A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | CH | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | X | Y | Z | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9
A'ja Riyadh Wilson (born August 8, 1996)[1] 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.[2]
Early life
Wilson was born to Roscoe Jr. and Eva Wilson.[3] 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.[4] 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.[5]
High school
Wilson played a total of 119 games after making the varsity team 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.[6] 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[5] made her the National High School player of the year in 2014, a Parade and McDonald's All-American, and the #1 rated ESPN HoopGurlz prospect in 2014.[7] Wilson committed to play for Dawn Staley at the University of South Carolina.
College career
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.[8] 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.[9] 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:[10]
My grandmother couldn't even walk on this campus; she had to walk around . If she was here today to see her granddaughter has a statue where she once could not walk ... it goes to show how you just plant seeds, and that's what it's all about.
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.[11][12] 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.[13] 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.[14] 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.[15] 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. [16][17]
On June 30, 2023, Wilson signed a contract extension with the Aces to keep herself in Las Vegas.[18]
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.[19]
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. [20] She did, however, repeat as Defensive Player of the year in 2023. [21]
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. [22] 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. [23]
On June 5, 2024, in the match-up against the Dallas Wings, Wilson became the first player to have at least 35+ points, 10+ rebounds, and 5+ steals in a single game in WNBA history.[24]
Overseas
In August 2018, Wilson signed with the Shaanxi Red Wolves of the Women's Chinese Basketball Association for the 2018–19 off-season.[25]
National team career
2020 Olympics
In late March 2020, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and the Tokyo Metropolitan Government postponed the 2020 Summer Olympics until the summer of 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[26] On June 21, 2021, Wilson was named to the 12-player roster for Team USA for the 2020 summer Olympics.[27] She and Team USA went on to win the gold medal in the tournament, defeating Japan 90–75 in the final.[28]
Career statistics
GP | Games played | GS | Games started | MPG | Minutes per game | RPG | Rebounds per game |
APG | Assists per game | SPG | Steals per game | BPG | Blocks per game | PPG | Points per game |
TO | Turnovers per game | FG% | Field-goal percentage | 3P% | 3-point field-goal percentage | FT% | Free-throw percentage |
Bold | Career best | ° | League leader |
WNBA
† | Denotes season(s) in which Wilson won a WNBA championship |
* | Denotes season(s) in which Wilson won a NCAA Championship |
Regular season
Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | TO | PPG |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2018 | Las Vegas | 33 | 33 | 30.6 | .462 | — | .774 | 8.0 | 2.2 | 0.8 | 1.6 | 1.4 | 20.7 |
2019 | Las Vegas | 26 | 25 | 28.4 | .479 | .000 | .792 | 6.4 | 1.8 | 0.5 | 1.7 | 2.1 | 16.5 |
2020 | Las Vegas | 22 | 22 | 31.7 | .480 | — | .781 | 8.5 | 2.0 | 1.2 | 2.0° | 1.6 | 20.5 |
2021 | Las Vegas | 32 | 32 | 31.9 | .444 | 1.000 | .876 | 9.3 | 3.1 | 0.9 | 1.3 | 1.4 | 18.3 |
2022† | Las Vegas | 36 | 36 | 30.0 | .501 | .373 | .813 | 9.4 | 2.1 | 1.4 | 1.9° | 1.7 | 19.5 |
2023† | Las Vegas | 40 | 40 | 30.7 | .557 | .310 | .812 | 9.5 | 1.6 | 1.4 | 2.2° | 1.6 | 22.8 |
2024 | Las Vegas | 16 | 16 | 33.7 | .511 | .381 | .852 | 11.1° | 2.7 | 1.9 | 2.3 | 1.7 | 26.9° |
Career | 7 years, 1 team | 205 | 204 | 30.8 | .493 | .363 | .812 | 8.9 | 2.2 | 1.1 | 1.9 | 1.6 | 20.4 |
Playoffs
Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | TO | PPG |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2019 | Las Vegas | 5 | 5 | 33.7 | .436 | — | .950 | 7.8 | 1.6 | 0.6 | 2.0° | 1.6 | 13.4 |
2020 | Las Vegas | 8 | 8 | 35.4 | .473 | — | .857 | 8.9 | 2.4 | 1.0 | 2.3 | 2.0 | 20.8 |
2021 | Las Vegas | 5 | 5 | 32.2 | .435 | — | .654 | 9.2 | 3.2 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 2.2 | 14.2 |
2022† | Las Vegas | 10 | 10 | 37.2 | .552 | .143 | .791 | 10.4 | 2.0 | 1.0 | 2.4 | 1.3 | 20.3 |
2023† | Las Vegas | 9 | 9 | 33.2 | .554 | .500 | .831 | 11.8 | 1.2 | 1.4 | 2.3 | 2.1 | 23.8 |
Career | 5 years, 1 team | 37 | 37 | 34.7 | .508 | .188 | .814 | 9.9 | 2.0 | 1.1 | 2.1 | 1.8 | 19.5 |
College
Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG
Zdroj:https://en.wikipedia.org?pojem=A'ja_Wilson Text je dostupný za podmienok Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License 3.0 Unported; prípadne za ďalších podmienok. Podrobnejšie informácie nájdete na stránke Podmienky použitia.
Analytika
Antropológia Aplikované vedy Bibliometria Dejiny vedy Encyklopédie Filozofia vedy Forenzné vedy Humanitné vedy Knižničná veda Kryogenika Kryptológia Kulturológia Literárna veda Medzidisciplinárne oblasti Metódy kvantitatívnej analýzy Metavedy Metodika Text je dostupný za podmienok Creative
Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License 3.0 Unported; prípadne za ďalších
podmienok. www.astronomia.sk | www.biologia.sk | www.botanika.sk | www.dejiny.sk | www.economy.sk | www.elektrotechnika.sk | www.estetika.sk | www.farmakologia.sk | www.filozofia.sk | Fyzika | www.futurologia.sk | www.genetika.sk | www.chemia.sk | www.lingvistika.sk | www.politologia.sk | www.psychologia.sk | www.sexuologia.sk | www.sociologia.sk | www.veda.sk I www.zoologia.sk |
---|