The newly crowned 2024 WNBA MVP A’ja Wilson has caught some heat from fans as she compared her Las Vegas Aces teammate Kelsey Plum to college star Paige Bueckers. In a resurfaced video, Wilson discussed race and privilege as she and her Aces teammates watched a Women’s NCAA Tournament game.

Wilson saw the similarities between Plum and Bueckers. The three-time MVP then gave a more detailed explanation behind her take.

“Us, as black women, Paige reminds me a lot of you. Like, if you say, ‘It’s not really about me.’ She knows,” Wilson said. “And she knows how her privilege has gotten her to that point. And also, she’s good at basketball, obviously. Like, she understands her privilege. It’s like what pushes her over the top in a sense. It reminds me a lot of you. And I mean, that’s a compliment.”

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But while Wilson said it was a compliment, her comments didn’t sit well with the fans. They criticized the star player for the Aces on X (formerly Twitter) for what she told her teammate.

“Absolute brain rot,” a fan said about Wilson.

“This is literally a sport. Wtf. Y’all bouta ruin basketball with victimhood narratives,” another fan said.
“Yep I tried being a fan of the league. From this point on I’m just gonna be a fan of the Indiana fever,” a fan shared after seeing the video of Wilson.
Other fans called Wilson out.

“Aja grew going to private school and she’s talking about someone else’s privilege.. S**t is so toxic,” a fan called the WNBA star out.

“Aja spouting off nonsense,” another fan said.
“The irony is that, A’ja grew up privileged with both parents and went to a private school,” a fan said.
Also read: 5 things A’ja Wilson and Las Vegas Aces must do to win Game 2 vs New York Liberty

A’ja Wilson talked about dealing with racism in the WNBA
This season, A’ja Wilson became the first player in the WNBA to record 1,000 points in a single season. Despite the crowning achievement, Wilson shared the difficulties of having to deal with racism and hate.

“It’s tough,” Wilson said per the Las Vegas Review-Journal. “It really is tough to just navigate in a world that doesn’t necessarily want to see you succeed or constantly has to nitpick on why you’re succeeding… And so when you have the passive-aggressiveness, the racial things that go on behind it, it’s tough to navigate that sometimes.”

Her comments came after the league addressed the issues it’s faced due to racism and hate. The league had to address the issue after Connecticut Sun’s Alyssa Thomas talked about dealing with racism among some of the Indiana Fever’s fans.