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A'ja Wilson Explains Why She Decided Not to Join Unrivaled

The three-time WNBA MVP has enjoyed watching her teammates compete in the new basketball league.

Madison Williams

Las Vegas Aces center A'ja Wilson passes the ball.
Las Vegas Aces center A'ja Wilson passes the ball. / Kamil Krzaczynski-Imagn Images
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The inaugural season of Unrivaled, the 3-on-3 women's basketball league started by Breanna Stewart and Napheesa Collier, includes many of the world's most famous WNBA stars right now. There's a couple of big names that decided to not sign onto Unrivaled this season, though, including three-time WNBA MVP A'ja Wilson.

The Las Vegas Aces star opened up to Time in a duo interview with Olympic gymnast Jordan Chiles this week for their Women of the Year issue and finally explained why she didn't sign up for the new league.

"I like to enjoy my offseason. That's my time to really just decompress," Wilson said. "Unrivaled seems great—my teammates are loving it. 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."

It will be a somewhat quick turnaround for Unrivaled players to transition back to their WNBA mindsets once the season ends on March 17. WNBA training camp begins on April 27.

Wilson also likely had the Aces' playoff loss lingering in her mind as the team was attempting to win three titles in a row before being knocked out by the eventual champion New York Liberty in the semifinals.

Maybe seeing her teammates love the experience of Unrivaled will be enough to convince her to join next year.

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Madison Williams
MADISON WILLIAMS

Madison Williams is a staff writer on the Breaking and Trending News team at Sports Illustrated, where she specializes in tennis but covers a wide range of sports from a national perspective. Before joining SI in 2022, Williams worked at The Sporting News. Having graduated from Augustana College, she completed a master’s in sports media at Northwestern University. She is a dog mom and an avid reader.

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