WNBA star A’ja Wilson has been honored plenty by her alma mater. She was honored with a statue by the University of South Carolina in 2021, and her jersey was retired in February. Now, another honor has been added under her name, as the 29-year-old has been inducted into the USC Athletic Hall of Fame. At such moments, Wilson has always given a special shoutout to the people who have been an important part of her basketball journey. This time, it involves her beau, too!

Chaz R Frazier, the Sports Director at ABC Columbia, highlighted clips from Wilson’s recent HOF ceremony. Frazier became emotional as the WNBA star teared up while thanking her parents. Later, however, things lightened up and people even hooted with delight after A’ja Wilson said, still teary-eyed, “To my boyfriend”.

“Even though he went to Kentucky, and you went to that royal blue school, thank you for the constant support, always. You weren’t there for young A’ja, but your support has always been with me up to this point. So, thank you,” Wilson added.

A’ja Wilson and Bam Adebayo first sparked dating rumors after being seen together ahead of the 2024 Summer Olympics. Before that, they had been friends for a while. The romance wasn’t seemingly confirmed until A’ja paid tribute to Adebayo during her jersey retirement ceremony by saying, “What a blessing to have those most special to me courtside today, especially my favorite Olympian from out of town.”

Back in April, Wilson went into more detail about the relationship by revealing that “I have an amazing boyfriend who really is my safe space. He’s truly a gift. He’s obviously in the same field, so we bounce off different things with one another to where it’s like, no, we’re not alone. He’s helped me through a lot and welcomed me to be who I’m going to be. I know he’s like, ‘I don’t know what A’ja I’m going to get today, but I’m blessed to be beside her.’”

As A’ja Wilson mentioned, her and Adebayo’s basketball journey did not start the same way. There is no popular rivalry storyline revolving around the South Carolina Gamecocks and the Kentucky Wildcats. However, both colleges boast a passionate fanbase. Adebayo, who averaged 13.0 points, 8.0 rebounds, and 0.8 assists in his sole season before being selected as the 14th overall pick in the 2017 NBA Draft, remains an important alumnus of the Kentucky Wildcats roster.

Adebayo was not there for his girlfriend during her college days. However, he has continued to be a beacon of support to her over the last few years. Both Wilson and Adebayo attended one another’s games throughout 2023. They even attended each other’s Team USA games throughout the Olympics, too. Back in January 2025, Adebayo wore Wilson’s signature Nike shoe during a Miami Heat-Brooklyn Nets matchup.

And after the Las Vegas Aces star became the first WNBA player to score 1,000 points in a single season in September, Adebayo took to X and wrote, “Hope everybody finds A’thousand reasons to smile on this lovely Sunday.” While Adebayo has been a source of support, he is also someone who doesn’t hold back in making fun of the 2025 WNBA MVP. After all, you can’t call someone a boyfriend if he doesn’t add a bit of trolling in between, right?

Bam Adebayo Made Fun Of A’ja Wilson For Copying His Attire Choices

The WNBA Tunnel is one place where the players can flaunt their eye-catching apparel and show themselves as fashion icons, along with being efficient ball-handlers. Back in September, A’ja Wilson did the same, once again, by arriving at a matchup against the Chicago Sky wearing an oversized red Balaenciaga shirt, accompanied by red boots and black sunglasses.

The same shirt was also worn by Bam Adebayo when he made a courtside appearance, alongside Wilson, at an Aces game. In light of this, Adebayo soon took to Instagram and commented on a post highlighting Wilson’s outfit by writing, “Copying my whole wardrobe shirt for shirt smh 🤦🏾‍♂️”.

This wasn’t the first time the NBA star questioned the steps his girlfriend was taking fashion-wise. Back in June, A’ja Wilson donned a mesmerizing Zebra print suit, accompanied by white heels. Others were impressed, but Adebayo took to Threads and posted a hilarious Zebra GIF, with the caption, “Big Steppa.”

Well, as Michael Scott said, “How the turntables”. After all, Bam Adebayo was the one getting trolled for his outfit choice at A’ja Wilson’s recent Hall of Fame ceremony. The long green overcoat, accompanied by a pair of black trousers and boots, didn’t impress netizens, and they left comments like “Now why does Bam look like he went into A’ja closet for that coat? Take her is off now!”. 

Whether Wilson will also add her own remarks about the outfit is something that remains to be seen.