A’ja Wilson and Bam Adebayo are a star basketball couple (Image via Getty Images) On Tuesday, Time magazine named A’ja Wilson their Athlete of the Year for 2025. The historic award comes after Wilson had another outstanding season for the Las Vegas Aces. She was the WNBA’s first four-time MVP and split Defensive Player of the Year honors with Minnesota’s Alanna Smith.The WNBA superstar supposedly has it all. She’s won WNBA championships, MVP awards, and a Nike contract, and she’s now looking forward to starting a family with her NBA partner Bam Adebayo. After being voted Time magazine’s Athlete of the Year for 2025, she announced in an interview with the magazine that she wants to have children with Adebayo, whom she has been seeing since 2021.
Inside A’ja Wilson and Bam Adebayo’s relationship as the WNBA star gushes about her loving four-year bond with her partner
The Las Vegas Aces star told TIME magazine about her romance with the Miami Heat guard, revealing that she and Adebayo have been together for four years. During the interview, Wilson was asked about having children together. She said:”That is always a dream. This is my life partner. Honestly, what on earth was my world before you? That’s how much he’s impacted my life.”When asked about getting married, Wilson responded that Adebayo will make all marriage decisions and that fans will see the ring on her finger when the time comes. Adebayo said:”Y’all will know, because people are nosy and they’ll look at her hands.. There you go.”Wilson and Adebayo have been dating since 2021. Before the 2024 Summer Olympics, the Miami Heat player and WNBA MVP were pictured together, sparking relationship suspicions. Wilson quietly exposed their affair at NBA All-Star Weekend in February 2025, after months of silence. Furthermore, the couple largely avoids social media and keeps their relationship private.Wilson’s alma mater, the University of South Carolina, acknowledged her with a jersey retirement that same month. The Las Vegas Aces player subtly mentioned Adebayo, who was there courtside, in her comments.For years, the two have openly supported each other in their games and remained friends. Following A’ja’s WNBA single-season scoring record, Bam expressed her admiration for her on social media by tweeting “U’nanimous” with an apostrophe, just like her first name.After months of dating rumors, Wilson secretly announced her relationship to PEOPLE in February 2025 while discussing her Valentine’s Day plans at NBA All-Star Weekend. According to images obtained by TMZ, the couple was photographed on a dinner date in Los Angeles a month previously. They are still together and strong, and they just celebrated another milestone in their relationship when Bam witnessed Wilson make WNBA history.
Bam Adebayo opens up about his deep, inspiring bond with A’ja Wilson in touching interview
Adebayo, a three-time NBA All-Star, did not provide a date for anything, but he told Time that he shares Wilson’s aspirations and appreciates how they support one another. Adebayo considers Wilson his best friend and said:”As the young people say, that’s ‘twin’… That’s what makes it so great. We’re striving for the same thing. We want each other to be better. We want to make it easier on one another, and we want to do this together. She’s a strong Black woman, man, and she does it with so much grace and positivity.”He continued:“The best thing about our relationship, we started out as great friends.. We didn’t just jump to, ‘Hey, what’s up? You and I will make a great thing.’ Nah, we really eased into this.. We’re still trying to figure this out.. and the last thing I need is BalloonBoy1817 being like, Ohhhhh. I hate this!” When the subject of marriage came up, Wilson jokingly posed the question to Adebayo. Adebayo hinted about their timetable in the same interview. Additionally, they also haven’t said anything about a proposal. Also read: Bam Adebayo stuns girlfriend A’ja Wilson with emotional surprise as she makes WNBA history with 4th MVP award