Another ring, check. Another title, check. A sold-out signature shoe, check.
Las Vegas Aces superstar A’ja Wilson had a year most athletes never even come close to achieving.
She again reached individual success and even lifted her team to the top of the WNBA ranks.
Her stardom even reached off-the-court buzz thanks to her branding and endorsements.
Let’s rewind and look back on 2025 — The Year of A’ja Wilson.
3-TIME WNBA CHAMPION
At the end, the Wilson and the Aces are only remembered as champions.
But midway through the season, they looked dead in the water.
Through Game 22 of the WNBA’s longest-ever 44-game regular season, Wilson and the Aces held an 11-11 record after the star recorded a 37-point, 10-rebound performance to lift the team to a four-point win over the rebuilding Dallas Wings.
The Aces, who retooled before the 2025 season by shipping out Kelsey Plum and acquiring Jewell Loyd, were mediocre for most of the year until a late surge propelled them to a top-3 finish in the WNBA.
Led by the former Gamecock, a 16-game winning streak turned a 14-14 record to a 30-16 finish — a spark that nearly kept the team without a loss for two months. The key midseason addition of NaLyssa Smith (via trade with the Indiana Fever) can’t be forgotten either.
Wilson was the leading scorer in 12 of the 16 games, averaging 26.1 points and 12 rebounds. The No. 2 overall seed in the postseason continued the push into a WNBA Finals berth — Wilson’s fourth appearance in eight total seasons. Ultimately, Wilson and the Aces swept the Phoenix Mercury, 4-0, in the Finals.
It was Wilson’s third Finals victory and she was awarded her second Finals MVP in the process.
Wilson, who will be 30 during the next WNBA season (assuming the league and player’s association agree on a new CBA), now has the same amount of titles as Diana Taurasi, Candace Parker and teammate Jackie Young. These WNBA greats are the only women with more rings than Wilson: Rebekah Brunson (five), Chelsea Gray (four), Cynthia Cooper (four), Tina Thompson (four), Sheryl Swoopes (four), Maya Moore (four), Seimone Augustus (four) and Sue Bird (four).
Cooper (four), Lisa Leslie (two), Taurasi (two), Sylvia Fowles (two) and Breanna Stewart (two) are the only other multi-time WNBA Finals MVP winners.
MVP & DPOY
Wilson stands alone as the only WNBA player to win Most Valuable Player and Defensive Player of the Year in the same season.
WNBA voters deservingly awarded Wilson both awards after she averaged 23.4 points, 10.2 rebounds, 3.1 assists, 2.3 blocks and 1.6 steals while missing just four regular-season games.
Wilson received 51 first-place votes to beat out Minnesota’s Napheesa Collier (18) and Phoenix’s Alyssa Thomas (three).
The race for Defensive Player of the Year was much tighter.
Wilson and Lynx forward Alanna Smith both received 29 first-place votes, awarding them Co-Defensive Player of the Year honors.
Smith anchored the Lynx defense for 42 games while averaging 9.6 points, 5.1 rebounds, 1.9 blocks and 1.3 steals.
It was the first time ever the league handed out a Co-DPOY award in it’s 29-year history.
A’ONE
The Year of A’ja Wilson was on full display inside WNBA arenas.
Then, the dominance continued inside sneaker stores nationwide and online shops.
Wilson’s first signature shoe — Nike A’One — sold out within the first few minutes of launch on the brand’s website last May. The “Pink A’ura” colorway on Nike’s site became available at 10 a.m. ET on May 6 and buyers were quickly greeted with a sold out banner about five minutes afterwards.
While fans waited for more colorways to become available, pairs of the “Pink A’ura” surged above retail price on resell marketplaces.
Since then, the “Pink A’ura” colorway restocked and became readily available for purchase. And at least a dozen different colorways are available for purchase in adult and grade school sizes on Nike’s website at the time of publication.
The signature sneaker, which retailed for $110 for adults and $90 for grade-school sizing, was first announced in May 2024. Wilson’s signature line also included shirts, hoodies and leg sleeves that match the kind the superstar wears on-court.
At the time, the four-time MVP joined the likes of Candace Parker (Adidas), Sabrina Ionescu (Nike), Breanna Stewart (Puma), Elena Delle Donne (Nike), Diana Taurasi (Nike), Cynthia Cooper (Nike), Sheryl Swoopes (Nike) and Dawn Staley (Nike) to have a signature shoe.
Since then, Reebok released the Angel Reese 1, which was well-received by fans.
Nike officially introduced Caitlin Clark as a signature athlete on Aug. 25 and release her logo T-shirt days after. The brand later released her apparel collection in October. There’s no official release or announcement set for a Clark signature shoe.
TIME’S ATHLETE OF THE YEAR
To end 2025, how do you further continue to reach GOAT status?
By being awarded Time’s 2025 Athlete of the Year.
Not a Women’s Athlete of the Year award — Time’s Athlete of the Year.
Wilson earned the honor, presumably beating out a would-be-deserving legend like Shohei Ohtani and tennis phenoms Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner. She’s just the second Black woman ever to win the award — joining seven-time Olympic gold medalist Simone Biles as icons for the cover of the historic magazine.
It’s a fitting honor for the only WNBA/NBA player to ever win an MVP award, DPOY award, a WNBA title, Finals MVP award and a scoring title.
