Tag: A’Ja Wilson

WNBA superstar A’ja Wilson rocked a Bill Laimbeer jersey pregame to celebrate his birthday

A’ja Wilson celebrates Bill Laimbeer Night by rocking his Detroit Pistons jersey.

The stars of the WNBA love a good pregame outfit and perhaps no one does it quite like A’ja Wilson. 

From Sheryl Swoopes Houston Comet jerseys to repping Las Vegas Golden Knights jerseys, Wilson has made a splash in the fashion game.

On Thursday night, the former NCAA champion and 2020 league MVP pulled up to Michelob ULTRA Arena rocking a throwback Bill Laimbeer Detroit Pistons jersey from the 1980s.

There’s no coincidence here. The former Bad Boy Piston had coached Wilson from 2018 up until this current season when leadership replaced him with Becky Hammon as the team’s head coach. 

Laimbeer was back in attendance to celebrate his 65th birthday on Thursday as the Aces (-10.5) honored him with Bill Laimbeer Night.

A’ja understood the assignment.

[tipico]

[mm-video type=video id=01g3faq5mrfr0a8dcs63 playlist_id=none player_id=none image=https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/video/thumbnail/mmplus/01g3faq5mrfr0a8dcs63/01g3faq5mrfr0a8dcs63-2364e744b1dac808b4be0113080de9c1.jpg]

[listicle id=1898896]

WNBA 2021 lottery teams playing well, A’ja Wilson blocking all shots and more from Week 1

Discussing all of Week 1s’s happenings in the W.

Welcome to Bet For The Win’s weekly WNBA column, where we cover everything women’s basketball from highlight plays and signature moments to bad beats and best bets. Be sure to check back here every week for your W fix.

The sample sizes are growing! Last week’s column covered just the opening weekend of the W, which basically served as reactions to one game (maybe two) from each team. A full week later we’ve got more data, more moments, more everything. From the Atlanta Dream’s surprising start to the league’s continued struggles with chartered flights, let’s break down what went on in the W— during the past week.

2022 WNBA season MVP futures: favorites, sleepers and predictions

Who do you have winning the MVP?

The countdown to opening night of WNBA’s 26th season has officially reached single digits. Training camps are well-underway, preseason games are happening and rosters are being trimmed to their regular-season form in preparation for the W’s May 6th start.

And while the fringe roster players are sweating out the days of training camp, wondering what their futures as WNBA players hold, the established players and team leaders are gearing up for what they hope will be a magical season. There are a select few who have the power to make that happen, we call those MVP candidates.

We take a look at the elite players’ odds to win the MVP award, while also pinpointing the sleepers and longshots.

Dawn Staley had the best response to A’Ja Wilson saying she was ready to transfer from South Carolina

A’ja wasn’t never leaving, y’all. We all know it.

Dawn Staley is one of the most demanding coaches in basketball right now. She wants the absolute best out of her players each and every game and, if you can’t give it, she won’t play you.

Even amid an incredible run last season when I asked Staley if she felt her South Carolina team could be special this season, she was hesitant to say yes because, well, sometimes they fouled too much. Or maybe they turned the ball over a bit more than she’d have liked.

That’s tough. But it’s also why she’s now a two-time champion head coach and also why she’s put so many great players in the WNBA. One of whom is A’ja Wilson.

Wilson is one of the greatest college basketball players to touch the hardwood and rewrote South Carolina’s record book a thousand times over while she was there.

But it wasn’t always smooth sailing in South Carolina with Staley. Wilson actually said on Twitter that she was ready to transfer after her Freshman year.

Wilson only played 20 minutes a game and only started once that season after being the National Player of The Year in 2014. Of course, she thought she could do more. She wasn’t getting that opportunity so she was ready to leave.

This is pretty hilarious to think about in hindsight. She had literally one of the greatest runs we’ve ever seen in college hoops and it all may not have happened.

Was Staley worried? Nope. Not at all. Why? Because, first of all, Momma Wilson was holding it down. Eva Wilson was not letting A’ja leave.

Second of all, she jokingly told A’ja she had her replacement ready.

The Tar Heels? Tuh. Ain’t no way, y’all. These two are the best. What a hilarious moment.

Jeremy Chinn Week 11 jersey watch: Las Vegas Aces F A’ja Wilson

Panthers S Jeremy Chinn honored WNBA superstar A’ja Wilson, who made an indelible mark on South Carolina basketball.

For this week’s selection, Carolina Panthers safety Jeremy Chinn went down to the Palmetto State—where you can find the hometown of one of the planet’s best ballers.

The threads of Hopkins, S.C. native A’ja Wilson were next in line for Chinn’s season-long tribute to Carolina sports legends. And Wilson, the star forward for the WNBA’s Las Vegas Aces, certainly made her mark in the territory.

We can start with her high school career, where she dominated at Heathwood Hall Episcopal in Columbia. There, she averaged over 24 points, almost 14 rebounds and more than four blocks a game—earning her National High School Player of the year honors in 2014, a McDonald’s All-American nod and the No. 1 spot atop ESPN’s HoopGurlz prospects list.

Wilson then went on to play at the University of South Carolina. In her four years as a Gamecock, she collected a National title and was named the NCAA Tournament Most Outstanding Player in 2017. She followed that with 2018’s Consensus National Player of the Year award and was selected as the No. 1 overall pick in the WNBA draft soon after.

Since going pro, Wilson has added to that plentiful trophy case with the 2018 Rookie of the Year honors, the 2020 Most Valuable Player honors and Olympic gold from the 2020 Tokyo games.

Preseason Week 2: Charlotte Hornets guard Muggsy Bogues
Preseason Week 3: Carolina Panthers defensive end Julius Peppers
Week 1: Davidson College guard Stephen Curry
Week 2: University of South Carolina wide receiver Sterling Sharpe
Week 5: Carolina Hurricanes center Rod Brind’Amour
Week 6: Homestead Grays first baseman Buck Leonard
Week 9: NASCAR driver Dale Earnhardt Jr.

[lawrence-related id=645245]

[lawrence-related id=645240]

[listicle id=645230]

A’ja Wilson was completely overcome by emotion after losing in heartbreaking fashion to the Mercury

Wow this is just so painful.

Professional athletes are hyper-competitive. They have to be so they’re able to play at the highest possible level every day.

There’s lots of work that goes into being a pro. It’s the training. It’s the workouts. It’s the treatment. It’s preparing yourself mentally. Athletes pour all of their time into those things to accomplish one goal and that goal is winning a championship.

When they can’t accomplish it? It hurts. But especially so when you’re so close to getting it done.

We saw that pain come out in A’ja Wilson on Friday after the Las Vegas Aces lost a heartbreaking game to the Phoenix Mercury.

And it wasn’t just any game — this was game 5 of the Semifinals. This was the Aces chance to get back into the WNBA Finals and potentially win a championship. It felt like it was their time.

It wasn’t. The Mercury won after a block and a game winner from Diana Taurasi. It was incredible. It was also very sudden and, I imagine, very painful for the Aces.

It wasn’t just the loss — it was the fashion they lost in. Afterward, Wilson was completely overcome by emotion at the end of the game and collapsed on the court in tears.

That is so heartbreaking. It gets even worse when you realize the journey the Aces have been on to get to this point.

The Aces have been right at the cusp for three years straight. They lost to the Mystics in the 2019 WNBA Semifinals, they lost to the Storm in the 2020 WNBA Finals and, now, the Mercury in the 2021 semis.

Getting to this point is so hard. And it feels like the Aces’ time is coming but it just hasn’t come yet.

When will it? We have no idea. But these are the moments that make great players. And judging by Wilson’s response here, she’ll do everything in her power to get her team over the hump.

They’ll be back.

Watch our sneaker unboxing series, Special Delivery

Chelsea Gray beat Draymond Green at dominoes during the Tokyo Olympics

Chelsea Gray isn’t just competitive on the basketball court — she’s also known to be a passionate gamer.

Chelsea Gray isn’t just competitive on the basketball court — she’s also known to be a passionate gamer. The Team USA guard sat down with Las Vegas Aces teammate A’ja Wilson on Tea with A & Phee to relive their time at the 2020 Tokyo Games, which included plenty of board games.

“I was beating Draymond (Green) in dominoes,” Gray said. “He thinks he’s the best of all time.”

Gray then reminisced on Wilson’s unique approach to UNO, conceding that her skills are “above average” but calling her strategy “sneaky.”

While the two admitted that the Olympics consisted of a lot of downtime, Tokyo wasn’t all fun and games.

“There was definitely pressure,” Gray said. “You don’t want to be that team that loses.”

Gray admits she tried to play it cool but tells Wilson that the lead-up to the competition was stressful.

“I just needed the first game and the ball to go up. After the first game, I was good, but leading up to it, I was like, ‘man, this is coming with some heavy shoulders.’”

Adding to the anticipation, Gray made history before ever taking the court, becoming the first Duke women’s basketball player to make an Olympic team.

“I didn’t know that,” says Gray, telling Wilson that she learned of the news during an interview and “got the chills right away.”

“My college career was cut a lot shorter than I wanted it to be so to be able to do that was super dope.”

Coming home with a gold medal certainly made her alma mater proud, a feat that Gray says “no one can take away.”

Listen to more tales from Chelsea Gray and A’ja Wilson’s Olympic journey on Tea with A & Phee podcast.