There have been a handful of athletes who have been compared to Michael Jordan in the last couple of decades. The most famous one, of course, has been LeBron James. And even though, some would claim LeBron is arguably the greatest of all time, most would contend that there’s just that something special about Jordan that inspired generations.
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In that regard, the closest and the truest heir to Jordan’s throne would be WNBA star A’ja Wilson. The first player in basketball history to win a championship, claim the scoring title, be named Finals MVP, league MVP, and Defensive Player of the Year, all in the same season, Wilson sets a bar that seems impossible to reach but at the same time, inspires little girls everywhere to try.
Even LeBron agrees. “A’ja Wilson is the definition of female Black excellence. I am so grateful, she is giving my daughter the kind of inspiration that I got from Michael Jordan,” he said about Wilson.
When Gayle King told Wilson about how she was an inspiration to LeBron’s 11-year-old daughter Zhuri, the 4-time MVP couldn’t help but get emotional. “It’s the reason why I do what I do and I love what I do. People always ask me … It’s for the youth! It’s for that young girl to just give a chance to believe. And I always say, ‘if you can see her, you can be her,'” Wilson began.
And if I can be that, if a young girl can look at the WNBA or me and say, ‘Ah, I just want to do that, that’s the reason I love what I do and I am not going to stop,” she said.
“That’s the real trophy. That’s the real championship ring. When you are able to leave that legacy for young boys and girls to just believe that they can do it their way. I feel like we are in a world where there’s got to be cooking cutting. You have to talk a certain way or look a certain way or do certain things. No, do it you way and I think that’s what kind of makes me go,” explained Wilson.
Wilson certainly walks the talk. It’s an impossibly high bar to reach but she said it herself, all young aspiring athletes need is to see someone like them do it and they will follow.
Earlier this week, the Aces star was honored as TIME Magazine’s Athlete of the Year 2025, and AP’s Female Athlete of the Year. She was also recognized on the House floor earlier today by Congresswoman Dina Titus.
