Officially, we don’t know anything about A’ja Wilson and Bam Adebayo’s relationship. Unofficially, well, come on.
Wilson had a big day on Sunday, scoring 29 points as her Las Vegas Aces defeated the Connecticut Sun, 84-71. Her performance made her the first player in WNBA history to score 1,000 points in a single season.
Adebayo appeared to post his congratulations via X, writing, “Hope everybody finds A’thousand reasons to smile on this lovely Sunday. 😁,” a clear allusion to Wilson’s first name.
Hope everybody finds A’thousand reasons to smile on this lovely Sunday. 😁
— 13am Adebayo (@Bam1of1) September 16, 2024
Hope everybody finds A’thousand reasons to smile on this lovely Sunday. 😁
The reigning Finals MVP didn’t reply directly to Adebayo but posted a GIF herself that seemed to indicate she saw the post.
— A'ja Wilson (@_ajawilson22) September 16, 2024
This isn’t the first time Adebayo has indirectly shown his support for Wilson. Last Thursday, September 12, the day after Wilson notched 27-and-15 in a win over the Indiana Fever, Adebayo posted “U’nanimous,” again a nod to her name and league MVP voting.
A’ja Wilson and Bam Adebayo: What We Know
Rumors of a romantic relationship between Wilson and Adebayo have been circulating since the 2024 Paris Olympics. Both players represented Team USA on their respective national teams.
After the Olympics, the city of Miami honored Adebayo with a key to the city and Wilson showed up at the ceremony. Miami-Dade County mayor Daniella Levine Cava called her out during her remarks, both to congratulate her on winning the gold and fuel speculation about her relationship with the Heat star.
“She won gold in women’s basketball,” she began, before adding, “I guess that has something to do with Bam and the Heat, huh?”
Also special Olympic shoutout to A’ja Wilson who was at the event. 🥇
Wilson played it coy and gave the camera a shrug in response.
Speculation reached a boiling point on Sunday morning — before Adebayo’s social media post — when TMZ posted photos of the two of them together in Indianapolis after the Aces’ game Thursday.
There was nothing scandalous about the photos, the two were merely walking together, but between that and some not-at-all-subtle posts online, fans have all they need to run wild.
A’ja Wilson’s Season in Perspective
Wilson is averaging 27.0 points per game, so any talk trying to discredit her 1,000 points because the WNBA season is longer than it has ever been can be thrown out immediately. For NBA fans, keep in mind a WNBA game is eight minutes shorter than its male counterpart. In a 48-minute game, her average comes out to around 32.4 points.
And that’s with the benefit of only 19 made threes this season. Instead, she’s shooting 51.9% from the field and averaging a career-best 12.0 rebounds per game. With two games remaining, she will almost certainly pass her total offensive rebounding mark from last year (a then-career-high 82). She has 79 as of Monday, September 16. Those extra chances have boosted her numbers and made her lethal on offense.
Last season, Wilson finished third in WNBA MVP voting to Breanna Stewart of the New York Liberty and Alyssa Thomas of the Sun. She got her revenge on Stewart in the finals, however, when the Aces beat her New York squad.
As Adebayo posted last week, this year’s voting could very well be “U’nanimous.”
It’s not even that players like Stewart or Thomas (or Arike Ogunbowale, Napheesa Collier, Kelsey Mitchell, and a host of others) haven’t had their typical great seasons. Wilson has just been that much better.
In addition to her eye-popping totals, she’s been a mark of consistency for the Aces. She’s scored 20-or-more points in 33 of her 37 games played, which is a single-season WNBA record (per ESPN Research), with more time to add to it.
The Aces themselves haven’t been as dominant as they have been the last two years. But as they go for a threepeat, they’re playing their best basketball. Winners of eight of their last 10, Las Vegas will likely be the 4 seed in the WNBA Playoffs with a first-round matchup against the Seattle Storm.
A win in that series and the Wilson vs. Stewart showdown will almost certainly get an encore performance in the semifinals.
Russell Steinberg covers MLB and WNBA for Heavy.com. He is a sports journalist and reporter with work featured at Boardroom, SLAM, The Next, and SB Nation. More about Russell Steinberg
