“Let that 3 go,” the voice told her. So she did — and buried it.
The roar of the crowd faded. The clock was ticking down, the stakes never higher, but all Aziaha James could hear was him — her brother AJ. In the heat of NC State’s magical 2024 NCAA tournament run, she didn’t just pull up from deep; she answered a call only she could hear.

“I’m going to always talk to myself and talk to my brother,” she said later. “He says to let that 3 go, and I let it go in my last game.” That shot was more than a clutch moment — it was a promise fulfilled.

And on April 14, 2025, that promise echoed all the way to the pros. James was selected in the first round of the WNBA Draft, 12th overall, officially turning the page to a new chapter of the dream she once shared with her brother.

What happened to Aziaha James’ late brother AJ James?

Long before Aziaha James was dazzling at NC State or hearing her name called on draft night, basketball greatness already ran in the family. Her older brother, Ashley “AJ” James, a 6-foot-4 guard from Virginia Beach, was a rising star in his own right.

On March 2, 2020, AJ died in Chesapeake, Virginia, at the age of 19 in a tragic accident. Earlier that night, he had watched his sister play in her regional title game. Later, at an apartment on Montauk Lane, he was handling a gun when it discharged, striking him in the chest. He was pronounced dead shortly after.

The Chesapeake Police Department investigated the incident and, after consultation with the Commonwealth’s Attorney’s Office, ruled the shooting accidental. No criminal charges were filed.

What did AJ James do for a living? Was he a professional athlete?

AJ James was well on his way to becoming one. A standout at Princess Anne High School — the same school Aziaha would later dominate — AJ was a two-time All-State selection and named region and district player of the year as a senior. After committing to Missouri State, he enrolled at Hargrave Military Academy to continue sharpening his game.

At the VirginiaPreps Classic, he was named MVP three times in a single event — a feat unmatched by any other player — including a 26-point performance that turned heads. His talent, work ethic, and charisma were unmistakable. In Virginia’s high school basketball scene, AJ wasn’t just a name; he was a force.

What did Aziaha James share about AJ James? Does she have a tattoo of him?

In the days after his death, Aziaha posted on Instagram:
“I’m at a lost of words right now …… can’t even wrap this all around my head to think my brother is gone😞 I was just with him last night him hugging me telling me good game my whole family joking around with each other. I haven’t seen my brother and over two months and last night was the first time just feel so unreal to ever think my brother is gone ..💔 this king the goat taught me everything I remember watching him play when we was young and I turned to my mom and said can I play.”

The grief didn’t fade — but it transformed. It became a purpose. Aziaha James carried it like a badge on the hardwood, turning pain into production. She poured in 16.8 points, 2.6 rebounds, 2.9 assists, and 1.0 steals per game, powering NC State to a historic Final Four run in 2024 — their first since 1998.

The run ended at the hands of Dawn Staley’s championship squad, but for James, the bigger victory was internal: every game a tribute, every basket a conversation with someone who wasn’t in the stands, but always close.

In March 2024, reflecting on NC State’s magical postseason, she told The News & Observer, “I was definitely thinking of my brother, and just what I’d done for him. And, also coach [Wes] Moore; just being a second dad for me. To get him his first Final Four, it was just a happy moment for him and for [my family], too.”

Her emotional core never wavered, especially during high-pressure moments. “I’m going to always talk to myself and talk to my brother,” she said in an Andscape interview on April 4, 2024. “I hear him saying, ‘Come on, you got this. You got the next play.’ He says to let that 3 go, and I let it go in my last game.”

There’s also a physical tribute — a tattoo of AJ’s face inked on her left shoulder blade. It’s a quiet, permanent reminder that he has always got her back.

“I’m playing for something,” she told The News & Observer again in March 2024. “When you’re playing for something, it makes you even more hungry.” That hunger carried her through a remarkable 2024, into the WNBA Draft, and into the league. But the name AJ James is still stitched into every jersey she wears.

He was the first James to inspire a crowd. Now, through his sister, he never stops showing up.