‘This is home’: Aces MVP signs extension to stay in Las Vegas

A’ja Wilson didn’t want to waste anyone’s time, especially when she already knew she didn’t want to leave.

“This is home for me,” she said. “I plan to stay here.”

Wilson signed a two-year contract extension with the Aces, the team announced Friday without revealing how much money she will receive in her new deal. The extension keeps the reigning MVP and defensive player of the year in Las Vegas through 2025, Wilson’s age 28 season.

Sources with knowledge of the negotiations told the Review-Journal that Wilson did not sign a maximum base salary extension, meaning the entire core four — Wilson, Chelsea Gray, Kelsey Plum and Jackie Young — have taken less money to keep the group together. All four are now under contract with the Aces through the 2024 season.

“The minute they drafted me, they took a chance on me,” Wilson said. “They wanted me to build this program, to build around me and to help us grow. I was super grateful for that.”

Wilson has been everything the Aces hoped for and more since they selected her with the No. 1 overall pick during the 2018 WNBA draft. She was the franchise’s first selection following its relocation to Las Vegas.

Just six seasons into her career, Wilson has already established herself as one of the league’s premier players.

“One of the best, if not the best basketball player in the world,” Aces coach Becky Hammon said. “As good as she is as a basketball player, she’s that good as a person and as a leader. To have that skill set and personality all wrapped up in one is a special gift.

“We’re certainly happy she chose to stay with us.”

The former South Carolina forward won her first MVP during the 2020 season, then won her second MVP and the league’s defensive player of the year award while guiding the Aces to their first championship in franchise history and the first major league professional sports title in Las Vegas history in 2022.

“She was the big piece we needed to secure this year,” Aces general manager Natalie Williams said. “Talking with her and her agent, I think A’ja is very happy here. She loves the coaching staff, the environment, the facilities and her teammates.”

Wilson has spent her entire career in Las Vegas. She said she’s enjoyed watching the team and the fan base grow. Wilson remembers being able to sneak into stores like Target unnoticed when she first arrived, but said now she can’t make it past the parking lot without people saying hello and asking her about the Aces.

She also added that she sees the new Aces headquarters, the first of its kind in the WNBA, and investment from the team’s ownership group as a bonus to go along with her other reasons to re-sign.

“Having a franchise that trusts you,” Wilson said, “that’s behind you 100 percent, that will do whatever it takes to make sure you are successful in what you do, that was a major thing for me.”

Wilson signed a two-year rookie-scale extension prior to the 2022 season as a restricted free agent. She was scheduled to hit unrestricted free agency for the first time in her career following the 2023 season.

Williams said negotiations began about two weeks ago and went smoothly as both the Aces and Wilson wanted her to remain in Las Vegas for the foreseeable future.

While she didn’t sign for maximum money, the contract does give Wilson some flexibility. The WNBA’s Collective Bargaining Agreement expires after the 2027 season, but the league and the players association can begin negotiating in 2025 and either party has the option to terminate the CBA after the 2025 season.

If the league or the players association terminate the CBA early and renegotiate to include something like a higher salary cap, Wilson will hit unrestricted free agency at the right time to take advantage.

Contact reporter Andy Yamashita at ayamashita@reviewjournal.com. Follow @ANYamashita on Twitter.