Lisa Leslie Lauds A'ja Wilson With Enthusiastic Unrivaled Invitation
The Unrivaled 3x3 women's basketball league did a fantastic job attracting the world's best basketball players to Miami for its inaugural season.
However, not every WNBA superstar is playing in the league this year. Among the notable names absent are Indiana Fever icon Caitlin Clark, Los Angeles Sparks standout Kelsey Plum (who was committed to play in the league before backing out in November), and Las Vegas Aces star and 2024 WNBA MVP A'js Wilson.
During a February 20 interview with TIME Magazine, Wilson said she didn't play in Unrivaled this season because. "I like to enjoy my offseason. That's my time to really just decompress.
"Unrivaled seems great — my teammates are loving it," she added. "Obviously, the money in it is amazing. And it's like, dang, missing out. But wholeheartedly, not even trying to front, I just didn't want to. I just want to protect my peace. Because once the season gets in, no one's gonna think, Oh, you just got done playing Unrivaled, let's take it easy."
While not on the court, Wilson was in the building for Unrivaled's March 8 slate of games. And at one point, WNBA legend and Unrivaled commentator Lisa Leslie sang her praises and extended her a league invitation.
"Don't forget A'ja Wilson, the best player in the world," Leslie said while Wilson was shown on screen, per an X post from @ShowCaseShabazz. "And can we just not even imagine and wait for her to join Unrivaled. Hopefully her next year... when you talk about the greatest player, who would be great at Unrivaled?
"Now listen, [Napheesa Collier] came out and said she's the best here. And she is. But there is another woman called A'ja Wilson who's the best in the world," Leslie added.
"A'ja Wilson, come on to Unrivaled sweetheart. We need you! Hopefully she'll accept my invitation."
Here is Lisa Leslie with very high praise for A'ja Wilson 😭 https://t.co/rRjutAqsfk pic.twitter.com/sM8Q4K7Ke4
— Basketball Scout (@ShowCaseShabazz) March 9, 2025
Leslie speaks for the entire women's basketball community with wanting Wilson in Unrivaled next season.
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Grant Young covers Women’s Basketball, the New York Yankees, and the New York Mets for Sports Illustrated’s ‘On SI’ sites. He holds an MFA degree in creative writing from the University of San Francisco (USF), where he also graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in Marketing and played on USF’s Division I baseball team for five years. However, he now prefers Angel Reese to Angels in the Outfield.