Portrait of A'ja Wilson

Birthday profile

A'ja Wilson

A'ja Wilson, American basketball player

Born
August 8, 1996
Age in 2026
30
Zodiac sign
Leo
Birth year
1996

About A'ja Wilson

A'ja Riyadh Wilson ( AY-zhə; born August 8, 1996) is an American professional basketball player for the Las Vegas Aces of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). Wilson is regarded by many as the best basketball player of her generation, and is widely considered one of the greatest WNBA players ever. Wilson played college basketball at the University of South Carolina and helped lead the Gamecocks to their first NCAA women's basketball championship in 2017, winning the NCAA basketball tournament Most Outstanding Player award. In 2018, she won a record third straight SEC Player of the Year award, leading South Carolina to a record fourth straight SEC tournament championship, becoming the all-time leading scorer in South Carolina women's basketball history, and was a consensus first-team All-American for the third consecutive season. Wilson swept all National Player of the Year awards (Wade, AP, Honda, USBWA, Wooden and Naismith) as the best player in women's college basketball. In the 2018 WNBA draft, Wilson was drafted first overall by the Las Vegas Aces. She won her first WNBA MVP with the Aces in 2020, winning again in 2022, 2024 and 2025. In 2022, Wilson helped lead the Aces to their first title in franchise history, a feat she repeated in 2023 while earning Finals MVP. On July 7, 2024, in a matchup against the Dallas Wings, she became the Aces' all-time leading scorer. In 2025, she led the Aces to a third championship title, becoming the first WNBA or NBA player to win a scoring title, be a champion, Finals MVP, MVP and Defensive Player of the Year in the same season. Internationally, Wilson plays for the United States women's national basketball team, with whom she has won two Olympic and two World Cup gold medals. Wilson is regarded by many as the best basketball player of her generation, and is widely considered one of the greatest WNBA players of all time.

Biography source: Wikipedia. The profile adds birthday-specific historical context from the Celebs Birthday Today editorial database.

Career and life highlights

A'ja Wilson timeline

  1. Wilson played college basketball at the University of South Carolina and helped lead the Gamecocks to their first NCAA Women's Basketball Championship in 2017, winning the NCAA basketball tournament Most Outstanding Player award.
  2. In the 2018 WNBA draft, Wilson was drafted first overall by the Las Vegas Aces.
  3. She won her first WNBA MVP with the Aces in 2020, winning again in 2022, 2024, and 2025.
  4. In 2022, Wilson helped lead the Aces to their first title in franchise history, a feat she repeated in 2023 while earning Finals MVP.

The world when A'ja Wilson was born

A'ja Wilson was born in 1996. The year snapshot below places that birthday in its cultural and historical setting: the music and films people were following, the headlines shaping public life, and the everyday prices families encountered.

Culture in 1996

  • #1 song"Macarena" – Los Del Rio
  • Top movieThe English Patient
  • Top TV showER
  • Best-selling bookThe Runaway Jury – John Grisham

Headlines and milestones

  • Major sports momentMichael Jordan leads Bulls to 72-10 record and 4th NBA title
  • Top headlineCentennial Olympic Park bombing in Atlanta
  • Technology milestoneDolly the sheep — first mammal cloned from an adult cell
  • Defining fadMacarena dance craze
  • Notable inventionPalm Pilot
  • World population5.77 billion

United States snapshot

  • U.S. leaderBill Clinton
  • Sports championNew York Yankees (World Series)
  • Also wonChicago Bulls (NBA)
  • U.S. population265.2M

1996 versus 2026

These figures put everyday life in A'ja Wilson's birth year beside the site's latest United States snapshot.

Measure19962026
Gas$1.23$3.45/gal
Average home$115,800$435,000
Average income$44,006$67,500
Minimum wage$4.75$7.25/hr (federal)
Movie ticket$4.42$11.95
Postage stamp$0.32$0.73
Population265.2M341 million

Sources and editorial standards

This profile combines a biographical source with structured birthday and historical context. Sources recorded for this profile: Wikipedia, FIBA, Eurobasket. See our editorial policy for sourcing, corrections, and review standards.

Read the source biography on Wikipedia. Wikipedia text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License.