“To see this come together is simply surreal,” the former South Carolina star A’ja Wilson had emotionally added when the college unveiled her statue at the Colonial Life Arena in 2021. Becoming the first female student-athlete to be applauded in such a way, the $245,000 worth of gift was priceless for Wilson. And 3 years later, now that Wilson has clinched her third WNBA MVP title, her former head coach Dawn Staley has yet another surprise for her from the Gamecocks.

The University of South Carolina is retiring Wilson’s No. 22 jersey that she wore for the Gamecocks from 2014-18. The ceremony for the same will be held on February 2nd, 2025. Staley video called Wilson in the tweet by Matt Dowell on Tuesday and listed her achievements this season especially her MVP title win. She then pointed out that “in South Carolina, you always get no.1 votes.”

She then asked the 2× WNBA champion to meet her in SC. At that point, Staley revealed, “your jersey is going to be retired.” Wilson was seen smiling cheek to cheek and enumerated “Everyone wants me to cry today, no way.” Staley concluded the call by asking her mentee to gather herself at such a big revelation as the Gamecocks team cheering for Wilson in the background.

Wilson notably represented the Columbia-based program from 2014-18. Though she started in just one game during her freshman year, over time, she became an indispensable asset for Staley. In the 2016-17 season, when she helped the Gamecocks take home the hardware, the South Carolina-born averaged 17.9 points with 7.8 rebounds per game. As a reminder of her on-court brilliance in college, Wilson was honored with a statue.

Unveiled in 2021, as per Rotblatt-Amrany, the creator of the bronze honor, the statue is “eight-and-a-half feet” and the added shot makes it around 11 feet. Plus the work of bronze is attached to a base which “is about four feet high.” Talking about the weight “the granite weighs about 3,500 pounds and the bronze is about 950 pounds.”

When it was unveiled, Wilson had broken down during her speech. Thanking South Carolina and everyone behind the possibility of this honor, she said, “This moment is bigger than me. This moment is for all those who have sacrificed for me to stand here today. This moment is for every girl who was told she wasn’t enough:  wasn’t strong enough, wasn’t smart enough, was too short, too fat.”

She had further added, “It is truly a beautiful thing when someone believes in you. Thank you for taking a chance on this wide-eyed black girl. To every girl, especially every black girl, remember you can do anything that you put your mind to. Have faith. Work hard.”

As for Staley, she always had a close relationship with Wilson so much so that the former often posts her views on social media when Wilson has taken the court for her W team. Meanwhile, Wilson performed exceptionally well this season.

Despite missing the Championship title, A’ja Wilson is a star parallel to none

Last season when Wilson was snubbed from the MVP, she had made her anger clear. During the Aces victory parade, she wore a t-shirt listing the votes she had received for the same, with one vote for the fourth position. Hence, coming into this season, Wilson was clear that she wanted to get her hands on the MVP title. And she did just that. The Aces going for a three-peat did not look to be in the best form and were positioned at fourth seed, and the one driving the Aces upwards was their center.

The 6-ft-4 led the league in points, rebounds, and blocks, becoming the first player in the W’s history to do so. Her points and blocks average 26.9 points and 2.6 blocks per game got her the top spot in averages, in rebounds average she was only behind Angel Reese with 11.9 rebounds per game. By the end of the season, she became the first W athlete to hit more than 1000 points in a single season (1,021) and also held the record for the most rebounds in a single season (451). All this helped her team qualify for the playoffs.

Even in the 6 games she played in the playoffs, Wilson averaged 21.3 points with 9.7 rebounds per game. Therefore, despite the Aces losing the series to the Liberty by a 3-1 margin, the 3x WNBA MVP passed with flying colors and fulfilled her dream of bagging the Kia WNBA MVP and that too unanimously, becoming the first star since Cynthia Cooper to do so.

Hence, it is only fitting that her jersey is retired after an extremely outstanding WNBA season. And hopefully, fans will be able to see Staley with her mentee in February. Perhaps, this time too Wilson’s speech will inspire the Gamecocks and all those who are dreaming of becoming W stars.