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A'ja Wilson made her eighth WNBA All-Star Game appearance on Saturday, July 25, extending one of the most consistent All-Star runs in league history. The Las Vegas Aces center reached the milestone in Chicago, with Miami Heat forward Bam Adebayo on hand to watch.

Wilson's eighth selection puts her among the WNBA's most decorated active players, and the reactions around her this weekend, from Adebayo and from Wilson herself, point to how much the moment means heading into the back half of her career.


A'ja Wilson gets vocal support from Bam Adebayo

Adebayo was seen courtside snapping photos of Wilson and Aces teammates Rhyne Howard and Allisha Gray during All-Star festivities, a moment the WNBA itself posted on X. His support for Wilson isn't new. Speaking to TIME last December, Adebayo said the two "want each other to be better," describing a partnership built on pushing one another forward.


He continued by pointing to Wilson's standing in the sport, saying she carries herself with "so much grace and positivity." Adebayo's comments came during the same interview where Wilson revealed the two had actually been together for four years before their relationship became public knowledge.


A'ja Wilson on her All-Star selection
Wilson has treated this run of All-Star appearances as a marker of how far both she and the league have grown. Speaking to PEOPLE on July 23 from a Chicago high school, where she joined an Uber community panel, Wilson contrasted her rookie trip in 2018 with this year's version of the weekend.


"My first was Minnesota," Wilson recalled, adding that the surrounding events barely existed back then. Now in her eighth appearance, she says she approaches the weekend with far more intention. "Now, I know what I want and I know exactly when to get into town," Wilson said, a shift she credits to experience rather than routine.


“The biggest difference is when I was a rookie, I was like, on the orange carpet, played the game, and now it’s like, no you really have all these different things and activations,” she added.


A different kind of All-Star Weekend
Wilson's Thursday stop wasn't just ceremonial. She spent time with students at William H. Wells Community Academy High School as part of Uber's "Women Change the Game" initiative, shooting layups with them after a panel discussion. It's the kind of appearance she says carries weight beyond basketball, giving younger players a chance to picture themselves in her position one day.


That combination, an eighth All-Star nod on the court and a packed schedule off it, captures where Wilson sits in the league right now. Fewer players get to treat All-Star Weekend as routine the way she now can, and fewer still have a Finals MVP and a fellow All-Star cheering from the stands while they do it.