A'ja Wilson on How Pros Overcome Self-Doubt

Learning that one of basketball’s most confident stars is vulnerable to the same crippling self-talk as any one of us might be surprising. But doubt often takes the form of cheap lies, and during certain moments, A’ja has heard them too: I haven’t worked hard enough. I’m not doing enough. The competition is better than me. Early in A’ja’s career, her mind would drift to thinking about her opponent’s strengths, not her own. Now that she’s more experienced, she filters the dark mental chatter through a different lens: Are the critiques I’m making actually true? When she confronts the negative talk honestly, she reminds herself of all that she’s accomplished, which is no short list. The premise is the same for the rest of us: reflect on all that you’ve done to prepare you for this moment. What did she remind herself of during that critical Game 4? That she was a freakin’ MVP. Once her confidence took over, the rest took care of itself.

“Sometimes I wish people could see the game through my eyes, because they’d say, ‘A’ja, how are you even successful?’” A’ja laughs. “Like, I don’t see a face or a jersey. I just see a body. I’m out there thinking, how can I out-skill this body? Okay, they didn’t go for that fake, gotta try something else. That’s when the game starts to be fun. When you’re not dissecting your mind anymore, and you’re dissecting your opponent instead.”

The mantras that help A’ja fight through the mental noise are true team efforts. Important figures in her life, like her head coaches, all fierce competitors themselves, helped her transform negative self-talk into motivational fuel. But they didn’t coddle her. She remembers a practice at South Carolina where she was removed from an intrasquad scrimmage by her coach Dawn Staley. Her coach’s mantra was a hard look in the mirror: Never blend.

Not meant to disparage her game, the comment was reminding A’ja of her potential. You’re so talented, you should always stand out.

“Comments like that are what get my motor running,” says A’ja. “Prove to me what I’m doing wrong so I can prove to you I can do it right.”

One voice that’s been a constant in A’ja’s life is from her late grandmother, Hattie. Her phrase, The best is yet to come, has helped lift A’ja through some of her most challenging moments, like when she fought an episode of depression following the Covid pandemic. The self-doubt was wrecking her. Meanwhile, her fame was soaring. Her statue had just been revealed on campus in Columbia, S.C., memorializing her career on the same grounds where her grandmother was denied access generations ago. The best is yet to come, she could hear Hattie tell her. Positive self-talk comes from the positive forces in one’s life. Find those positive voices, A’ja says. Block out the rest.