{"id":707595,"date":"2026-06-16T14:38:16","date_gmt":"2026-06-16T14:38:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/707595\/"},"modified":"2026-06-16T14:38:16","modified_gmt":"2026-06-16T14:38:16","slug":"aja-wilson-on-dealing-with-depression-after-her-first-mvp-season","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/707595\/","title":{"rendered":"A\u2019ja Wilson on Dealing With Depression After Her First MVP Season"},"content":{"rendered":"

A\u2019ja Wilson is at the top of her game. The Las Vegas Aces center is a two-time WNBA MVP, Olympic gold medalist and now the face of a Wheaties box. <\/a><\/p>\n

But her success as an athlete hasn\u2019t come without challenges. Wilson, 29, opened up about her experiences with depression on the June 16 episode of the \u201cGlass Half Full\u201d <\/a>podcast, hosted by Craig Melvin, a fellow South Carolina native. <\/p>\n

Wilson said she started experiencing depression during the COVID-19 pandemic, when she and 143 other WNBA players were quarantined at IMG Academy in Florida in 2020. The isolation bubble (referred to as the \u201cwubble\u201d) lasted for nearly 100 days, per ESPN<\/a>. Stuck with just her own thoughts and the game, Wilson realized she \u201cdidn\u2019t really have an outlet,\u201d she told Craig. <\/p>\n

\u201cIt was just me and basketball. And normally, basketball is my sanctuary. But sometimes when that\u2019s the only thing, it\u2019s kind of like the highs and lows,\u201d she said. \u201cI just didn\u2019t feel right. And I felt like I started to dive into people pleasing, and I felt bad because I wasn\u2019t the person that everyone wanted me to be all the time.\u201d <\/p>\n

That\u2019s when Wilson started to come to terms with the reality of her mental health. <\/p>\n

\u201cAnd then you say the magical question, \u2018What\u2019s wrong with me?\u2019 And it\u2019s like, well, nothing\u2019s wrong with you. You\u2019re just human,\u201d she explained. <\/p>\n

For Wilson, navigating her mental health challenges meant accepting day-to-day fluctuations and trying to make each day better than the one before, she said. <\/p>\n

Navigating the mental health challenges of the bubble season, which marked Wilson\u2019s first MVP year, shaped her personally and professionally, she told Craig. When she came out if it, she \u201cjust didn\u2019t feel good,\u201d even amid so much success. The next season, she was ready to \u201cgive my all to the game,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat right there I think was a pivotal moment for me to really realize who I was and understand that, yes, I can battle with anxiety and depression and still be an amazing woman that shows up for her family, her friends, and everyone in between,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

That perspective shift brought a change in priorities, too. <\/p>\n

\u201cI really kind of turned the page into becoming a woman that I wanted to be, not necessarily a woman that everyone wanted me to be,\u201d she added. \u201cI kind of really started to focus on myself.\u201d<\/p>\n

In March 2021, Wilson published an essay in The Players\u2019 Tribune <\/a>speaking candidly about her struggles with mental health as a Black woman.<\/p>\n

\u201cI mean, I have this vision for myself that I feel like I have to meet \u2014 not as a basketball player, but as a Black woman in America. As A\u2019ja. I feel like I need to handle every situation with grace and poise and positivity. I can\u2019t let them catch me losing my cool, right? \u2026 Meanwhile, when the cameras are all gone and I\u2019m in bed by myself, I\u2019m crying my eyes out.\u201d <\/p>\n

Wilson has continued to advocate for Black women\u2019s mental health throughout recent years. In 2024, she expanded one of her essays<\/a> into a best-selling memoir: \u201cDear Black Girls: How to be True to You.\u201d <\/p>\n

While Wilson continues on the lifelong journey of mental health, she is sticking with therapy, she told Craig. And she\u2019s staying level-headed about the challenges that come her way.<\/p>\n

\u201cLife be life-ing, Craig,\u201d she joked.<\/p>\n