A’ja Wilson Withdraws from FIBA World Cup: Aces Prioritize Health
LAS VEGAS — A’ja Wilson is sitting out the FIBA Women’s World Cup. The Las Vegas Aces are fine with that. In fact, they’re insisting on it.
“She’s needed some time, obviously,” Aces coach Becky Hammon told USA TODAY after Wednesday’s practice. “I still think she's dealing with some back stuff. Some days it's a little sorer than others.”
The calendar says international duty. The Aces’ reality says something else: four regular-season games left after the FIBA break, a tight grip on the No. 3 seed, and a player who has carried a franchise and a league on her back for years — now literally managing that back.
Hammon expects Wilson ready when the WNBA schedule resumes on Sept. 17, ready enough to help drive a final push into the postseason.
“For the most part, I think she's able to come out here and compete, and be there for her teammates, which is always her first priority,” Hammon said. “But I'm keeping an eye on her, you know? Even in this downtime.”
A late withdrawal, and a loud reaction
Wilson and former Aces guard Kelsey Plum were both late scratches from Team USA’s World Cup roster. On Monday, Aug. 31, USA Basketball announced that Washington Mystics players Kiki Iriafen and Sonia Citron would step in as replacements, just days before the U.S. opened group play in Berlin on Friday, Aug. 31.
Team USA rolled through the group at 3-0. The noise back home didn’t quiet with the wins.
Media voices and fans kept circling Wilson’s decision, questioning whether it was really about health. Former ESPN host Linda Cohn went further, suggesting on her show that Wilson’s absence came from “insecurity” rather than injury.
“Is there any part of A'ja that didn't want to spend the next couple of weeks watching the World Cup become the Caitlin Clark show?” Cohn asked. “Could there be some insecurity, dare I say? ... If Aja Wilson has a back injury, then why did she play over 30 minutes a game in six of her last seven games and over 27 minutes in the other?”
Those comments didn’t just stir debate. They drew a sharp rebuke from Bernice King, daughter of Martin Luther King Jr.
“Linda Cohn owes A'ja Wilson a public apology and a retraction,” King wrote. “What disappointing, delusional, and dangerous commentary targeting a great ambassador and GOAT athlete for the @wnba and for sports. Period.”
Hammon said she wasn’t familiar with the specific remarks, but she didn’t hesitate when the broader criticism came up.
“A'ja has every right to do what she feels is best health wise. And the other thing is, the men do this all the time,” Hammon told USA TODAY. “Can you name me any of the men's world championship rosters right now? Can you name me any person on there? What I’m saying is, LeBron (James) and those guys — if this was a man making this decision, there would be nothing to say. And that's my problem.”
The record backs her up. LeBron James played in one FIBA Basketball World Cup, back in 2006 in Japan, took bronze, and never returned to that tournament, choosing to focus on the Olympics and NBA rest. Stephen Curry last appeared at a World Cup in 2014, winning gold, and has stayed away since.
Top NBA stars routinely skip the World Cup to preserve their bodies and prioritize the Olympics. The topic exploded again in 2023, when a U.S. team led by Anthony Edwards and Jalen Brunson finished fourth in Manila with a roster missing the league’s biggest names.
Wilson’s decision, in other words, sits squarely in a long-established pattern — just one that draws a different kind of scrutiny in the women’s game.
Warning signs before Berlin
The timing of Wilson’s withdrawal might have surprised some, but the signs were already there.
In the week before USA Basketball announced the roster changes, Wilson appeared twice on the Aces’ injury report with a back issue. Before that, she sat out the Commissioner’s Cup Championship — a 93-85 loss to the New York Liberty — with a right leg injury. She then missed regular-season games against the Chicago Sky on July 3 and the Indiana Fever on July 5.
“She wants to play. I’m not letting her play,” Hammon said at the time, making it clear the team would override Wilson’s competitive instincts if they had to.
Even as the Aces tried to protect her, they couldn’t always afford to wrap their star in bubble wrap. When asked why Wilson and the rest of Las Vegas’ core weren’t given a night off during a 101-78 win over the Connecticut Sun on Aug. 20, Hammon didn’t bother with coach-speak.
"Have you seen us play lately?" she snapped. “We need to start getting our [expletive] together."
She had a point. The Aces had stumbled through that stretch, winning just two of six before beating Connecticut. For a team accustomed to sitting atop the standings, that wobble felt jarring.
A retooled frontcourt and a clear priority
The load on Wilson’s shoulders only grew when forward NaLyssa Smith was ruled out for the remainder of the 2026 WNBA season on Aug. 27. Without her, defenses could swarm Wilson in the paint with even more freedom.
Las Vegas moved quickly. On Aug. 29, the Aces signed 6-foot-7 center Kalani Brown, a physical presence designed to absorb some of the pounding inside and open up space for Wilson.
When Brown was introduced, Aces general manager and president Nikki Fargas made it clear this wasn’t a depth move for the margins.
She said Brown would “be very impactful immediately,” then widened the lens to what Wilson — and stars like her — endure.
“I just want to say, there's a lot of pounding that goes on in this league. And there's a lot of expectations that are placed on these players,” Fargas said. “(With) the greatness that exists in A'ja at this time, the most important thing is is player health. And so as an organization, we want to make sure that we're leading in that way.”
So Wilson rests while the World Cup unfolds in Berlin. The discourse rages on social media and talk shows, dissecting a decision that, in the men’s game, barely registers.
Inside the Aces’ facility, the conversation is simpler: protect the franchise cornerstone now, so she can chase another title later.
