A'ja Wilson Delivers Strong Message on Unwarranted Caitlin Clark Take

Las Vegas Aces center A'ja Wilson is arguably the best player in the WNBA right now. The two-time MVP looks well on her way to earning the award a third time this season, averaging 27.2 points, 11.9 rebounds, 2.5 assists, and 1.8 steals per game.

For many fans and analysts, Wilson, the No. 1 overall pick from the 2018 WNBA draft, who led the Aces to back-to-back championships, should be the face of the league. However, that title was snatched by Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark, whose entrance into the WNBA caused an unprecedented boost in viewership and attendance across the league.

Wilson, who graced the cover of Marie Clarie's "Women in Sports" issue, sent a strong message on the "Caitlin Clark effect," and the sudden concern over the high level of physicality in the WNBA.

“I felt like I was mentally tired in that whole whirlwind of people constantly saying, ‘A’ja you’re only known because of Caitlin [Clark]; we’re only here because of Caitlin,’” Wilson told Marie Clarie's Andrea Stanley .

“And that’s great, I get that, but while you’re here I’m not going to let you discredit me or the work that I’ve done, or my teammates or the people who came before have done.”

As for players getting beat up on, "’This is a physical sport. I know you think I’m a lady and that I cannot fight and get down and gritty in the post, but I can. It’s my job and I love what I do.”

With so many news eyes on the league, Wilson is also seeing a lot of ill-informed takes, especially the rhetoric that veterans hate the rookies.

"We have all been rookies before, so why would I hate on a rookie class now all of a sudden? I’ve been in that same spot. I’ve been in that heat, I’ve been in that seat,” the 27-year-old South Carolina alum said. “So for me, as a veteran, to hear that there are these men talking gibberish and garbage and trying to pit us against each other, it really kind of stung me a little bit.”

Wilson, who proudly took Aces rookie Kate Martin, Clark's former Iowa teammate under her wing, wants to help. "I try to make sure I’m the vet that I didn’t really have,” she added. “The guidance is needed, particularly now, because there’s so much noise.”

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