NEW YORK (USA) - It really wasn't a matter of if, but when A'ja Wilson would be named Time Athlete of the Year.
Think about all the achievements in the 29-year-old's glittering career, all the championships, the bronze statue of Wilson on the campus of her alma mater, the University of South Carolina.
She is the ultimate role model, the epitome of basketball excellence, the best symbol of all, especially for women in the sport who aspire to not just play the game, but to do so at the highest level and to win!
Wilson, the MVP of both the FIBA Women's Basketball World Cup in 2022, and the 2024 Olympics (and MVP of the 2014 FIBA U18 Americas Championship over a decade ago) joins LeBron James (2020) and Kaitlin Clark (2024) as basketball players to be named Athlete of the Year, an exercise the magazine began undertaking in 2019.
When Wilson was named TISSOT MVP of the Women's World Cup in Australia a few years ago, she averaged 17.2 points, 7.5 rebounds and 1.3 blocks per game.
She was 41 of 62 (66.1 percent) from the floor and an eye-popping 21 of 22 (95.5 percent) at the free-throw line.
Her 24.4 Efficiency per game was No. 1 overall in the tournament.
Then at the 2024 Olympics in France, Wilson averaged 18.7 points, 10.2 rebounds and 2.7 blocks per game to lead USA to the top of the podium.
Her 25.5 Efficiency per game was second only to Belgium superstar's Emma Meesseman (28.5). In the Gold Medal Game against France, which the USA won by the skin of their teeth, 67-66, Wilson had 21 points, 13 rebounds and 4 swats.
Every time she steps on the floor, Wilson makes for compelling viewing, something that's been going on since her high school days at Heathwood Hall Episcopal in Columbia, South Carolina, and then in the same city with the Gamecocks, whom she led to the NCAA title in 20217.
USA, with A'ja Wilson, will once again be the team to beat at the FIBA Women's Basketball World Cup next year in Germany.
FIBA