Tea with A & Phee, produced by Just Women's Sports. Wilson counts Nike and Mountain Dew as sponsors and was named to Forbes' 2021 30 Under 30 list.

High school

Wilson played a total of 119 games after making the varsity as an eighth-grader. She averaged 24.7 points, 13.9 rebounds, and 4.3 blocks a game throughout her high school career. She was number 22 and played as a forward. After finishing as a runner-up in her junior year, Wilson led Heathwood Hall to the 2014 state championship as a senior. Her 35 points, 15 rebounds, and five blocks per game as a senior made her the National High School player of the year in 2014, was a Parade and McDonald's All-American, and was the #1 rated ESPN HoopGurlz prospect in 2014. Wilson committed to play for Dawn Staley at the University of South Carolina.

College career

Файл:A'ja Wilson South Carolina.jpg

Wilson at South Carolina

Wilson played in 37 games her freshman year, leading to four single-game freshman records in the SEC and three single-season freshman records in the SEC, and won the SEC Freshman of the year award. In 2016 as a sophomore, Wilson would win her first SEC Player of the year award and was a consensus All-American, Wilson led the Gamecocks to a SEC regular season and Tournament Championship. In 2017, Wilson once again led the Gamecocks to a SEC regular season and Tournament championship, and went on to win the school's first national championship with a stirring victory over the Mississippi State Bulldogs in the championship game. She was named the Most Outstanding Player of the tournament. In 2018, Wilson had her best season statistically, and won all of the National player of the year awards. She won a record 3rd straight SEC Player of the Year award, and was also a Consensus All-American for the third straight year. Wilson finished her college career at South Carolina as the all-time leading scorer for the school.

On January 18, 2021, as part of the university's observance of Martin Luther King Day, a statue of Wilson was dedicated near the main entrance to Carolina's basketball home of Colonial Life Arena. In a Zoom call during the ceremony, Wilson noted:Шаблон:Blockquote

Professional career

WNBA

In 2018, Wilson was drafted first overall by the Las Vegas Aces. On May 20, 2018, in her career debut, Wilson scored 14 points along with 10 rebounds in a 101–65 loss to the Connecticut Sun. On June 12, 2018, Wilson scored a career-high of 35 points along with 13 rebounds in a 101–92 overtime victory against the Indiana Fever, becoming the second rookie in league history to score 35 points and grab 10 rebounds. Wilson would be voted into the 2018 WNBA All-Star Game. Later on in the season, Wilson would be named the WNBA Rookie of the Year. She was tied for third in scoring. Her season performance almost led the Aces to the playoffs as they finished 9th place with a 14–20 record.

On June 29, 2019, Wilson scored a new career-high 39 points in a 102–97 overtime victory against the Indiana Fever. In July, Wilson suffered an ankle injury that kept her out for 4 weeks, causing her to miss the 2019 WNBA All-Star Game. She made her return in mid-August. By the end of the season, the Aces finished with a 21–13 record and the number 4 seed, receiving a bye to the second round, helping the franchise get back to the playoffs for the first time since 2014. In the second round elimination game, the Aces defeated the Chicago Sky 93–92 in a thriller game, where teammate Dearica Hamby came up with a steal and nailed the game-winning three from half-court with 4-second left. However, in the semi-finals, the Aces would lose in four games to the Washington Mystics, who would go on to win the 2019 WNBA championship.

In the 2020 season, the Aces were championship contenders. The season was delayed and shortened to 22 games in a bubble at IMG Academy due to the COVID-19 pandemic. With her all-star teammate Liz Cambage sitting out the season due to health concerns, Wilson carried the team by putting up peak numbers, the Aces finishing the season 18-4 and the number 1 seed, receiving a double bye to the semi-finals. In the semi-finals, the Aces would defeat the Connecticut Sun in a hard-fought five-game series, advancing to the Finals for the second time in franchise history (first since relocating to Las Vegas); however with a shorthanded roster against a fully loaded Seattle Storm team, the Aces would be defeated in a three-game sweep. Wilson would end up winning the MVP award for the 2020 season.

In 2022, Wilson would win her second MVP and first Defensive Player of the Year award, averaging 19.5 points, 9.4 rebounds and 1.9 blocks while leading the league with 17 double-doubles. Wilson helped propel the Aces to their second finals appearance in three seasons, where they would defeat the Connecticut Sun in four games, giving Wilson her first championship.

Файл:Temi Fagbenle (14) looks for a rebound and is guarded by A'ja Wilson (22) and Tamara Young (1).jpg

A'ja Wilson goes for a rebound in 2018.

On June 30, 2023, Wilson signed a contract extension with the Aces to keep herself in Las Vegas.

On August 22, 2023, Wilson achieved a new career high in points, scoring 53 points along with 7 rebounds in a 112-100 victory over the Atlanta Dream. Her 53-point showing tied the WNBA's single game record and is one of three 50-plus point performances in WNBA history.

Despite another strong 2023 regular season and being amongst the WNBA leaders in points, rebounds and blocks per game, Wilson fell short of garnering back-to-back MVP honors. She did, however, repeat as Defensive Player of the year in 2023.

Fueled by Wilson’s late 2023 season dominance, the Aces swept their first two 2023 playoff series against the Chicago Sky and Dallas Wings, respectively. The Aces carried that momentum into the Finals against the New York Liberty, winning the first two games of the series at home, while extending their playoff winning streak to eight games. Despite a Game 3 setback on the Liberty’s home floor and losing two starters to injury, Wilson and the Aces overcame a late double-digit Game 4 deficit to defeat the Liberty 70-69 and win their second consecutive WNBA title, the first back-to-back WNBA championship since the Los Angeles Sparks repeated as champs in 2001 and 2002. Wilson posted averages of 23.8 points and 11.8 rebounds per game in the 2023 WNBA Finals, which bested her 2023 regular season numbers of 22.8 points and 9.5 rebounds per game. She was awarded her first Finals MVP for her impressive performance in the Aces-Liberty series.

Overseas

In August 2018, Wilson signed with the Shaanxi Red Wolves of the Women's Chinese Basketball Association for the 2018–19 off-season.

Career statistics

WNBA

†	Denotes seasons in which Wilson won a WNBA championship

Regular season

Шаблон:WNBA player statistics start |- | style="text-align:left;"| 2018 | style="text-align:left;"| Las Vegas | 33 || 33 || 30.6 || .462 || .000 || .774 || 8.0 || 2.2 || 0.8 || 1.6 || 1.4 || 20.7 |- | style="text-align:left;"| 2019 | style="text-align:left;"| Las Vegas | 26 || 25 || 28.4 || .479 || .000 || .792 || 6.4 || 1.8 || 0.5 || 1.7 || 2.1 || 16.5 |- | style="text-align:left;"| 2020 | style="text-align:left;"| Las Vegas | 22 || 22 || 31.7 || .480 || .000 || .781 || 8.5 || 2.0 || 1.2 || style="background:#d3d3d3;"|2.0° || 1.6 || 20.5 |- | style="text-align:left;"| 2021 | style="text-align:left;"| Las Vegas | 32 || 32 || 31.9 || .444 || 1.000 || .876 || 9.3 || 3.1 || 0.9 || 1.3 || 1.4 || 18.3 |- | style='text-align:left;background:#afe6ba;'|2022^† | style="text-align:left;"| Las Vegas | 36 || 36 || 30.0 || .501 || .373 || .813 || 9.4 || 2.1 || 1.4 || style="background:#d3d3d3;"|1.9° || 1.7 || 19.5 |- | style="text-align:left;"| Career | style="text-align:left;"| 5 years, 1 team | 149 || 148 || 30.5 || .473 || .376 || .807 || 8.4 || 2.3 || 1.0 || 1.7 || 1.6 || 19.1 Шаблон:S-end

Playoffs

Шаблон:WNBA player statistics start |- | style="text-align:left;"| 2019 | style="text-align:left;"| Las Vegas | 5 || 5 || 33.7 || .436 || .000 || .950 || 7.8 || 1.6 || 0.6 || style="background:#d3d3d3;"|2.0° || 1.6 || 13.4 |- | style="text-align:left;"| 2020 | style="text-align:left;"| Las Vegas | 8 || 8 || 35.4 || .473 || .000 || .857 || 8.9 || 2.4 || 1.0 || 2.3 || 2.0 || 20.8 |- | style="text-align:left;"| 2021 | style="text-align:left;"| Las Vegas | 5 || 5 || 32.2 || .435 || .000 || .654 || 9.2 || 3.2 || 1.0 || 1.0 || 2.2 || 14.2 |- | style='text-align:left;background:#afe6ba;' |2022^† | style="text-align:left;"| Las Vegas | 10 || 10 || 37.2 || .552 || .143 || .791 || 10.4 || 2.0 || 1.0 || 2.4 || 1.3 || 20.3 |- | style="text-align:left;"| Career | style="text-align:left;"| 4 years, 1 team | 28 || 28 || 35.1 || .490 || .143 || .809 || 9.3 || 2.3 || 0.9 || 2.0 || 1.7 || 18.1 Шаблон:S-end

College

Year	Team	GP	Points	FG%	3P%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
2014–15	South Carolina	37	486	.538	.333	.662	6.6	1.0	0.9	1.8	13.1
2015–16	South Carolina	33	530	.531	.000	.723	8.7	1.4	0.8	3.1	16.1
2016–17	South Carolina	35	626	.588	.000	.737	7.8	1.4	1.2	2.6	17.9
2017–18	South Carolina	33	747	.542	.417	.732	11.8	1.7	1.0	3.2	22.6
Career	138	2,389	.550	.375	.715	8.7	1.4	1.0	2.6	17.3

Source: College statistics courtesy of NCAA Statistics

Awards and honors

WNBA

• 2x WNBA Champion (2022, 2023)
• 5x WNBA All-Star (2018–2020, 2022–2023)
• WNBA Rookie of the Year (2018)
• WNBA Most Valuable Player (2020, 2022)
• WNBA Defensive Player of the Year (2022, 2023)
• WNBA Finals Most Valuable Player (2023)

College

• NCAA Tournament Most Outstanding Player (2017)
• Wade Trophy (2018)
• John R. Wooden Award (2018)
• Honda Sports Award (2018)
• Naismith College Player of the Year (2018)
• AP Player of the Year (2018)
• USBWA Player of the Year (2018)
• Lisa Leslie Award (2018)
• 3× Consensus first-team All-American (2016–2018)
• 3× SEC Player of the Year (2016–2018)
• 2x SEC Defensive Player of the Year (2016, 2018)
• 4× First-team All-SEC (2015–2018)
• SEC Freshman of the Year (2015)
• SEC All-Freshman Team (2015)

High school

• National High School Player of the Year (WBCA, Naismith, Parade) (2014)
• McDonald's All-America (2013–14)
• Parade All-America (2013–14)
• Gatorade South Carolina Girls Basketball Player of the Year (2013–2014)

External links

• Шаблон:FIBA profile
• Шаблон:Basketball stats
• Шаблон:Olympedia
• Шаблон:Olympics.com
• Шаблон:Instagram