The Las Vegas Aces just keep winning … on and off the court.
Just hours after beating the Seattle Storm on Monday night in Las Vegas, TIME100’s inaugural Sports list was released. Named on the list? Star player A’ja Wilson and head coach Becky Hammon.
This recognition highlights both Wilson’s dominance as one of the WNBA’s brightest stars and Hammon’s leadership in shaping a championship level team.
A’ja Wilson Adds Another Accolade To Her Already Long List
Star player A’ja Wilson, who’s list of accolades, accomplishments, and record-breaking moments is already miles and miles long, has one more to add to it now that TIME Magazine’s list of 100 most influential people in sports just released.
This announcement comes just hours after Wilson reached 6,000 career points during the Aces vs. Seattle Storm game on Monday night in Las Vegas. And did we mention she became the fastest player in league history to do it?
Wilson told reporters after the game that she takes a lot of pride in what she’s doing.
“It’s easy to be good on one side of the basketball but can you be great on both? And that’s what I strive to do every single day,” she said during Monday’s postgame presser. “It’s not easy at all. It’s really hard but I’m surrounded by women that make sure that I can trust them and I hope that I can be the same for them.”
A Record Breaking Year On And Off The Court
According to TIME, Wilson “became the first player in WNBA or NBA history to—deep breath—win a championship, claim the scoring title, and be named Finals MVP, league MVP, and Defensive Player of the Year in the same season.”
This all happened in the same year that Wilson debuted her signature shoe, the A’One, which was the first for a Black WNBA player from the brand in more than 20 years.
Her signature A’Two recently released and she teased news about her shoes coming out soon during Monday’s postgame conference.
“When it comes to teasing, hopefully Nike doesn’t kill me, some news maybe dropping this week,” she told reporters with a smile. “I don’t know. Maybe.”
Aces Head Coach Becky Hammon Also Made The List
In addition to Wilson’s name making the list, head coach Becky Hammon’s name can also be found on the list of 100 most influential people in sports.
Just last month, Hammon became the second-fastest coach in WNBA history to win 150 games. She achieved this feat in just 205 games, only behind Houston Comets coach Van Chancellor, who achieved it in 198 games. After reaching this milestone, Hammon told ESPN what “stands out the most” for her.
“What stands out the most to me is how much I enjoy the process. We’re a process kind of team,” she said. “If you go through the right process, you get good results. The results will be there.”
She also became the third-fastest coach in league history to win 125 regular season games.
Becky Hammon ‘Was Already A Trailblazer’
According to TIME, Hammon “was already a trailblazer” before joining the WNBA coaching ranks in the 2022 season. Before that, she was hired as the first full-time female assistant coach in NBA history by the San Antonio Spurs.
“In 2020, Hammon became the first woman to serve as head coach in a game, taking over after [Gregg] Popovich got ejected,” TIME wrote. “After interviewing for some NBA head-coaching jobs and not getting hired, she moved over to the W, where she has implemented more offensive spacing and a faster pace for the Las Vegas Aces and encouraged star A’ja Wilson to shoot more three-pointers.”
Other Sports Figures On TIME100’s List
Who else made the prestigious list?
LeBron James, Lionel Messi, Lando Norris, Dawn Staley, Victor Wembanyama, Jalen Brunson, Lindsay Vonn, Cooper Flagg, Dana White, Shams Charania, Fernando Mendoza, and many others also made the inaugural sports list.
You can see the whole list here.