A’Ja Wilson is, without question, the best women’s basketball player on the planet today.
Wilson, who is the favorite to claim the 2024 WNBA MVP award, has proven her dominance by averaging 23.5 points and 13 rebounds per game in the first two games of the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris for Team USA.
However, during Team USA’s second game, an 87-74 victory over Belgium, Wilson alleges that a referee made a questionable remark to her about controlling her emotions.
“I need to get my emotions in check,” the referee reportedly said. Wilson shared her frustration, explaining how the comment only heightened her emotions. “I think that just heightened my emotions even more because I’m like, ‘How are you going to tell me at my job that I can’t show emotion, passion?’” she said. “So I keep my cool. I continue being me. I keep my cool by understanding who I am and who I have around me, and don’t look back and just keep going.”
RELATED: A’ja Wilson Achieves Historic Olympic Milestone, a First in the 21st Century
Despite the comment, Wilson isn’t planning on changing the way she approaches the game. “I’m not going to let a defender think that they stopped me. I don’t think I’m ever going to let them off the hook,” she asserted. “And that’s what I got to keep doing. So to that ref, I’m going to keep yelling. I’m gonna keep screaming. I’m gonna keep fussing, cussing anywhere in-between cheering. Because that’s the game that I play.”
It’s hard to argue with her process. Wilson, along with reigning WNBA MVP Breanna Stewart, has been one of the standout players for the USA team, which faced a tough challenge against Belgium.
The Team USA women currently have a 57-game win streak in all competitions. They’ll look to continue that streak on Sunday when they square off with Germany in the final game of group play.
The Americans are heavily favored to claim gold again in Paris, and with Wilson’s passion and performance leading the way, they are poised to achieve that goal.
