By Malia Poblete
The Sporting Tribune
The John R. Wooden Award will celebrate it’s 50th anniversary this season. Leading up to the award ceremony on April 10, 2026, The Sporting Tribune in partnership with the Wooden Award and the Los Angeles Athletic Club will highlight past winners of the Wooden Award and the Legends of Coaching Award.
Before A’ja Wilson became the MVP everybody knows and loves, she started out like anybody else with a childhood. The Hopkins, South Carolina native was surrounded by a family who valued education, discipline, and community. A strong testament to the role model she’s grown into today.
A dominant component of Heathwood Hall Episcopal, she was a blend of size, mobility, and touch. A foundation she’s just kept building on. She soon became the number one high school recruit in the nation.
Wilson stayed loyal to her home and ended up getting drafted to the University of South Carolina under the coaching of Dawn Staley. During her freshman season in 2014 she earned SEC Freshman of the Year, SEC All-Freshman Team, and SEC Sixth Woman of the Year showing how impactful she was even coming off the bench.
Coming up in her sophomore and junior year, she remained solid. She earned All-SEC First Team and SEC All-Defensive Team honors after becoming the centerpiece of South Carolina’s attack in 2015. In 2016, she led the Gamecocks to their first NCAA championship, earning Final Four Most Outstanding Player and fully dominating the NCAA Tournament with her scoring and rim protection. She then became a Naismith and Wooden Award finalist and repeated as SEC Player of the Year.
Just when you thought enough records had been broken, she kept finding new ones to target. Wilson’s senior season is still to date one of the most decorated individual years ever recorded. She was Consensus National Player of the Year (AP, USBWA, Naismith, Wooden, Wade Trophy, Honda Award), SEC Player of the Year for the third time, SEC Tournament MVP, All-America First Team, and SEC Co-Defensive Player of the Year. She averaged 22.6 points, 11.8 rebounds, and 3.2 blocks in conference play. And across 138 career games, Wilson averaged 17.3 points, 8.7 rebounds, 1.4 assists, and 55% shooting.
“I mean, the support is just unwavering. Honestly, it’s been something that has been a staple to our community in South Carolina, and to watch it grow, it brings a smile to my face, because I remember when the arena was empty,” Wilson told the Sporting Tribune. “I remember when no one was there; now we sell out crowds. We have No. 1 in attendance. So that’s so key with our community as women’s basketball, also South Carolina, and it’s always just been there, even now, when I got my jersey retired, like the whole city just comes out and supports, so I’m truly grateful to be able to say I’m from South Carolina.”
Come graduation she was South Carolina’s all-time leading scorer, and the number 22 was retired shortly after, an honor reserved for the most transformative athletes in school history.
The 2018 number one overall draft pick belonged to Wilson which led her to be a key component for the Las Vegas Aces. With her at the center, the Aces have won three WNBA championships (2022, 2023, 2025) where she also earned Finals MVP honors in 2023 and 2025.
Wilson has become one of 12 WNBA players to release a signature shoe with Nike (A’One), published a book Dear Black Girls: How to Be True to You, and, alongside her parents Roscoe and Eva founded the A’ja Wilson Foundation. The organization serves as a resource for children and their families who struggle with dyslexia to empower them to reach their full potential through educational programming, workshops and camps.
“Best advice I got during college would have to be, just be true to you,” Wilson shared. “That’s something I’m going to continue to just always stand on and believe in, is just being true to myself, no matter what I’m going through, the sun’s gonna always shine up the next day. If I could be true to myself and I could win from within, I’m okay.”
