Mar 24, 2021
For those who follow the WNBA it might be hard to believe that superstar A’ja Wilson didn’t really like basketball when she first started playing as a young girl. Eventually it became fun and the journey began. Today A’ja’s mom Eva joins the podcast and talks with us about her daughter. Highly sought as a college player, Eva tells us about the recruitment process, the NCAA championship, A’ja’s relationship with her grandmother and how she has been her inspiration throughout her career. We talk about being Black in the US and her thoughts on the statue erected in her daughter’s honor at the University of South Carolina, a campus her grandmother was not even allowed to walk on.
Eva tells us about draft night and how their family reacted to A’ja being chosen No 1 overall by the Las Vegas Aces, playing in the Wubble, leading her team to the WNBA finals and winning the League MVP award in 2020. Eva shares her insights on their bond as a family, their dynamics, the power of faith and how that has shaped the person her daughter has become. We also touch on the A’ja Wilson Foundation, set up to “change the culture by overcoming the stigma of dyslexia and putting an end to bullying”.