May 19, 2021
It was Aug. 8, 2008, the opening day of the Summer Olympic Games in Beijing. A’ja Wilson was celebrating her 12th birthday with an Olympic-themed party to watch the U.S. women’s basketball team play. That legendary squad included the likes of Seimone Augustus, Sue Bird, Tamika Catchings, Sylvia Fowles, Lisa Leslie, Candace Parker and Diana Taurasi.
“This was my first time seeing WNBA players, and I did not understand how much it really meant to watch women play the game so well and make it look easy,” says Wilson. “I remember saying, ‘These women are badass. They are going after it. That’s how I want to be.’ ”