LDL. From Underdog to Unstoppable: How A’ja Wilson Became the Face of a New WNBA Era. LDL

Almost three decades ago, a promise was made to future generations of young girls. On October 24, 1996, as the WNBA was officially announced, Olympic gold medalists spoke of a new era where female athletes could dream of playing professional basketball on home soil. Rebecca Lobo, a standout player from UConn, eloquently captured the sentiment, stating, “A lot of little girls are smiling, knowing they have a chance to dream and that dreams can come true.” At that very moment, about 700 miles away in Columbia, South Carolina, a 3-month-old baby named A’ja Wilson was just beginning her life. Her parents, Eva and Roscoe Wilson, were simply overjoyed with their new daughter, completely unaware that she would grow up to become the most powerful realization of that very dream. Now, 29 years later, A’ja isn’t just a player in the league; she is its face, its champion, and the embodiment of everything the founders hoped for. The journey of how this came to be is a testament to family, dedication, and the fulfillment of the A’ja Wilson WNBA dream.

A Parallel Beginning in WNBA History

The birth of the WNBA in 1996 was a landmark moment for women’s professional basketball. Fresh off a gold medal win at the Atlanta Olympics, players like Sheryl Swoopes and Rebecca Lobo were ecstatic. “I can’t tell you how happy I am to be able to play professional basketball in the United States,” Swoopes expressed at the league’s inaugural event. The air was filled with optimism and hope for what this league would mean.

Simultaneously, the Wilson household was experiencing its own joyful beginning. Eva and Roscoe Wilson, married since 1992, were navigating life as parents to their baby girl, A’ja. For Roscoe, who had a son from a previous marriage, having a daughter was a new and thrilling experience. “From my side of the family, A’ja was the first girl out there,” Roscoe shared. “We had all boys. so that just blew me away. The fact that I got a daughter, I started wearing pink. I was just going crazy, but I was glad to have a daughter.” His focus wasn’t on athletic dynasties but on being a present and supportive father. “I was just looking forward to being as good a parent — or trying to be as good a parent to my daughter and my son — as my father and mother were for me. That’s what I was looking forward to: I’m going to be trying to be the best dad I can be.” Eva was equally immersed in the magic of new motherhood. “I was very excited. She was my first and I pretty much was thinking she was going to be my only,” she said. “But it was just excitement and just the anticipation of motherhood for me.”

The Making of an Athlete: An Unlikely Path

For the first several years of her life, A’ja’s future as a basketball icon was the furthest thing from anyone’s mind. Her parents, Eva and Roscoe Wilson, were committed to giving her a well-rounded childhood.

More Than Just Basketball

Eva ensured her daughter experienced a wide array of activities. “We had her doing all kinds of different things,” Eva recalled. “She did ballet, she did tap, she did gymnastics, she played soccer, she did tennis, did karate, she did piano. She did the whole nine; she did the whole stretch.” The idea of A’ja becoming a professional athlete wasn’t on her radar. “But as far as thinking that she would be an athlete, I didn’t know enough about it to claim that one way or another. I left that totally with Roscoe. I was on the opposite side with the arts and the education. He was the sports part.”

Roscoe, a former professional basketball player who competed in Europe and South America for 10 seasons, was indeed the “sports part.” By 1996, he was 44 and had been retired from playing for eight years, channeling his passion into coaching multiple sports. He was already a fan of the women’s game long before his daughter showed any interest. “I watched the game, not so much that my daughter would play,” he explained. “I watched it just because I like basketball. When I played in Europe, women’s basketball was a big deal. I coached one of the best teams in Sweden, so my appreciation for the game goes way back, before 1996.”

A Reluctant Protégé Becomes the A’ja Wilson WNBA Dream

Despite her father’s background, A’ja was not drawn to the court. “Basketball was almost a last thing that we even tried with her, because she liked soccer and she liked volleyball,” Roscoe remembered. He wasn’t fixated on her becoming a basketball player specifically, but he believed in the value of athletics. “Athletes are more well-rounded and they see various aspects of life and they can draw things for life from sports. So, I just wanted her to do that.”

It was A’ja’s rapid growth spurts that finally prompted Roscoe to nudge his 10-year-old daughter toward basketball. By then, the WNBA was a decade old and flourishing. He and a friend started an AAU team so their daughters could play. A’ja wasn’t a star. In fact, she wasn’t very skilled at all, but she found joy in something else. “She wasn’t very good, but she was just happy to be on the team, giving out water, cheerleading,” Eva said. “She just liked being on the team.” That sense of belonging was the seed from which a passion grew.

Roscoe recalls the turning point. “She had a real good game. We put her in when it was like 44 seconds to go. She went in and she had, like, three or four 3s. I’m like, ‘Whoa.’ So, she started liking the game.” That’s when he made her a deal. “I said, ‘A’ja, if you want to play this game, you’ve got to commit to being better.’ And that’s where it started. I said, ‘If you commit, I’m going to commit.’ So, I shut everything down. All I did was train A’ja.”

A Foundation of Balance

As A’ja’s talent began to explode on the court, her parents remained committed to a balanced upbringing. Eva took the lead on ensuring her daughter’s life wasn’t consumed by a single pursuit. “I was the education part,” Eva stated. “I made sure that the grades were straight, everything’s prepared for academic success, and also making sure that she was involved in other things other than basketball, whether that be ballet or Girl Scouts. She went all the way up to cadet in Girl Scouts. I made sure she had that side.”

Meanwhile, Roscoe focused on building her skills and, just as importantly, her mindset. He knew she had the potential for greatness long before she did. “I knew she was going to be something,” he said. “I mean, everybody thinks their child is special. But it didn’t hit me until A’ja started to grow in AAU and grow in high school and college.” He gave her a powerful piece of advice that would shape her competitive spirit: “I told her, ‘A’ja, you have to train yourself and get in the frame of mind that when your coach looks down and sees you sitting on the bench, that coach needs to say, ‘Why the hell ain’t I got age A’ja in the game?’ ” This mentality drove her to become indispensable.

Today, A’ja Wilson, the phenomenal Las Vegas Aces star, is the epitome of that balance. The 6-foot-4 center has a collegiate national championship, two Olympic gold medals, four WNBA Most Valuable Player awards, and is on the verge of her third WNBA title with the Aces, solidified by a game-winning shot with less than a second left in Game 3 of the Finals. She has also written an autobiography, “Dear Black Girls: How to be True to You,” and established the A’ja Wilson Foundation. Her journey from a reluctant participant to a dominant force in the sport is the perfect illustration of the A’ja Wilson WNBA dream. A league official back in 1996 predicted it would take a generation for the WNBA to truly find its footing. Twenty-nine years later, A’ja Wilson is not just standing on that ground—she is the very foundation of its future, the league’s dream made real.