Las Vegas Aces star A'ja Wilson's parents helped lay the foundation for her success – Andscape

For Eva, the sentence encompasses all the life lessons she and Roscoe taught their children.

“Everything that will happen [A’ja]Anything that will happen to someone will only happen if it is God's time and in His plan. We’ll just wait and see what comes next,” Eva told Andscape. “I say A'ja, don't worry about all these other things because you know what, if it's for you, then it's for you, I believe that. I truly believe it’s for you, no one can take it away from you.”

The phrase was the result of motherly advice that Eva received after A'ja went through a difficult time. The life lessons the Wilsons taught their daughter laid the foundation for their success in the league.

During her MVP speech this season, Wilson thanked her parents for the sacrifices they made and for holding her accountable. With three league MVP awards, two WNBA championships and two Olympic gold medals, Eva believes her daughter is reaping the harvest of her faith.

“A'ja believes it. You must believe deep in your heart that this is your time. You do your part. “God will do the rest,” Eva said.

“If A'ja can handle everything she's dealing with – all these looks at her, all these different opinions about her and generally from people who don't even know her – but if she can deal with these things and still being able to achieve what she does, that's not nothing. But God, that's a lot for a person who's been doing this since they were 15 or 16 years old. She’s really able to handle it as well as a human.”

Born and raised in South Carolina, the Wilsons learned life lessons from their parents' experiences and their personal experiences as African Americans dealing with racism. Roscoe Wilson came of age at the height of the civil rights movement in the 1960s. He remembers the assassination of civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr., desegregation and attending an integrated high school.

The Wilsons are graduates of historically black colleges and universities. Eva Wilson attended South Carolina State University in Orangeburg and studied business administration. Roscoe Wilson followed numerous family members and attended Benedict College in Columbia, where he played basketball for the Tigers. In 2011, he was inducted into the Benedict College Hall of Fame as a player. According to Benedict, he ranked eighth nationally in rebounding as a sophomore, averaging 22.5 rebounds. He was a three-time All-Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference selection. He was focused on school and basketball, and attending an HBCU was crucial.

““It gave me a sense of security and peace of mind that there were other people around me who were going through the same thing I was going through,” Roscoe said. “We could identify at this level. Even as we watched things happening around us that African Americans didn't like very much and were detrimental to our way of life.”

He remembers watching his father, Roscoe Sr., pray regularly and his mother, Ethel, who was a professor at Benedict University, willing to serve and help others, traits he sees in his own children. Eva Wilson remembers her mother, Hattie Rakes, teaching her to work hard, not to take shortcuts and not to cheat the process. The Wilsons ensured that their children's lives were characterized by discipline, respect and faith in God.

“I don’t think we did anything out of the ordinary. We are just parents and raise our children based on our upbringing. That was all we had to do,” Eva said. “We weren't trying to be friends. I am your mother. And that's how it is. There is one thing about respecting your children, they must respect you as a parent first. A'ja always did that. Everything else is just a blessing.”

While the Wilsons were present for the joy of having a daughter who is a professional athlete, they witnessed the challenges and pressures that Black women face in the spotlight – from the negative comments on social media to the indulgent questions about her daughter.

“People only know what A'ja allows them to know about her,” Wilson's mother said. “You don’t know her other than what she lets you know about her. You can't believe everything you see or read about social media.

“The higher and higher you go, the more people will come and say whatever they think they can about you, even though they don’t even know you.”

During a season in which players were vocal about fans' comments, the WNBA released a statement condemning racist, derogatory and threatening comments toward players. An emotional Wilson said to her teammates during her MVP speech, “There are days when I hate being A'ja Wilson.”

“It’s tough,” Wilson told the Las Vegas Review-Journal. “It's really difficult to navigate a world where you don't necessarily want to succeed or have to constantly think about why you're succeeding. And that gets tiring because I'm literally just here to do my job. I'm here to play basketball. I'm here to have fun and bring people together while watching myself play. So when you have the passive aggressiveness and the racist things behind it, sometimes it's difficult to deal with that.”

As a parent, it was overwhelming to see her daughter being regularly mocked on social media platforms. While they resisted the temptation to clap again online, they offered encouragement instead.

“It's just the fact that to whom much is given, much is required, so you deal with it as best you can. “It doesn’t necessarily mean you’re prepared for all of that,” her father said. “If you need help, you need help. I don't think it's any different than any other.

“We just listen. We just sit back and make sure she gets the support and love she needs.”

During the first round of the WNBA playoffs against the Seattle Storm, Wilson's parents jumped for joy on the sidelines when their daughter made a good play or jumped up in anger after officials made missed calls. They described watching their daughter check off lifelong goals as a blessing.

“I’m glad she chose basketball,” her father said with a big grin. “I'm glad because it's something she thrived on. I told her, 'Listen, you have to commit to being excellent.' Don't cheat the game.' She has literally grabbed it and is going through the roof with it.”

There is a great feeling of gratitude and pride when someone mentions their daughter's name as one of the best players in the league. The Wilsons are also proud when their daughter is praised by her teammates.

Aces guard Kelsey Plum described Wilson as a light, the MVP on the court and a human being. Aces guard Sydney Colson publicly thanked Wilson in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter. The Wilsons believe it was a manifestation of what they instilled in their daughter throughout her life.

“A'ja is a good soul. She’s someone who I think has experienced this before,” her father said. “She was always a good person. As a world-class athlete, that came later.

“So we never pushed A'ja to do anything other than have a relationship with God in her own way. She follows the principles she has set for herself. It shows up in TV shows, magazines, and shows just by being around them. It makes us a little proud that we did a few things right.”

Although they are proud of their daughter's record-setting achievements, the Wilsons believe their daughter's true legacy is what she accomplished outside of basketball.

“Basketball is just a vehicle. I believe that A'ja's was destined to impact the lives of other people, especially young people,” her mother said. “Basketball just gave her a broader, bigger platform.

“But I truly believe that she could have impacted other people’s lives because of her makeup and her DNA.”