Together again: Gamecocks great A’ja Wilson to join Dawn Staley at Tokyo Olympics

Dawn Staley and A’ja Wilson already teamed up to bring a women’s basketball championship to South Carolina. Next month, they’ll try to win gold for the United States.

USA Basketball announced Monday that Wilson — leader of the 2017 USC national title team and current Las Vegas Ace — will play for the U.S. national team in the Tokyo Olympics, which begin July 23.

Wilson is one of 12 players Staley will lead in her first Olympics as a head coach.

“It’s just tremendous,” Staley said. “This is one of the things we talked about. I think she’s been able to check off everything, every list that she’s compiled since I’ve known her, this being one of them. I’m not surprised.

“A’ja, the things that she’s done after leaving the University of South Carolina have been quite amazing. She was born and bred to do what she’s doing.”

Coming off a 2020 season in which she won WNBA MVP, Wilson is the second Gamecock to play for the U.S. women’s team, following Shannon Johnson’s appearance in 1996 in Atlanta.

The U.S. women’s team is looking for its seventh-straight gold medal, a streak that Staley helped start as a player on the 1996, 2000 and 2004 Olympic teams. Staley served as an assistant coach on both the 2008 and 2016 Olympic gold medal teams before USA Basketball named her the first Black head coach of the national team in 2017.

Entering her 14th season as USC head coach, Staley has grown into one of the brightest coaching stars in basketball, drawing interest from the NBA’s Portland Trail Blazers for their head coach opening. Staley confirmed Monday that she has spoken to the Trail Blazers, but provided no further updates.

On Saturday, Staley led a younger group of United States women to a gold medal in the FIBA Women’s AmeriCup tournament in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Including current Gamecocks Aliyah Boston and Destanni Henderson, the U.S. team of top collegiate players defeated professional players from across the world, ending the tournament with a 74-59 win over Puerto Rico.

Though the Olympic team will feature a different, older set of players from the WNBA, Staley said she hopes to continue the momentum in Tokyo.

“Anytime that you represent USA Basketball, you’ve got the biggest target on your back or your chest, and everybody seems to play their best basketball,” Staley said. “What’s happened over the time that I’ve been the head coach of USA Basketball teams are opportunities to familiarize myself with the pressures. We won a gold medal two days ago in Puerto Rico. These are all great experiences for me to ultimately help for what we want to do in Tokyo next month.”

The Olympic team will include stars from the WNBA like Skylar Diggins-Smith, Breanna Stewart and Brittney Griner. While Wilson will be playing in the Olympics for the first time, she has experience playing in world cups, and Staley said Wilson will “play an integral role in our success” in Tokyo.

“A’ja, what she’s been able to do both on and off the court, tells us that she’s prepared for this moment,” Staley said. “Playing in an Olympic Games is not just about playing, it’s about being mature. It’s about being able to play with other great players. It’s about also just performing at a high level, as well.

“Every step of A’ja’s career she utilized in a way which helped her for a moment like this, and I couldn’t be more proud of her and who she is and what she represents for all of us.”

U.S. Tokyo Olympic Team

Ariel Atkins, Washington Mystics, Texas

Sue Bird, Seattle Storm, UConn

Tina Charles, Washington Mystics, UConn

Napheesa Collier, Minnesota Lynx, UConn

Skylar Diggins-Smith, Phoenix Mercury, Notre Dame

Sylvia Fowles, Minnesota Lynx, LSU

Chelsea Gray, Las Vega Aces, Duke

Brittney Griner, Phoenix Mercury, Baylor

Jewell Loyd, Seattle Storm, Notre Dame

Breanna Stewart, Seattle Storm, UConn

Diana Taurasi, Phoenix Mercury, UConn

A’ja Wilson, Las Vegas Aces, South Carolina