With the Paris Olympics under way—and USA Basketball gearing up to continue their historic winning streak—A’ja Wilson is carrying herself with the quiet confidence of a seasoned veteran who knows how to get work done. Despite the high stakes going into the Games, Wilson is secure in her spot, her experience (she won gold for Team USA in Tokyo), and what she can bring to the table.
“This Olympics, I’m going in knowing that I’ve been here before. I’m going to be there with three of my teammates, so it’s really going to feel like home,” Wilson tells SELF, referencing fellow Las Vegas Aces players Jackie Young, Kelsey Plum, and Chelsea Gray, who were also named to the national team. “We’re just going to go out there and try to be the best that we can be.”
Starting with the first game against Japan in the group stage on July 29, Wilson is ready to lead an American squad filled with unprecedented depth. Between Diana Taurasi making a record sixth consecutive Olympic appearance and returning Olympic champions Breanna Stewart and Brittney Griner, among other decorated stars taking the court, there’s no shortage of talent among the US roster.
“One through 12, we can bring it, we can score, and everyone can defend and do the right things at the right time,” Wilson says. “There may be a starting five, but people coming off the bench can also be in the starting five. I think that is what separates us.”
As a two-time WNBA MVP, a two-time WNBA champion, and the all-time leading scorer for the Las Vegas Aces, Wilson is poised to be a major contributor among the Americans aiming for an eighth-straight Olympic gold medal. And in order to bring her best, she knows she has to enter each game rested, recovered, and ready to go all-out.
Solid sleep is key: While she normally doesn’t have a problem nodding off, the nights before make-or-break games are different. ”I’ll dream about the game or I just can’t sleep because I’m eager to get on the court,” she says. That’s why she always takes pregame naps to help make up some of that deficit. “I’ll nap for two hours, and then use the next 30 minutes to tune in with myself, call family and friends, something to take my mind off what I’m heading into,” she says. “I use that time to be A’ja, not A’ja Wilson, and take a moment to dial into myself before I head to the arena.”
She’s also honed her strategy for getting into the right headspace earlier in the day, too—say, right when she wakes up. Before Wilson left her home in Las Vegas for exhibition match-ups in London ahead of the Olympic Games, SELF caught up with the basketball star to learn the ins and outs of her morning routine.
I’m a phone-checker first thing, but lately, I’ve been trying to hold off.
Instead, I wake up and pray. I thank God for giving me the light of day. Then, I turn over and I check my messages. Even though I’ve lived in Las Vegas for seven years, my parents still don’t understand the time difference. Usually, they have already been texting me early, so I respond to them.