A'ja Wilson can do it all. The WNBA superstar won her second gold medal with Team USA at the 2024 Paris Olympics and earned her third WNBA MVP award to cap off an incredible 2024 season. It may be the offseason, but there is even more good news to celebrate.
In May, Wilson became one of Nike's signature athletes. She announced (in the most iconic way) that her signature Nike shoe, "A'One," would be released in the spring of 2025, before the start of the new WNBA season. It came after years of fans wondering when Wilson would receive a signature shoe.
Never a doubt. Of course she has a shoe. Tuhhh 💅🏾 https://t.co/PzLxYSi10M @_ajawilson22 yes ma’am pic.twitter.com/brHNUDX4am
— Arielle (Ari) Chambers (@ariivory) May 11, 2024
On Tuesday, ESPN insider Shams Charania reported that Wilson agreed to a six-year extension with Nike, which will give her one of the highest-paid shoe endorsements in the game, putting her alongside Caitlin Clark, Sabrina Ionescu, and USC's JuJu Watkins.
Aces superstar A'ja Wilson agrees to six-year extension with Nike
The 28-year-old has dominated the league since being the 2018 No. 1 overall pick. Wilson somehow gets better every season. She's coming off a year in which she averaged a career-high 26.9 points, 11.9 rebounds, 2.6 blocks, and 1.8 steals per game. She was the unanimous MVP for a reason.
Wilson led the Aces to two back-to-back championships in 2022 and 2023. Las Vegas was eliminated in the 2024 playoffs by New York, which went on to win its first title in franchise history. The Aces lost a couple of key members of their coaching staff this offseason (Natalie Nakase and Tyler Marsh are first-time head coaches). There's no question Las Vegas will remain in the contender conversation (in 2025 and in years to come), largely because of A'ja.
It took far longer than it should've for Wilson to receive a signature shoe, but the hype will only increase her shoe's popularity. Women's basketball is on the rise, and A'ja deserves to be in the spotlight.
Wilson's offseason celebrations are far from over. She'll have her South Carolina jersey retired on Feb. 2 in a pregame ceremony before the Gamecocks take on the Auburn Tigers. It'll be one of many special days in 2025 for South Carolina's all-time scoring leader.