New FSM Feature: A'Ja Wilson Is The Face Of The WNBA

FSM Feature:  A’Ja Wilson Is The Face Of The WNBA

Franchise Sports Media

The Las Vegas Aces A’ja Wilson has accomplished everything a player could during her time in the WNBA. She has been a multiple-time MVP, Defensive Player of the Year, and champion, and now she is the face of the WNBA. It’s time people recognize it.

Las Vegas Aces superstar A’ja Wilson is the WNBA‘s best player. She is a 2-time MVP, a 2-time champion, a WNBA Finals MVP, a 2-time WNBA Defensive Player of the Year, and indefensible every time she steps on the court.

Right now, the WNBA’s MVP race starts and ends with Wilson. She leads the league in scoring (26.9 points per game) and ranks second in rebounding (11.1 per game). Wilson is also on pace to break Diana Taurasi’s single-season WNBA record of 25.3 points per game set back in 2006. She is doing this while also being the WNBA’s best defensive player.

Wilson is also preparing to make a run at Olympic gold to add to her list of basketball accolades. She accomplished that feat in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. Is there any doubt that she’s not only the best player in the WNBA but also its face?

“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,” Aces head coach Becky Hammon said.

Wilson is 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. It’s time that she is recognized as the best women’s basketball player on the planet.

Wilson has now been the best player for two championship teams (back-to-back at that). Only three players in WNBA history have won three MVP awards: Lauren Jackson, Lisa Leslie, and Sheryl Swoopes. Wilson won two in 2020 and ’22, and if they were to hold a re-vote for ’23 today, she would win that, too.

In a world that is dominated by men receiving endorsement deals, Wilson has cracked the code.

Following Game 1 of the 2023 WNBA Finals between the Aces and New York Liberty, a reporter asked about Wilson having her own shoe during a news conference with Wilson and Becky Hammon.

“I just thought the best player in the league should have their own shoe,” the reporter said before Wilson let out a sigh and Hammon interjected.

“She needs her own shoe; let me answer that,” Hammon said. “I’ll toot her horn because she won’t. She’s the two-time MVP, an Olympic gold medalist, the best defensive player in the league. Like, stop … Stop.”

Nike and Wilson agreed to a deal that would give the 2-time WNBA MVP her own signature shoe line, as well as apparel. She joins Serena Williams, Meagan Raponi, Naomi Osaka, and Sabrina Ionescu as women who are Nike’s signature athletes. Caitlin Clark has a shoe deal with Nike as well.

“It’s been incredible working with Nike toward a dream of having my collection, and it really is an honor to take this next step and become a Nike signature athlete,” Wilson said in a statement. “From my logo to the look of the shoe and the pieces throughout the collection, we’ve worked to make sure every detail is perfectly tuned to my game and style.“

Wilson’s shoe is called “A’One,” and the apparel has already sold out online. 

“For A’ja, a signature shoe is only deserving,” her college coach, Dawn Staley, said. “I think she’s the best player in the world. And the best player in the world probably should have a shoe already. But it’s the buildup as well. You want the shoe to be right. You want to go through the process of putting your heart and your everything into your first shoe.”

Wilson’s popularity and impact extend beyond the basketball court.

The South Carolina native and former #1 overall pick has more than lived up to the hype and billing she received as an NCAA National Champion before coming to the WNBA as the #1 overall pick by the Aces.

Born and raised in Columbia, Wilson cemented legendary status in South Carolina. She was a consensus National Player of the Year, 3-time SEC Player of the Year, and tournament MVP for the 2017 NCAA championship.

Wilson has a statue outside of South Carolina’s Colonial Life Arena, was named one of Time’s 100 Most Influential People in 2024, and is the author of “Dear Black Girls,” a New York Times best-selling book released earlier this year.

Wilson also had a secret that she opened up about in The Players Tribune two weeks before the draft, “That was the day I found out that I had something called dyslexia,” Wilson penned in Players Tribune on March 24, 2018.

The A’ja Wilson Foundation was started in 2019 by Wilson and her parents with a simple mission: “Change the culture by overcoming the stigma of dyslexia and putting an end to bullying.” That was a secret that Wilson said she expected to keep her whole life and is the root of her advocacy. Since authoring the Players Tribune piece, Wilson’s foundation has partnered with numerous schools and organizations.

Wilson, an Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Inc. member, is doing her best to live up to the AKA’s core values, which include “to improve their social stature, to maintain a progressive interest in college life, and to be of service to all mankind.”

The WNBA doesn’t need to look any further for the right person to build their growing brand around. She resides in Las Vegas and has the jewelry and cachet off the court to lead the women of the WNBA into the future.

It’s time the league, the fans, the partners, and the media recognize it and give A’ja Wilson her flowers.

Make sure you keep coming back to FSM for all your Las Vegas Aces coverage. Thanks for visiting FranchiseSportsMedia.com for your Las Vegas Sports news today.

Franchise Sports Media. Las Vegas sports news about Las Vegas Sports teams.

– Joe Arrigo – Franchise Sports Media

Follow Joe on all social media: @joearrigofsm

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