The rolling ball of love in A’ja Wilson’s life is picking up pace. The 2024 unanimous MVP’s rumored relationship with Miami Heat’s Bam Adebayo might be true after all. Adebayo seemingly soft-launched their relationship in mid-September when Wilson crossed the 1000-point single-season mark. “Hope everybody finds A’thousand reasons to smile on this lovely Sunday,” he wrote on X, with a clever nod to his rumored GF’s unparalleled feat.

His style of wishing A’ja Wilson publicly yet secretively has come full circle. As Adebayo was wrapping up an interview with sports journalist Taylor Rooks, she wished him the best for his 2024-25 season with the Miami Heat, but with a twist. “You had a great summer. I hope you have a great season,” she said as she pulled out a paper from under the table which read “A’mazing.” As she said, “I think that your season will be amazing,” gesticulating to the apostrophe, Adebayo ended up blushing and laughing. And so did Rooks, mentally patting herself on the back for this relationship wordplay.

Adebayo and Wilson’s relationship might be the worst-kept secret in the basketball world. Both the Miami Heat and the Las Vegas Aces are in on it, and their social media copywriting keeps referencing their relationship. When Wilson broke the WNBA single-season scoring record, the Aces X admin was in a playful mood. Posting a video of their Center breaking the record, they captioned it: “𝐁𝐀𝐌!💥” References cannot get more blatant than this. Chants of “Admin needs a raise” flooded the comments section. But that wasn’t it.

The Miami Heat had something up their sleeve too. After Wilson was announced as the 2024 MVP, they posted a photo of Bam Adebayo on X, captioning it: “A’random photo of Bam on this lovely Sunday.” This relationship feels like a sweet high school romance where your close friends are hell-bent on maximizing every opportunity to make sly references to it. But they can’t help themselves too, can they? With such high-profile athletes to deal with whose every public appearance, even unplanned ones, makes headlines, such playfulness only spices things up.

How fans and the media amplified A’ja Wilson and Bam Adebayo’s rumored romance

Wilson and Adebayo were spotted publicly for the first time this year in Las Vegas at the training camp for the 2024 Paris Olympics. The internet then read a bit too into their relationship when the duo shook hands after the USA women clinched gold in Paris. While that isn’t a major hint towards anything but a cordial relationship or a friendship, the power couple was spotted exiting a store and getting into a car in the romance capital of the world. However, their bond isn’t this new.

Wilson and Adebayo have known each other for quite a few years. In 2021, when the Aces Center was fresh off winning the 2020 MVP, Adebayo was asked for his opinion of her achievements. “I always tell her when I see her, she’s the GOAT,” he said. “She don’t agree with it, but you know I did a MVP chant every once in a while just for kicks and giggles.”

This clip on YouTube also gained a few hundred extra views in the past few months, courtesy of their rumored romance. Another pivotal moment in the rumors going wild was when Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava presented Adebayo with a key to the city after his gold at the Olympics. Wilson’s attendance in the audience prompted the Mayor to say: “She won gold in women’s basketball. I guess that has something to do with Bam and the Heat, huh? Being here today?”

While the 3x MVP brushed off the comment with a laugh, the internet, including her teammates, had hit a gold mine. The comments were referenced frequently in the days to come on social media. But that was just the universe’s way of making the power couple get used to such personal life limelight when they hard launch their relationship.