In a year where she achieved basketball immortality, A’ja Wilson has now revealed her sights are set on an even bigger prize: her future with Bam Adebayo.

Wilson opened up about her relationship with the Miami Heat star in a new interview with TIME magazine, which also named her its 2025 Athlete of the Year. She revealed they have been together for four years, a connection that began at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics.

“That is always a dream,” Wilson said when asked about having children.

She did not hold back about her feelings for Adebayo. “This is my life partner,” Wilson said. “Honestly, what on earth was my world before you? That’s how much he’s impacted my life.”

When the topic of marriage came up, Wilson playfully passed the question to Adebayo. “That’s the question I need you to deliver to him!” Wilson responded. “I hope I’m not wasting my time. I hope he’s not wasting his time.”

Adebayo provided a hint about their timeline in the same interview. “Y’all will know, because people are nosy and they’ll look at her hands,” Adebayo said. “There you go.”

The couple has gradually shared more of their relationship publicly over the past year. Wilson referred to Adebayo as her “boyfriend” for the first time during a Hall of Fame speech in October. He has frequently supported her at games, including the 2025 WNBA Finals, where she won her third championship.

A Year of Total Domination

To grasp just how rare Wilson’s 2025 run was, it helps to look beyond the WNBA. Only a handful of basketball legends have ever produced a season even in the same conversation. Michael Jordan’s iconic 1987–88 campaign, where he won MVP and Defensive Player of the Year while carrying Chicago, is the closest NBA equivalent, yet even that historic year didn’t include a championship sweep of awards the way Wilson’s did. Her dominance sits in a category of its own.

This personal revelation comes as Wilson achieves arguably the greatest individual season in basketball history. Her selection as TIME’s Athlete of the Year caps a 2025 campaign where she accomplished what no NBA or WNBA player ever has.

She led the Aces to the WNBA title and simultaneously won the league’s MVP, Finals MVP, and Defensive Player of the Year awards in the same season. Wilson also claimed her record fourth regular-season MVP award.

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“When you’ve collected everything, that’s Thanos,” Wilson told TIME, referencing the Marvel villain. “And this year, I collected everything.”

Her season was a powerful statement for the WNBA. It followed a period of intense public discussion about the league’s growth and value, often narrowly focused on new stars. Wilson’s historic performance underscored the enduring excellence of the league’s established veterans.

“It was more so, let’s not lose the recipe,” Wilson said of protecting the league’s legacy. “Let’s not lose the history. It was erased for a minute.”

The Aces’ season featured a stunning turnaround. The team stood at 14 wins and 14 losses in early August after a 53-point loss. Wilson then sent a late-night text message to her teammates, challenging their effort.

They did not lose another game, reeling off 16 consecutive victories to close the regular season and storm through the playoffs to the championship. Wilson credits the team embracing more responsibility, like creating their own scouting reports, for the change.

Her influence now stretches far beyond basketball. Wilson has a signature Nike shoe, the A’One, and major endorsements. She published a bestselling memoir titled Dear Black Girls in 2024.

LeBron James commented on her cultural impact in the TIME feature. “A’ja Wilson is the definition of female Black excellence,” James said.

With her on-court legacy secured, A’ja Wilson is now clearly envisioning the next chapter of her life off the court with Bam Adebayo. The couple’s shared journey, which started on the Olympic stage, is poised for its biggest steps yet.