A'ja Wilson

As Black women, there's so much pressure on us to be everything to everyone. We're expected to wear so many different hats, and to juggle so many different roles - and to do it all with a smile.

I don't want my greatness to sneak up on people - you know what I mean? I want them to expect it. And then I want to deliver.

Coach Staley is the real boss. You're talking about a woman who won three Olympic gold medals for our country. You're talking about a six-time WNBA All-Star. You're talking about a Naismith winner as a player and a coach. She's the ultimate boss.

I was always able to learn better in small classrooms. So my parents sent me to this private school called Heathwood.

The biggest thing for me is helping people understand that there is a women's bracket, and you should fill out brackets on both sides. So many focus on the men's NCAA and often forget the women. Both need to be watched, we have our upsets and excitement just like the men do.

I love candles, they help me relax.

As Black women, we go through so much from code switching and putting on a mask just to get in the door. It's not easy and takes sacrifice, but when you are your authentic self, you're going to be successful as a whole.

There are so many standards that people want you to meet, but you're never going to meet them all.

Playing around some of the best ever to play has been a lot of fun, seeing their basketball IQ and their knowledge.

There's a difference between being a leader and a boss. I've never wanted to be a boss.

Yes, you see me in a uniform. Yes, you can see the banners, the trophies and the rings. But behind all that, I'm a human.

It seems like no matter how successful you are, or how strong, or how many lives you've changed, or how many banners you've got hanging... If you're a Black woman in this country, especially in the South? It's always this vibe of, 'I'm going to tell the real boss on you.'

Some mornings I want to sit in bed and maybe cry my heart out a little bit, and feel all the feelings. That's not weakness. That's honesty.

I know what it takes to build a winning program - because I've seen one built firsthand.

It's OK to have those days where you're just not feeling like yourself.

I love LeBron. He's worth every penny, nickel and dime, and he does good with it. I've got nothing against it. It's just me, thinking about myself as a professional athlete, thinking, 'Damn, it's out there, how can we get it as well?' Not necessarily his number, his contract, even though people made it seem that way.

I always say, 'if you can see her, you can be her.' That's why I like playing on the platform I'm on because it gives another young Black girl the opportunity to say, 'if she can do it, so can I.' I try to relay that and help them realize that you are the light that someone needs.

South Carolina is going to always mean the world to me. They have built me up.

I decided to start my pro career off by partnering with YouCaring to host a fundraising campaign for Palmetto Children's Hospital.

When I was growing up, the hardest part for me was that when I looked around I didn't see anyone who looked like me. If my school was 10% Black, it was probably 3% Black girls. All the teachers - shout-out to them - were white. Except one. We had one Black female teacher.

Change doesn't happen overnight.

Greatness takes a lot of time.

You know when you are an athlete, nothing is supposed to be wrong. Everything is supposed to be easy and life is good.

No matter what, I'm gonna achieve all my goals and dreams.

My goal is to not just to be the best basketball player that I can be, but to also inspire the next generation that looks like me.

When it comes to my story with dyslexia, it was a tough one for me to really speak out about - because, you know, being an athlete, people see the accolades. People see you in the uniform but they don't really understand you're still human at the end of the day.

I never expected to field as much hate and negativity that I did, but it just fueled my fire and my teammates' fire.

It's really hard to open up and be vulnerable, particularly as a professional athlete because people are very nitpicky with our lives.

Barbecue is always good in the south, especially in South Carolina.

I am lucky to be in a field where I can wear my hair the way I want, and the apostrophe in my name won't impact my prospects - but that's something that Black women often run into.

I didn't play on an organized team until I was 13 or 14 years old. Two years later, I was invited to the Junior National Team, and it wasn't until I looked around and realized that I was the youngest on the team that it finally hit me: I was really good at what I did.

I was a late bloomer when it came to basketball.

Sometimes, I'm in my own way. I have to let people come in and tell me things that I need to hear, and not necessarily things that I want to hear. That's Coach Staley.

I'm a perfectionist.

My biggest thing would just be: I'm a big celebrate the small wins, but dissect my Ls person. That's what makes me who I am. If I can dissect those Ls and turn them into lessons in real life - where did I go wrong, how can I fix it? - it helps me celebrate those big wins even more.

Mental health is always somethin' that's really tough to talk about. But I'm glad that, you know, athletes that are on a platform can share our stories in a way to show people that we're all going through it.

I'm just forever grateful to have people that were, you know, so into not just basketball A'ja and helping me grow and helping me build - and become a woman that I am today.

I'm still grateful to have people like Coach Staley in my life that made me read the scripture before shootaround. That made me get outta my comfort zone of reading in public. And it's kinda helped me - a lot.

I focus on me; how can I be a better teammate? A better person? I just let the rest pan out. I can't really pay a lot of attention to the accolades, but at the same time, I don't take for granted how blessed I really am.

During my rookie year, my parents always talked about me needing vegetables. I was like, 'I'm not a cook. I'm not a chef. I don't do that.' I was eating garbage.

I'm low-key a foodie.

As I always say, 'If you could see her, you could be her.' So, you have to put yourself out there so people can see you.

At the end of the day, there are different paths to greatness. And I feel like we don't hear that message enough, especially as Black women.

My emotions are my emotions. My pain is my pain. My story is my story.

Over the years, Coach Staley has become like my second mom. And she has helped me with so much on the basketball court that I don't think I ever directly told her how important she has been in helping me deal with the things that aren't related to basketball. Especially with dyslexia.

My dad had always encouraged me to play basketball, he didn't push me too much at first - he wanted me to try out lots of hobbies and other sports and try to find my own path. I played volleyball for a while. Eventually I did end up loving basketball on my own terms.

I was a kid who liked hanging out at home, watching TV, and having the occasional sleepover at a friend's. I wasn't trying to be outside shooting 1,000 free throws in the driveway before the sun came up every morning.

I was 13 when I first met Dawn Staley. We shook hands at a basketball camp.

Scouting, man, it's so different up here in the W. Because in college, we'd have all of this time between games. So we'd spend so much time scouting each opponent. But then in the WNBA, it's nothing like that, because the schedule is moving too fast.

Allisha's a big guard, and I love that. Wait, no - no no. I have to back this up a second. This is where a good journalist I think has to make a 'full disclosure.' O.K., full disclosure: Allisha Gray is my best friend.