A'ja Wilson Still Celebrating Aces Championship

Sports Illustrated

WNBA Finals MVP A'ja Wilson joins Sports Illustrated to promote her book Dear Black Girls available everywhere February 6.

Transcript

00:00 All right, I am here with the sensational legendary,

00:03 Miss Asia Wilson, who's here with a new book

00:07 and memoir, "Dear Black Girl."

00:08 Super excited to talk to you.

00:10 How are you doing today?

00:11 - I'm doing well, I'm doing well.

00:13 How about yourself?

00:14 - You know, another day, another dollar, right?

00:16 (laughs)

00:19 I gotta ask you though,

00:20 what championship celebration did you enjoy the most?

00:23 I'm assuming it's this one, just 'cause of Usher,

00:26 but you tell me.

00:27 - Yeah, definitely had to be the second one,

00:28 'cause I feel like the first one,

00:29 I was trying to gather myself,

00:31 trying to figure out what I need to do.

00:34 But then the second one, we were prepared.

00:35 We were ready, we were good.

00:37 We were locked in.

00:38 So yeah, the second celebration was definitely it.

00:42 We had two chains at our parade.

00:44 It was big, it was big.

00:46 - No, I bet.

00:47 It's definitely big.

00:48 It's just crazy.

00:50 You brought the first title to this team.

00:52 That's insane.

00:53 How do you feel about that?

00:54 - It's incredible.

00:55 I mean, just to be able to bring one, let alone two,

00:58 is definitely a blessing.

00:59 We had tons of fun.

01:00 I mean, they always say the second one is the hardest,

01:03 and we definitely felt every part of that.

01:06 It's definitely a lot of fun to say

01:07 I was a part of the first team,

01:08 but the back-to-back team definitely held some weight.

01:11 - How do you think this championship run,

01:13 the Ace of Success,

01:14 has impacted the state of women's basketball?

01:16 Because I gotta tell you, it has dramatically impacted.

01:20 But what do you think about it?

01:21 And you're at the forefront of it all.

01:23 - Yeah, it's super fun.

01:24 It really is.

01:25 I mean, when you look at leagues across the board

01:27 in any sport,

01:28 rivalries are something that fuels the league.

01:30 Everyone loves a good, "We don't like them,

01:32 but we like them," type of thing.

01:33 And for us to grow that throughout our final series,

01:36 throughout just the Aces in itself,

01:39 it's been fun to watch.

01:40 And I mean, that's what everyone loves.

01:42 We're giving back.

01:43 We see a lot of college teams,

01:44 like everyone's getting put on the map,

01:46 and that's what it is.

01:47 So we're growing, we're flourishing.

01:48 So I'm glad to be a part of it.

01:50 So later on down the road, when I'm talking to my kids,

01:52 I can be like, "Yeah, mama put up those banners.

01:55 Like, she got some things to her."

01:56 So I'm glad to just be a part of it.

01:59 - Now I'm gonna go with something a little bit more serious

02:01 for five seconds here.

02:02 Nate Tibbetts just got hired by Mercury.

02:05 He's the highest paid coach in the league,

02:07 I think in league history, if I'm not mistaken.

02:09 But he's never been a head coach before.

02:11 What are your thoughts on a man being the highest paid coach

02:16 in the WNBA?

02:18 - Wow, that is a hard hitter.

02:21 - I know, that one's a hard one.

02:23 (Nate laughs)

02:24 I mean, it's honestly one of those things

02:26 where we just have to continue to push the needle

02:29 and continue to shatter the glass ceiling

02:30 that is obviously over us.

02:32 We're gonna take it day by day and step by step.

02:34 But my biggest thing is,

02:35 it doesn't matter how much he's getting paid.

02:37 It doesn't matter what is in his bank account.

02:39 I hope that he's in a situation

02:41 where he's gonna pour into the team.

02:43 I think that's the biggest thing is like,

02:45 we need owners, coaches, GMs, anyone to pour into their team

02:48 because that's truly what matters.

02:50 You can have all the money in the world,

02:51 but if you're losing,

02:53 it's not really a lot of happiness there.

02:55 So at the end of the day,

02:56 I can't really talk about that man's bank account.

02:58 Don't really care about it.

02:59 I just hope that he is pouring into that team

03:01 because they got some weapons they deserve,

03:04 and every woman in our league deserves to be poured into,

03:06 to bless, to have great resources to use them.

03:09 So I would much rather just say,

03:12 use your seat at the table in a good place

03:14 and put your team in a good space.

03:15 So if that's the case, then that is.

03:17 Other than that, I don't care about that man's bank account.

03:20 (Nate laughs)

03:21 - I do wanna get into your memoir really quickly.

03:23 "Dear Black Girls."

03:24 Tell us a little bit about that.

03:26 - Yeah, well, I have to give a special shout out

03:28 to my publishers at Flatiron

03:29 because they really brought my whole life

03:31 into a written piece that I could hold

03:33 and share with others.

03:35 And they really just kinda helped me speak, talk,

03:38 share my story.

03:39 And that's really what it's all about.

03:41 It's just a book that's telling people

03:43 how I guided through my life and how I found myself

03:45 and how I understood how being true to myself

03:47 got me a lot of places.

03:49 Because we all go through things.

03:50 Life gets hard, it gets tough,

03:52 and it's hard to navigate.

03:53 But we have to understand that we all navigate it differently

03:56 and it's not gonna all look the same.

03:57 So I just kinda gave little trickets throughout the book,

04:00 just sharing how I navigate

04:02 and hopefully I can reminisce with someone else.

04:04 But it was a ton of fun to write.

04:05 It's out in February.

04:07 It's a good read.

04:07 And I don't really read, read like that.

04:09 And I'm not saying I'm (indistinct)

04:10 because my (indistinct) is on it.

04:12 But it's a good read.

04:13 - Asia here with "Sports Illustrated."

04:16 We will see you soon, I really hope,

04:18 because this has been a lot of fun.

04:20 - Thank you so much.

04:21 (upbeat music)

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