A’ja Wilson - The Joker
BASKETBALL - WNBA - POWER FORWARD -
LAS VEGAS ACES - UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH CAROLINA
ARCHETYPE: THE JOKER
Day 116/135
Athletic Accomplishments
A’ja Wilson is a power forward for the Las Vegas Aces and the 2020 WNBA MVP.
Playing basketball in her hometown of Columbia, South Carolina, Wilson was already a national standout. As a senior, she led her team to the 2014 state championship, was a Parade and MCDonald’s All-American, and won National High School Player of the Year.
As the No. 1 ranked prospect, Wilson attend University of South Carolina, where she had one of the most impressive college hoops careers of all time. She led the Gamecocks to three regular season SEC titles, four SEC tournament championships, and their first ever NCAA title as a junior in 2017.
In 2018, Wilson became South Carolina’s was first-team All-American for the third consecutive year, and was selected as SEC Player of the Year—the first player to win the award three times. She swept all the National Player of the Year awards and finished up as South Carolina’s leading scorer of all time.
All in all, I’d say this is a pretty solid college career:
NCAA champion (2017)
NCAA Tournament Most Outstanding Player (2017)
Consensus National Player of the Year (2018)
3× Consensus first-team All-American (2016–2018)
3× SEC Player of the Year (2016–2018)
4× First-team All-SEC (2015–2018)
Honda Sports Award (2018)
SEC Freshman of the Year (2015)
SEC All-Freshman Team (2015)
Wilson was selected by the Las Vegas Aces as the No. 1 pick of the 2018 WNBA Draft. Her presence was immediately felt in the league, with Wilson being named Rookie of the Year, and making every All-Star team and playoffs since she was drafted.
In the 2020 Wubble season, Wilson put the Aces on her back, leading the team to the WNBA Finals despite missing key players like Liz Cambage—who opted out due to COVID—and Kelsey Plum—who suffered a torn achilles prior to the start of the season.
She’s only been in the league for three years, but already, she’s racked up lots of accolades:
WNBA MVP (2020)
2× WNBA All-Star (2018, 2019)
WNBA Rookie of the Year (2018)
All-WNBA First Team (2020)
WNBA All-Defensive Second Team (2020)
WNBA blocks leader (2020)
Character Archetype: The Joker
Your 2020 WNBA MVP, A'ja Wilson, everyone!
I could tell you about her radiant personality, how fun it is to watch her play, how I can’t believe she isn’t a global phenomenon… yet. But it’s coming.
I could list off her stats and accolades. I could tell you about how this 6'4" power forward owns the paint, is lights out from the elbow, and recently extended her range to the three-point line.
I could tell you about how she put the Aces on her back in 2020, leading the team to the WNBA Finals despite missing key players like Liz Cambage and Kelsey Plum.
Instead, let’s talk about how less than three years after Wilson graduated from South Carolina, the school erected a statue of her outside Colonial Life Arena. Now, think about all the statues you’ve seen. What percentage of those are women? Black women? Women athletes?
It’s a rare honor for a rare talent and an even more glowing, amazing human. Wilson is just getting started, but she’s already larger than life.