A'ja Wilson has no plans to leave the Las Vegas Aces, she told reporters this weekend at USA Basketball's training camp in Phoenix, Arizona, and it's sounding like a lot of vets are making similar plans. Wilson, who has won three championships with Las Vegas, hopes to lead the team to another successful run this season.
“I know exactly where I am. I know I love Vegas. I’m not leaving Vegas, so I’m not looking anywhere," Wilson said.
The Aces drafted Wilson as the No. 1 overall pick in the 2018 WNBA Draft. In addition to the three championships, she has since been named league MVP four times, has participated in the Olympic Games twice (in Tokyo and in Paris), and was named the 2024 FIBA MVP. She's also racked up and broken several honors and records.
Veterans are planning to stick with their teams
There are a lot of reasons why vets are making it clear they intend to stay with their teams during free agency this season. The new CBA offers the potential to make over $1 million, and plenty of the players who are unrestricted free agents this season signed one-year contracts last year before they knew exactly how negotiations would go. Now that plenty has been decided in favor of the players, they can explore their longterm options within the existing structure of their team.
Wilson, who has supplemented her income over the years through brand partnerships and deals, is arguably the face of the WNBA and one of the league's most popular — and prolific — players. She's eligible to make $1.4 million with the Aces if the team offers her the new maximum, and there is every reason to believe that they will.
She's not alone. Both Breanna Stewart and Sabrina Ionescu, who are among the faces of the New York Liberty, have affirmed their committment to the team. The pair also benefit from partnerships and investments (Stewart is one of the co-founders of Unrivaled) that have affored them the opportunity to take lower salaries so the team could pay more players. The new CBA provides a framework that means every player will make more money, but it's unclear how many teams will able to pay the new league salary to more than two — perhaps three — athletes on a roster.
Those decisions will impact players who are somewhere in the middle: not rookies, but not superstars. Teams have a lot to navigate in the coming days as free agency begins.