All-Star! A’ja Wilson is first Gamecock to earn coveted WNBA honor since 2003

The list of honors and achievements A’ja Wilson doesn’t have continues to shrink, as the former South Carolina women’s basketball great was named a WNBA All-Star on Tuesday.

Wilson, the No. 1 overall draft pick earlier this spring, has wasted little time in becoming one of the most dominant players in the league while leading her team, the Las Vegas Aces, to within striking distance of the playoffs, surpassing the franchise’s win totals of the past three seasons.

In her rookie season, Wilson is averaging 19.9 points, 8.7 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 1.7 blocks per game. She also ranks 11th in the league in Player Impact Estimate and second in usage rate. She is the first Gamecock to be named a WNBA All-Star since Shannon Johnson was in 2003 and just the second in program history.

Wilson is the first rookie to be named an All-Star since 2014. If she is named a starter, she will become just the seventh first-year player to start the game, which began in 1999 and will take place for the 15th time in Minneapolis on July 28.

Another former USC player, Allisha Gray, was in contention for an All-Star spot this season according to a fan vote update released July 5, ranking 30th at the time. She did not, however, capture a spot. One of Wilson’s current teammates, guard Kayla McBride, did earn a nod.

For the All-Star Game, the WNBA is adopting the new format recently introduced by the NBA, with the top two vote-getters serving as captains and drafting the other 20 players into two teams, regardless of conference. Those teams will be revealed on ESPN2 on Thursday and starters will be announced on July 27.

WNBA ALL-STARS

Seimone Augustus, Minnesota Lynx

Liz Cambage, Dallas Wings

Tina Charles, New York Liberty

Sue Bird, Seattle Storm

DeWanna Bonner, Phoenix Mercury

Elena Delle Donne, Washington Mystics (captain)

Skylar Diggins-Smith, Dallas Wings,

Sylvia Fowles, Minnesota Lynx

Chelsea Gray, Los Angeles Sparks

Brittney Griner, Phoenix Mercury

Jewell Loyd, Seattle Storm

Kayla McBride, Las Vegas Aces

Angel McCoughtry, Atlanta Dream

Maya Moore, Minnesota Lynx

Chiney Ogwumike, Connecticut Sun

Nneka Ogwumike, Los Angeles Sparks

Candace Parker, Los Angeles Sparks (captain)

Allie Quigley, Chicago Sky

Breanna Stewart, Seattle Storm

Diana Taurasi, Phoenix Mercury

Kristi Toliver, Washington Mystics

A’ja Wilson, Las Vegas Aces

This story was originally published July 17, 2018 at 7:02 PM.