How Las Vegas Aces star A'ja Wilson's openness inspires others outside of basketball

COLUMBIA — Zaria Corley has always loved South Carolina women's basketball.

The 10-year-old has a simple routine. She watches the games and goes outside, practicing what she saw. Even before Zaria's famous rap about Aliyah Boston, she modeled her game after A'ja Wilson. Zaria loves Wilson's versatility, shooting a silky jumper or an making an up-and-under.

She's fun to watch.

"Being a young girl, I've always wanted to be like A'ja Wilson, she inspired me to play basketball," Zaria, who is from Batesburg-Leesville, told the Greenville News. "Its exciting watching her play ... she's one of my idols."

Wilson, born and raised in Columbia, cemented legendary status at South Carolina. Consensus National Player of the Year, three time SEC Player of the Year, tournament MVP for 2017 NCAA championship, to name a few of Wilson's accolades.

Her six seasons in the WNBA with the Las Vegas Aces has introduced Wilson to a new group of fans.

Arionna Long, 13, from Missouri, has gone to Aces games with her grandma, and was immediately inspired by Wilson.

"She gives me confidence to control my own destiny and to never change for anyone, to stay true to who I am," Arionna said.

In February, Wilson released her first book "Dear Black Girls" and Marsay traveled to South Carolina for Wilson's book tour. She met Wilson again at the "Unapologetic Girls Summit" in March and Wilson signed her shoe.

However, before Wilson's WNBA championships, two league MVP awards, five All-Star appearances and her book, something else attracted her to a new set of fans, two weeks before the draft.

"That was the day I found out that I had something called dyslexia," Wilson wrote in Players Tribune on March 24, 2018.

How A'ja Wilson inspires a new group of fans

Wilson's honesty deepened her relatability off the court. When Wilson plays Saturday in Columbia for a preseason game with the Aces against Puerto Rico national team, fans will be watching for a whole new reason.

"I think its inspiring to see someone who has dyslexia be really successful with what they are doing," said Jordan, a fourth-grade student with dyslexia at the Swift School, in Roswell, Georgia. The Greenville News agreed not to use Jordan's last name for this story.

"It feels good knowing that you can look and see that there is someone else who has gone through the same challenges as you and is very successful, to be able to follow in their footsteps or do something similar it (gives) me a lot of confidence," Jordan added.

The Swift School was founded in 1998, with a goal to build a school to help students with dyslexia and language learning differences.

In October, to celebrate National Dyslexia Awareness Month, students arrived dressed as different celebrities with dyslexia. One student went as Spider-Man star actor Tom Holland, another as Will Smith, one as Tom Cruise. Then, there was Jordan, smiling from ear to ear, wearing a shirt that read "2022 WNBA champions Las Vegas Aces" and a name tag that read "A'ja Wilson."

"I was really proud to be inspired by (Wilson) and I wanted to show that," Jordan said.

Jordan's love for Wilson started before she knew how similar the two were. Jordan joined her grandmother and mother on the couch for an Aces game, and wondered who her family's favorite player was. When they answered "A'ja Wilson," it was the first time Jordan heard her name.

Now, even though she doesn't play basketball yet, Jordan hopes one day she can inspire others with dyslexia the same way Wilson has done for her.

"Sometimes I wouldn't want to tell people I have dyslexia but now I feel really confident to tell people I have dyslexia," Jordan said of Wilson's impact. "I would love to talk to someone and tell them its ok to have dyslexia."

The A'ja Wilson Foundation started in 2019 with Wilson and her parents, with a simple mission: "Change the culture by overcoming the stigma of dyslexia and putting an end to bullying." A secret that Wilson said she expected to keep her whole life, is the root of her advocacy. Since authoring the Players Tribune piece, Wilson's foundation has partnered with numerous schools and organizations.

For Alison Katz, a teacher finishing up her 13th year at Swift, Wilson was introduced to her through Jordan. In her extensive career teaching students with dyslexia, she finds there is a difference when an athlete comes forward to speak about their difficulties.

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"Some students have challenges in the classroom but are so gifted outside of the classroom so to be able to see them shine through (various sports), its really neat for them to be able to look up to these very talented athletes and say 'hey that could be me one day," Katz said.

Lulu Kesin covers South Carolina athletics for The Greenville News and the USA TODAY Network. Email her at lkesin@gannett.com and follow her on X, formerly known as Twitter, @Lulukesin