A’ja Wilson will be playing basketball in South Carolina again this summer.
Wilson has not played a game in Colonial Life Arena in six years. She makes her return with the rest of her Aces squad for a preseason game against the Puerto Rican National Team on Saturday, May 11.
The last time she played in her college gym was for a USA Basketball National Team intrasquad exhibition game on September 5, 2018.
Wilson graduated from South Carolina in 2018. The star left Columbia the 2018 consensus NCAA Player of the Year while leading the Gamecocks to their first national championship in 2017. Wilson also earned the Wooden Award, Naismith Trophy and Wade Trophy her senior year.
Wilson was selected first in the 2018 WNBA Draft with the Aces and has become the face of the organization since. The Aces won back-to-back WNBA championships in 2022 and 2023 as well as the Commissioner’s Cup title in 2022.
Wilson has started in all but two games over her six-year career. Over her career, she has averaged 19.9 points and 8.7 rebounds while shooting 49.1% from the field. Wilson’s elite play has garnered her 2x Defensive Player of the Year, 2x MVP, 3x All-WNBA First Team and Finals MVP to name a few.
“I’m excited and can’t wait to return to Columbia with my Aces team,” Wilson said. “It’s my dream to be able to go back to the place where it all started and showcase what my skills are now. This means the world to me, and I’m very much looking forward to it.”
Puerto Rico is one of the 12 nations that will compete in the 2024 Paris Olympic Women’s Basketball Tournament. The other nations include: Australia, Belgium, Canada, China, France, Germany, Japan, Nigeria, Serbia, Spain and USA.
Many national teams play exhibition games prior to the Olympics as final tune ups. And the Aces look to achieve a three-peat this season a feat only accomplished when the Houston Comets won four in a row from 1997-2000.
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