Team USA fans woke up to some shocking news on Monday, as two of their best players, A’ja Wilson and Kelsey Plum, were out of the roster for the FIBA Women’s World Cup. While Plum has a history of dealing with injuries throughout this season, Wilson’s exemption came as much of a surprise, given how the Las Vegas Aces star has been performing.
Watch What’s Trending Now!
In the latest episode of The Athletic’s No Offseason podcast, analysts Sabreena Merchant and Zena Keita explore the exact reason that could be behind A’ja Wilson pulling out. The reigning MVP was listed as dealing with back issues in the Aces’ last two games and is out for the biggest international tournament in women’s basketball.
“My understanding is this is sort of a load management situation where the World Cup, if you get to the final, is six games in 10 days. Six games in 10 days. I’m going to repeat that. That’s a lot. Plus, you’ve got your regular season games afterwards and then a full postseason run. And oh yeah, you have to go to Germany and back to compete in the World Cup and then get back for the rest of the WNBA season.”
“So that is a lot, a lot of load, a lot of stress on somebody who has a back issue, which seems like the very worst thing to travel with and play with. Yeah, I would attest that is awful.”
Wilson’s durability has been one of the hallmarks of her illustrious career. Excluding this season, A’ja Wilson has missed just six regular-season games over the past seven seasons. Unfortunately for Wilson, she has already missed three games due to an ankle injury and is now out of the World Cup as well.
According to a source close to ESPN, Wilson hasn’t been fully fit for some time now due to her back issues, and there were doubts that the World Cup schedule could exacerbate her situation. This is exactly what Merchant pointed out as well. Considering Team USA has won the last nine of 12 editions of the FIBA World Cup, they are once again the favorites to win it all.
Meanwhile, the last time A’ja Wilson spoke about the upcoming World Cup, she sounded excited at the prospect of playing for Team USA. Wilson expressed her excitement in a conversation with Olympics.com’s contributor Lauren Jones.
“World Cup is going to be a lot of fun. Obviously, we have talent around the world… When it comes to FIBA, when it comes to the World Cup, we literally go from competitors to actually being teammates and really locking in for winning something that is bigger than us, in a sense.”
Meanwhile, Wilson and Plum are now replaced by Sonia Citron and Kiki Iriafen, who are top players in their own right. However, there is a reason why Wilson is regarded as one of the best players in history, and one look at her Team USA resume says it all.
A’ja Wilson made her debut in the 2018 World Cup and has never looked back. She is currently the reigning MVP for both the World Cup and the Olympics, cementing her legacy in 2022 and 2024, respectively. She also led Team USA in scoring at both events.
Wilson was especially on another level in Paris, averaging a double-double of 18.7 points and 10.2 rebounds in just over 27 minutes per game. The highlight of Wilson’s exceptional tournament came in the final against France, when she recorded a 21-point, 13-rebound, and 4-block effort to clinch the gold medal for Team USA in a narrow 67-66 victory.
With A’ja Wilson and Plum out, the pressure falls on Breanna Stewart, another veteran of the game with loads of knowledge and experience. The likes of Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese can also take more of a center stage, as Team USA is still well-equipped to attempt a fifth straight World Cup title.