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TIME named A’ja Wilson its Athlete of the Year on Tuesday, the second WNBA player to earn the distinction. Wilson earned the honor after a historical season that resulted in a championship for the Las Vegas Aces. The 6-foot-4 star won the scoring crown, the co-Defensive Player of the Year, the MVP and the Finals MVP awards in one campaign.
Radio and television host Craig Carton reacts to Wilson grabbing the honor on “The Craig Carton Show” on Wednesday:
“I think they picked the wrong woman. … I had her third on my list. I would give her the bronze this year. … I would have said the two gals, athletes that I would have put ahead of A’ja Wilson, because I think their sport is more taxing on the body. I would have put Bonnie Blue and Lily Phillips on that list ahead of A’ja Wilson.”
Carton kept a straight face and barely gave up a laugh while making his claim. A’ja Wilson is a basketball star, while Bonnie Blue and Lily Phillips are adult film actors. Blue and Phillips became social media sensations this year after sleeping with hundreds of men in a single day.
Online content creators in the same mold as Blue and Phillips aren’t considered athletes, making Carton’s comments simple trolling.
A’ja Wilson makes it back-to-back WNBA superstars as TIME’s Athlete of the Year
In 2024, the prestigious TIME Athlete of the Year award went to Caitlin Clark. The point guard, drafted No. 1 by the Indiana Fever, took the WNBA by storm. Clark was the star attraction and the biggest draw to a season that showed unprecedented explosion in TV ratings and arena attendance.
The demand to watch Clark play was so significant that some teams hosted the Fever in a bigger arena. With her running the show, Indiana ended a seven-year playoff drought. Clark was a near-unanimous Rookie of the Year winner and finished fourth in MVP voting.
This year, the TIME Athlete of the Year award went to A’ja Wilson, the second straight year a WNBA player won the honor. Wilson bagged all the major awards and the championship in the same season, the first to do it in both the WNBA and the NBA.
Edited by Michael Macasero
