Las Vegas Aces center A'ja Wilson has officially graduated from future Hall of Famer to potential GOAT, and her boyfriend Bam Adebayo had quite the comparison for her after the Aces captured their third WNBA championship in four years.
Speaking to reporters, the Miami Heat big man opened up about what it was like to watch Wilson win another ring.
“That’s the thing about shared success,” he said. “You’re blessed to see somebody have that much success, somebody who they compare to Bill Russell and you talk about how much greatness that they have.”
It's lofty praise, for sure, and Adebayo is certainly more than a little biased. But he's not wrong, either. Russell is arguably the most accomplished player in NBA history with 11 championship rings, five MVP awards and a Presidential Medal of Freedom to boot. He is also the only player in NBA history to have his number retired league-wide.
No, Wilson isn't there yet, but she's well on her way. In eight WNBA seasons, she has three championships and four MVP awards. While she doesn't have that Medal of Freedom quite yet, she does have a statue outside South Carolina's arena where she played her college ball.
With the Aces' sweep of the Phoenix Mercury in the 2025 WNBA Finals, she also joined Russell as the only two players to ever win three MVPs and three championships in a four-year span. Naturally, she also earned her second Finals MVP award, averaging 28.5 points and 11.8 rebounds per game as she dominated the series like few players have ever done before her. She also hit the game-winner with less than a second to go in Game 3.
“These are the moments that you dream of, these are just the times that you see on TV sometimes,” she said after Game 3, per USA Today. “You’re watching and you’re like, `Oh my God, to be in that building.’ It’s truly powerful.”
