“Chinese music under banyan trees. Here at the dude ranch above the sea Aja…” Dan Steely crooned those lyrics back in 1977, but he couldn’t have imagined that one day, they’d help inspire the name of one of the most unstoppable forces in modern basketball. A’ja Riyadh Wilson, the reigning 3X WNBA MVP, didn’t just inherit her name from a classic track — she inherited a legacy. Her middle name, Riyadh, comes from her aunt’s military deployment to Saudi Arabia during Operation Desert Storm. But Wilson’s story doesn’t begin on a box score — it starts deep in the heart of South Carolina, where the game of life was as important as the game of basketball.

And to understand who A’ja Wilson really is — beyond the titles, trophies, and towering blocks — you have to look at where she comes from, what she believes in, and the people who raised her.

Where Is A’Ja Wilson From? What’s Her Nationality?

Born on August 8, 1996, in Hopkins, South Carolina, A’ja Riyadh Wilson is a proud American — Southern roots and all. She grew up just outside Columbia, in a close-knit family that believed in hard work, humility, and faith.

A’ja was raised by Roscoe Jr. and Eva Wilson, who made sure their daughter had both the freedom to chase her dreams and the structure to stay grounded. Wilson spent her grade school and high school years as one of the few Black students in Heathwood Hall Episcopal School, a private institution in Columbia. That meant navigating cultural isolation at times, but it also meant learning to hold her own in any room. On the hardwood, those early lessons translated into unmatched poise.

What Is A’Ja Wilson’s Ethnicity and Religion?

Wilson is African-American through and through. Her parents are both American by nationality and Black by ethnicity, and they wear that identity with pride. So does A’ja.

Her middle name may spark questions — Riyadh often leads people to assume she has Middle Eastern roots. But as Wilson’s family has shared, the name came from a deeply personal story: her aunt’s deployment during Desert Storm. It’s not about origin; it’s about honor.

A’ja’s faith is just as central to who she is. “I literally just grew up in the church,” she told ESPN once, referencing her upbringing in St. John Baptist Church, where her grandfather ministered for over 50 years. “They’ve always looked after me.”

Those church pews, much like the painted key on the court, taught her structure, patience, and purpose. Prayer isn’t just part of her identity — it’s her ritual. “Prayer has just really helped me out through my whole basketball career,” she said in a 2019 interview. “It’s a part of my pregame ritual, it’s a part of my warmup.”

And if you ever scroll through her Twitter bio, you’ll see a verse that sums up her mindset: “Be strong and of a good courage, fear not, nor be afraid of them: for the Lord thy God, he it is that doth go with thee; he will not fail thee, nor forsake thee.” — Deuteronomy 31:6.

Wilson’s belief isn’t performative. It’s personal. It’s the engine behind her focus, her resilience, her grace under pressure.

Which College Did A’Ja Wilson Attend?

Oh, just the place where she changed the game forever — the University of South Carolina.

Before A’ja Wilson became the first player in WNBA history to drop 1,000 points in a single season, before she tied the single-game scoring record with a jaw-dropping 53 points, and long before she blocked her way into the WNBA’s all-time Top 10 in blocks, she was already legendary in Columbia. Under the watchful eye of Dawn Staley, Wilson wasn’t just a star, she was the spark that ignited South Carolina’s dynasty. She burst onto the scene in 2015, snatching SEC Freshman of the Year, leading the Gamecocks to a 34–3 record and their first-ever Final Four.

And she didn’t stop there.

From 2016 to 2018, she was a three-time SEC Player of the Year, becoming unguardable. In her junior year? Yeah, she delivered South Carolina its first NCAA title, dropping 23 points in the championship game and walking away as the Most Outstanding Player.

By her senior year, she was on a different level:
22.6 points, 11.9 rebounds per game, and a clean sweep of every major National Player of the Year award — Wooden, Naismith, you name it.

When the dust settled, she left South Carolina as the program’s all-time leader in both points and blocks. Then came the No. 1 overall pick in the 2018 WNBA Draft. Naturally but greatness isn’t just measured in stats. Off the court, she was building a legacy too. With her parents, she co-founded the A’ja Wilson Foundation, tackling dyslexia awareness and anti-bullying efforts for kids across the country, starting with her home state.

And South Carolina never forgot.

In January 2021, they unveiled a statue of her outside the arena. And on February 2, 2025, her jersey was officially retired.
The ultimate Gamecock. The forever queen of Columbia, South Carolina.