A’ja Wilson was the consensus No. 1 pick in the WNBA Draft on Thursday night, making her pro dreams come true when she was selected by the Las Vegas Aces.
The 6’5 forward was a star at South Carolina in her college career, averaging 22.6 points and 11.8 rebounds as a senior. Wilson had 105 blocked shots as a senior for the Gamecocks, which were knocked off by UConn in the Elite Eight this year.
Detroit Pistons forward Blake Griffin is Wilson’s favorite player, and he had a surprise waiting for her by way of a special digital message congratulating her on her draft night.
First @_AjaWilson22 saw her dream come true as the #WNBADraft's No. 1 pick to the @LVAces.
Then she got a surprise message from her longtime favorite player, @BlakeGriffin23.
Her reaction? Priceless. #WatchMeWork pic.twitter.com/DFHi1AA0MZ
— WNBA (@WNBA) April 12, 2018
“Congratulations on getting drafted,” Griffin said. “It’s been very fun to watch your college career and see you go to the next level. I can’t wait to see what you do in the league. You’re going to dominate for a long, long time.”
Wilson was in shock watching the video, but once it was done she was thrilled by the message.
“Oh. My. Goodness. What?” she said. “I gotta watch it one more time. One more time. I’m sorry. Just one more time.”
The second part of the video is hilarious. Wilson starts responding to the things Griffin says in the video, saying “hey” when he asks her “what’s up” and saying “thank you” when he offers congratulations on her draft.
She seems in disbelief when the video plays through a second time, pausing for a moment then asking a very important question.
“OK,” Wilson said. “How can I get this video?”
It was a night to remember for Wilson, a name hoops fans will get used to hearing as a star for Vegas in the years to come.
