A’ja Wilson has always been part of the conversation about the greatest players to ever play in the WNBA. The Las Vegas Aces superstar has spent much of her career being modest enough to deflect that title rather than claim it. Right now, that is no longer the case. Of course, it still feels surreal to her, hearing fans and fellow players call her the greatest of all time — and she is now accepting that label with full confidence.
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In a sit-down interview with sports journalist Malika Andrews, a clip of which Oh No He Didn’t shared on X, Wilson was asked directly whether she believes she will have cemented GOAT status by the time her career comes to an end. And her answer was as self-assured as it was charming.
“I’m there in my eyes. I’ve been a GOAT since 96. This is just a part of it.”
The way A’ja Wilson sees it, she has been the GOAT since she was born in 1996. Everything towards that greatness is only just playing out now. Andrews’ question prompted Wilson to debate her GOAT status a little.
“Probably knowing me. But then on the other side of me, I’m probably like, ‘Uh, am I? I don’t know, though,'” Wilson added according to a Bleacher Report article. “But I love it. The career, the journey that I’ve been on, it’s been so blessed. Like, it’s just been overjoyed with so much love that I receive. It’s been so special. So, I’m grateful. If I’m the GOAT, cool.”
Wilson in the interview also believed that being among the all-time greats is something she could not have imagined arriving at this early in her career. But as it appears, she is no longer simply sitting quietly inside that legacy; she is claiming it boldly and on her own terms.
And the case for A’ja Wilson as the GOAT is genuinely compelling. She is the only four-time MVP in WNBA history, and with the season she is currently having, a fifth appears well within reach. Beyond the MVPs, she is the first basketball player in either the WNBA or the NBA to sweep the Regular Season MVP, Defensive Player of the Year, Finals MVP, and Scoring Title all in a single season. And she has guided the Las Vegas Aces to three WNBA Championships over four years. The résumé, by any measure, is extraordinary.
The only argument some might raise against Wilson’s GOAT status is longevity; at just 29 years old, she has not yet had the career length that historical comparisons typically demand. But with every passing season, she renders that debate increasingly irrelevant.
Overall, A’ja Wilson seems fully aware of where she stands in history now. But that awareness has not dulled her hunger. If anything, it has sharpened it. She has made clear she still has so much left to accomplish. And she intends to keep going until she has these accomplishments. That might be a fifth MVP award or a fourth WNBA championship to tie the league’s record.