A’ja Wilson Withdraws From FIBA World Cup Roster Amid Health Concerns
A’ja Wilson will not represent Team USA at the 2026 FIBA Women’s World Cup, USA Basketball confirmed, citing “health reasons” for her withdrawal alongside Sparks guard Kelsey Plum. The news broke via reporter Alexa Philippou, who announced that Kelsey Plum and A’ja Wilson will no longer compete for Team USA at the upcoming FIBA Women’s World Cup due to health reasons, USA Basketball announced. The Mystics’ Kiki Iriafen and Sonia Citron have been named to the roster in their place.
The withdrawal is notable given Wilson hadn’t dealt with any publicly reported significant injury this season. She currently leads the WNBA in scoring at 26 points per game, and has been carrying a heavy workload recently — including back-to-back 27-point outings against Toronto and a 32-point effort in a loss to Minnesota on August 15. She’s also been logging 30-plus minutes per game since the All-Star break, and was just 38 points shy of a second career 1,000-point season, a milestone that would have made WNBA history again. Whether the decision reflects simple load management after a demanding season or an undisclosed injury concern remains unclear.
As the reigning FIBA World Cup, Olympic, and WNBA MVP, Wilson’s absence is a real loss for Team USA’s roster depth — but the tournament still features a strong South Carolina connection through Indiana’s Aliyah Boston, who is representing the U.S. at the World Cup for the first time. She’ll be joined by stars including Caitlin Clark, Napheesa Collier, Paige Bueckers, and Angel Reese, while two of Wilson’s own Aces teammates, Chelsea Gray and Jackie Young, will have to compete without her.
The tournament runs September 4-13 in Berlin, with Team USA opening group play against China on September 4 at 8:15 a.m. ET, airing on TNT and streaming on HBO Max, followed by matchups against Italy on September 6 and Czechia on September 7. The U.S. enters as the heavy favorite, having won 12 gold medals historically, including the last five World Cups in a row.
For Wilson personally, missing the tournament is a disappointment after previously being named to the roster earlier in August. The likely silver lining is that the time off doubles as rest ahead of Las Vegas’s playoff push this fall, giving her a chance to recover physically before what the Aces hope will be a deep postseason run.
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