Dawn Staley Beams With Pride as A’ja Wilson Sets WNBA Scoring Record: “Once a Bucket, Always a Bucket!”
South Carolina head coach Dawn Staley has built one of the most dominant programs in college basketball — and she’s never shy about celebrating her former players’ success on the biggest stages.
One of her greatest protégés, A’ja Wilson, added yet another historic milestone to her already legendary resume this week. The Las Vegas Aces superstar became the fastest player in WNBA history to score 5,000 career points, a feat that had Staley beaming with pride.
Taking to social media Thursday morning, Staley wrote:
“Am good peeps! @GamecockWBB own @_ajawilson22 became the fastest player in @WNBA history to reach 5k points!! Congrats A!!! Once a bucket always a bucket! What @WNBA @GamecockWBB player will we post about next?!!”
Wilson, 28, was the No. 1 overall pick in the 2018 WNBA Draft and has spent her entire pro career with the Aces. In that time, she’s built a Hall-of-Fame-worthy legacy that includes:
- Three WNBA MVP awards
- Six All-Star selections
- Two Defensive Player of the Year honors
- Two WNBA championships
- 2023 Finals MVP
Her dominance traces back to her time in Columbia, where she powered South Carolina to its first national championship in 2017. Wilson was named the Most Outstanding Player of that tournament, and the following year swept nearly every major individual honor, including AP Player of the Year, Naismith Player of the Year, and the Wooden Award.
As for Staley, her own career is nothing short of elite — six-time WNBA All-Star, two-time Naismith winner as a player, and now a three-time NCAA champion as a coach with seven Final Four appearances to her name.
With stars like Wilson leading the charge in the WNBA and new Gamecock standouts rising through the ranks, Staley’s rhetorical question — “Which @GamecockWBB player will we post about next?” — feels less like speculation and more like a promise.
The legacy continues.
