A'ja Wilson

“I didn't play on an organized team until I was 13 or 14 years old. Two years later, I was invited to the Junior National Team, and it wasn't until I looked around and realized that I was the youngest on the team that it finally hit me: I was really good at what I did.”

“There are so many standards that people want you to meet, but you're never going to meet them all.”

“If Beyonce ever wants to perform a duet with me, I would be open to it.”

“If you would have asked me when I was 16 would I play in the WNBA, I probably would have laughed in your face and said no way I am playing at that level.”

“I'm low-key a foodie.”

“I decided to write 'Dear Black Girls,' because, you know, we have that double minority. It's like, 'OK, I'm Black,' and I'm like, 'OK, now I'm a female, I'm Black.'”

“It's really hard to open up and be vulnerable, particularly as a professional athlete because people are very nitpicky with our lives.”

“Mary J. Blige and 2000s R&B, I love it.”

“Change doesn't happen overnight.”

“Having people recognize you on the court is great. Having someone recognize you in the community, if you take time to go out and talk to them and touch them, it's a huge deal.”

“Over the years, Coach Staley has become like my second mom. And she has helped me with so much on the basketball court that I don't think I ever directly told her how important she has been in helping me deal with the things that aren't related to basketball. Especially with dyslexia.”

“I have a huge following from South Carolina and Vegas.”

“No matter what, I'm gonna achieve all my goals and dreams.”

“South Carolina is going to always mean the world to me. They have built me up.”

“I always say, 'if you can see her, you can be her.' That's why I like playing on the platform I'm on because it gives another young Black girl the opportunity to say, 'if she can do it, so can I.' I try to relay that and help them realize that you are the light that someone needs.”

“I was a really weird kid. My head was huge. I had a skinny body, long arms. My kneecaps were oddly big. I was awkward, quiet, shy. When I would smile, I would never really show my teeth.”

“When it comes to my story with dyslexia, it was a tough one for me to really speak out about - because, you know, being an athlete, people see the accolades. People see you in the uniform but they don't really understand you're still human at the end of the day.”

“I love candles, they help me relax.”

“Due to my collegiate accolades, it was a goal but it was something that I kinda had at the back of my head that I really wanted to go after. Rookie of the Year was really something that I really I didn't pay any mind going into the chapter in my book of life.”

“My parents helped me so much.”