Black History Month

Dawn Staley is a trailblazer in two arenas, breaking glass ceilings in both collegiate and professional women’s basketball. 
In 2000, Staley accepted the position of head women’s basketball coach at Temple University while concurrently playing for the Charlotte Sting. During her eight-year tenure at Temple, she balanced professional playing and coaching responsibilities, earning five WNBA All-Star selections as a point guard. Under her leadership, Temple won four Atlantic 10 conference tournament titles and made six NCAA Tournament appearances. 
<div id="attachment_208171" style="width: 970px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-208171" class="wp-image-208171" src="https://cdn.wnba.com/sites/4/2026/02/GettyImages-868370-scaled.jpg" alt="" width="960" height="626" srcset="https://cdn.wnba.com/sites/4/2026/02/GettyImages-868370-scaled.jpg 2560w, https://cdn.wnba.com/sites/4/2026/02/GettyImages-868370-300x196.jpg 300w, https://cdn.wnba.com/sites/4/2026/02/GettyImages-868370-1024x667.jpg 1024w, https://cdn.wnba.com/sites/4/2026/02/GettyImages-868370-768x500.jpg 768w, https://cdn.wnba.com/sites/4/2026/02/GettyImages-868370-1536x1001.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.wnba.com/sites/4/2026/02/GettyImages-868370-2048x1335.jpg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 960px) 100vw, 960px" />Dawn Staley #5 of the Charlotte Sting directs the defense against the Houston Comets on June 3, 2002</div>
Staley transitioned to the University of South Carolina in 2008. Since her arrival, the program has won three NCAA National Championships (2017, 2022, and 2024). Her 2023–2024 team completed the season with a 38-0 record, becoming one of the few programs in Division I history to finish a season undefeated. As of 2024, her coaching record at South Carolina includes multiple SEC regular-season and tournament championships. 
In addition to her collegiate and WNBA career, Staley has a documented history with USA Basketball. She won three Olympic gold medals as a player (1996, 2000, 2004) and served as the head coach for the U.S. Women’s National Team during the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, where the team secured a Gold medal. She is the first person in USA Basketball history to win an Olympic gold medal as both a player and a Head Coach. 
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-208269" src="https://cdn.wnba.com/sites/4/2026/02/05-DAWN-STALEY.png" alt="" width="1440" height="1880" srcset="https://cdn.wnba.com/sites/4/2026/02/05-DAWN-STALEY.png 1440w, https://cdn.wnba.com/sites/4/2026/02/05-DAWN-STALEY-230x300.png 230w, https://cdn.wnba.com/sites/4/2026/02/05-DAWN-STALEY-784x1024.png 784w, https://cdn.wnba.com/sites/4/2026/02/05-DAWN-STALEY-768x1003.png 768w, https://cdn.wnba.com/sites/4/2026/02/05-DAWN-STALEY-1177x1536.png 1177w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1440px) 100vw, 1440px" />

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Black History Month Player Spotlight: Dawn Staley

A&#8217;ja Wilson&#8217;s eight-year run in the league has been nothing short of phenomenal. The 2018 No. 1 overall pick has built her career into a yearly showcase of Black history not just in the WNBA, but basketball altogether.
Take a look at Wilson’s era of dominance, shattering records and becoming the W’s only 4x MVP.
In 2018, the Las Vegas Aces selected A’ja Wilson with the first overall pick in the WNBA Draft. In her debut season, Wilson averaged 20.7 points, 8.0 rebounds, and 1.6 blocks per game, resulting in her selection as the 2018 WNBA Rookie of the Year and a member of the WNBA All-Rookie Team. 
<div id="attachment_206582" style="width: 970px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-206582" class="wp-image-206582" src="https://cdn.wnba.com/sites/4/2026/02/GettyImages-945489510-scaled.jpg" alt="A'ja Wilson after being selected #1 by the Las Vegas Aces during the WNBA Draft 2018 on April 12, 2018." width="960" height="639" srcset="https://cdn.wnba.com/sites/4/2026/02/GettyImages-945489510-scaled.jpg 2560w, https://cdn.wnba.com/sites/4/2026/02/GettyImages-945489510-300x200.jpg 300w, https://cdn.wnba.com/sites/4/2026/02/GettyImages-945489510-1024x682.jpg 1024w, https://cdn.wnba.com/sites/4/2026/02/GettyImages-945489510-768x511.jpg 768w, https://cdn.wnba.com/sites/4/2026/02/GettyImages-945489510-1536x1022.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.wnba.com/sites/4/2026/02/GettyImages-945489510-2048x1363.jpg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 960px) 100vw, 960px" />A&#8217;ja Wilson after being selected #1 by the Las Vegas Aces during the WNBA Draft 2018 on April 12, 2018.</div>
Her statistical production continued over subsequent seasons, leading to back-to-back WNBA championships with the Aces in 2022 and 2023. During this period, she earned two WNBA Most Valuable Player awards (2020, 2022) and consecutive Defensive Player of the Year honors (2022, 2023). 
During the 2024 season, Wilson became the first player in WNBA history to score 1,000 points in a single regular season. She finished the year leading the league in total points (1,021) and blocks (98), while ranking second in rebounds (451), which led to her third career MVP award. In 2025, Wilson secured her fourth WNBA MVP, surpassing the previous record of three held by Sheryl Swoopes, Lisa Leslie, and Lauren Jackson. That same year, she shared the Defensive Player of the Year award with Alanna Smith and led the Las Vegas Aces to their third championship in four seasons, where she was also named the WNBA Finals MVP. 
As of the conclusion of the 2025 season, the 29-year-old Wilson holds the WNBA record for the most career MVP awards (4) and is the only player in league history to win a scoring title, a league championship, Finals MVP, regular-season MVP, and Defensive Player of the Year in a single season. Her 2025 statistical averages included 23.4 points, 10.2 rebounds, and 2.3 blocks per game, making her the first player to average at least 20 points and 10 rebounds in multiple seasons. 
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-206577" src="https://cdn.wnba.com/sites/4/2026/02/accolades.png" alt="" width="1440" height="1880" srcset="https://cdn.wnba.com/sites/4/2026/02/accolades.png 1440w, https://cdn.wnba.com/sites/4/2026/02/accolades-230x300.png 230w, https://cdn.wnba.com/sites/4/2026/02/accolades-784x1024.png 784w, https://cdn.wnba.com/sites/4/2026/02/accolades-768x1003.png 768w, https://cdn.wnba.com/sites/4/2026/02/accolades-1177x1536.png 1177w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1440px) 100vw, 1440px" />

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Black History Month Player Spotlight: A'ja Wilson

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