WNBA star A’ja Wilson believes her league has the toughest schedule in pro sports – an opinion which drew her widespread criticism on Thursday.
Wilson, speaking on Jalen Brunson and Josh Hart’s ‘Roommates Show’ podcast, was asked by the latter if WNBA players had the hardest schedule and ‘most stressful, strenuous careers.’
‘Yeah, for sure,’ the Las Vegas Aces star began.
Wilson went on to discuss the extremely short turnaround for rookies upon entering the league from college, as last year’s national championship was held on April 7 and the draft was just eight days later.
‘We don’t get to go work out for teams, we don’t have a combine. It’s literally like – you literally go from college…,’ Wilson said.
The three-time WNBA MVP also shared how she walked at her college graduation after already taking part in pro training camp.
While Hart didn’t object to Wilson’s opinion, plenty on X did.
‘So disrespectful to MLB athletes,’ one said, referencing baseball’s grueling 162-game schedule.
‘They literally play only 4 months in a year span,’ another said.
A third fan said, ‘A’ja VICTIM Wilson.. so your rookie year is tough but after that then what?’
And a fourth said, They think so highly of themselves lol’
The most recent WNBA season was also heavily impacted by the Olympics, as the league – which runs from May to October – paused during the Paris Games as 31 players from the league participated in the games.
‘It’s insane,’ Wilson continued. ‘I would have to say our schedule is pretty crazy. And for us we [the Aces] had six Olympians this year, so that’s like half our roster gone… It’s a lot, I’m surprised we did what we did this year.’
Many players also take their talents overseas during the WNBA offseason to make more money, with the maximum salary in the league just above $250,000 per year.
