A'ja Wilson and Dawn Staley on their coach-player bond

08 August 2024

Side by side close up photos of A'ja Wilson and Dawn Staley. A'ja wears a red Nike Basketball jersey and smiles as she looks to the right. Dawn wears a white Nike jacket, silver hoop earing, an her hair in a high ponytail as she looks to the right.

Hoopers A'ja Wilson and Dawn Staley's history is written in championships. A'ja helped lead the South Carolina team that Dawn coached to a national title in 2017, then repeated the feat in Tokyo, where Dawn coached A'ja and Team USA to a podium-topping Games victory.

Individually, the pair has an unreal count of hardware and accolades. Some highlights: A'ja is a two-time WNBA champion and six-time WNBA All-Star, and Dawn's racked up three Olympic gold medals as a player to go with her 2021 gold as a coach.

In this audio excerpt from our Nike On Air episode with Womanica, A'ja and Dawn unpack their famous coach-player bond and what it takes to perform on the court.

To hear the full interview with A'ja and Dawn — and learn more about the push-pull of their relationship, how they've overcome adversity and the legacy they want to leave—check out their Womanica podcast on Apple, Spotify, YouTube or wherever you get your podcasts.