A‘ja Wilson struggled to understand what she was reading, even if it was a short or simple text. “I was very confused. I could read the words, but they just weren’t right,” she recalls. The 6-foot-4, 29-year-old Aces center was diagnosed with dyslexia. Her learning difficulties have plagued her throughout her life, but they have not prevented her from becoming one of the best players in history. She has won her third WNBA championship and has been named Finals MVP for the second time.
The center, who created a foundation to help young people with dyslexia and speaks openly about her difficulties, may have trouble reading her record, but also because of the number of lines it has. She is a megastar on the court, but human off it. “When people look at my resume, they think, ‘This girl is perfect,'” she says. But knowing that I have a learning disability, that I’m struggling with depression and anxiety, shows that I’m a normal person who suffers from things that happen to others. This goes far beyond putting the ball in the basket,” she says.
In the fourth and final game against the Mercury (86-97), Wilson had 31 points, nine rebounds, four assists and three blocks. It was another display of the dominance she has shown throughout the series: averages of 28.5 points, 11.8 rebounds, 4.0 assists and 2.0 blocks. It’s what she’s been doing all season long, which has ended up being historic for her.
When people look at my resume, they think, ‘This girl is perfect.’ But having a learning disability and struggling with depression and anxiety shows that I’m a normal person
For the first time in the WNBA – and in the NBA – someone has managed in the same season to win the ring, lead the league in points (she was the first to pass 1,000 in a single campaign), be regular season MVP, repeat the award in the final and be the best defender. With her latest success, Wilson has three rings and three MVPs in four seasons, something that only Bill Russell, the man with 11 titles with the Celtics, had achieved in history.
He didn’t play basketball until he was 11 years old
The center was born in Columbia, the capital of South Carolina. She did not start playing basketball until she was 11 years old. Her father, who played college basketball, and her older brother guided her first steps. She soon began to stand out as an unstoppable force and after overwhelming in high school she was recruited by Dawn Staley, coach of the University of South Carolina, with whom she won the NCAA in 2017.
Staley was a key figure in Wilson’s life and career. Before each game, she would ask her to read aloud a Bible passage to her teammates. What began as nerves and mistakes due to dyslexia turned into greater self-esteem. The center’s record includes two Olympic gold medals and two World Cups. She won one of each alongside the coach, who also served as the United States national team coach.
A’ja is alone at the top of Everest. She has no one around her
Wilson was the No. 1 overall pick in the 2018 draft and in her first season in the WNBA, warning the kind of player she was going to become, was named best rookie. Now there is no one better than her in the competition. Off the court she is also successful: she is represented by Klutch Sports, the same agency as LeBron James, and has a multi-million dollar deal with Nike, which created her own line of sneakers. In the Paris Games she began a romance with Bam Adebayo, center of the Heat, who was present in the fourth game of the final. “Thank you for believing in me,” she said.
A championship reaction
You had to have a lot of faith in this team, which halfway through the season was almost out of the running for the title. They were 14-13 when they received a historic thrashing at home: 58-111 against the Minnesota Lynx. After the game, Wilson, acting as leader, sent a message to her teammates: “If you weren’t embarrassed, don’t come to this gym. We don’t need you or want you here. We need to change our mentality, because that was embarrassing”. Sixteen straight wins followed and a growth in confidence until the title was achieved. A championship reaction.
“Greatness is being patient, waiting your turn, waiting your moment. You have to be great when there are no lights. You have to be great when there’s nobody in the gym with you. You have to be great when maybe you don’t get anything at the end of it. To me, that’s greatness, because it’s consistency and doing the right thing because it’s the right thing to do,” she said after a victory that establishes her as one of the greatest players in history. “She’s alone at the top of Everest. She has nobody around her,” said her coach, Becky Hammon.
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