A’ja Wilson was named TIME’s 2025 Athlete of the Year. She joins LeBron James (2020) and Caitlin Clark (2024) as the only pro basketball players to earn the honor. It came after she led the Las Vegas Aces to their third WNBA title in four seasons (2022, 2023, 2025).
Now, Wilson is heading into her ninth season in the WNBA. Still, she has already built a Hall of Fame resume. Her accolades are already one of a kind.
With three championships, a four-time MVP award, two Finals MVP awards and three Defensive Player of the Year honors, she stands out. In 2025, that Defensive Player of the Year honor was shared. Even so, this only covers the trophy side of her resume.
Right now, she is widely viewed as the best player in the world. Because of that, she could be one of, if not the best, to ever do it in the WNBA.
Wilson’s stats also reflect her success. For her career, she has averaged nearly 21 points and 9 rebounds per game. Specifically, she is at 21.4 points, 9.3 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 2.0 blocks while shooting 49.8 percent from the field.
In 2024, only four players, including Wilson, averaged 20-plus points per game on at least 40 percent shooting. Notably, Wilson led that group in both scoring and field-goal percentage. She posted 26.9 points per game on 51.8 percent shooting. Meanwhile, Napheesa Collier was next at 20.4 points per game on 49.2 percent shooting.
Wilson continues to get better each year. Still, she keeps pushing to refine her craft. At the Aces’ 2025 media day, she debuted a bright pink hair look. Then she paired it with her Nike A’One signature shoe line. Since then, fans have leaned into the look. Now, they are eager to see her dominate the league this upcoming season.
Jesse Vanderveer is a basketball reporter and writer for Dice City Sports. You can follow him on X via @JesseVanderveer22
