{"id":803993,"date":"2024-05-07T11:01:00","date_gmt":"2024-05-07T15:01:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.slamonline.com\/?p=803993"},"modified":"2024-05-07T11:26:50","modified_gmt":"2024-05-07T15:26:50","slug":"exclusive-aja-wilson-signs-with-gatorade","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.slamonline.com\/wnba\/exclusive-aja-wilson-signs-with-gatorade\/","title":{"rendered":"EXCLUSIVE: A\u2019ja Wilson Officially Joins Gatorade\u2019s Elite Athlete Roster\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

After just six seasons, A\u2019ja Wilson<\/a> has cemented her case as one of the greatest players to suit up in the WNBA. A two-time WNBA MVP, WNBA Champion and Defensive Player of the Year, her list of accolades also includes being a New York Times Best Selling author. With the Aces on the verge of making history this season (again) as they look to claim their third-straight WNBA Championship, Wilson can already envision what her celebratory moment would potentially look like. And it starts with Gatorade.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Remember those old black-and-white posters of MJ with his sweat highlighted in Gatorade colors? A\u2019ja is running it back as the new face of the brand, as Gatorade has officially announced that A\u2019ja Wilson has become the latest member of their elite athlete roster. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt was huge. I think honestly, it probably hit me when I was at [the] Super Bowl and I did the Gatorade ID activation station,\u201d Wilson told WSLAM of her recent partnership. \u201cIt was pretty cool to just see it all come together. I think that\u2019s when it really hit me like, oh no, you\u2019re a Gatorade athlete. You\u2019re amongst the GOATs of people in their respective fields and now I have a name in that. It\u2019s just been a fun, fun ride. I think it\u2019s finally starting to hit me now that I\u2019m starting to see it more and be a part of it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Take a still photo from the Finals, wipe out all the hues and highlight a few beads of sweat with strictly orange, of course. Then toss the iconic Gatorade towel across her shoulders. \u201cAnd instead of champagne, probably just Gatorade bottles because if we go for a three-peat, Gatorade will <\/em>be my chaser at this point,\u201d Wilson says with a laugh. \u201cSo yeah, definitely instead of champagne bottles, maybe some Gatorade bottles and the sweat, just lit.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

While the brand\u2019s Fruit Punch + Berry flavor has become a frequent staple in the Aces locker room, Wilson\u2019s day one has always been the Orange flavor. From AAU tournaments to playoff press conferences, Orange Gatorade has always been part of her journey.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cThat\u2019s why I was so geeked when I got it [the Gatorade deal] because I\u2019m like, I\u2019ve been drinking this forever. Orange Gatorade will forever be my life. I love that, I love that flavor, it\u2019s No. 1 for me. It really dates back to the high school days.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

A partnership as authentic as this is rare air. A\u2019ja is the exact consumer that Gatorade has spent decades building its brand around and for. After growing up in awe of Michael Jordan\u2019s commercials featuring glass and canned Gatorade containers, Wilson is now leading the charge for the next generation of tastemakers, just as she has across women\u2019s basketball for years. Her connection to the brand goes back to her days dominating in high school at Heathwood Hall Episcopal School, A\u2019ja Wilson has been obsessed with Gatorade. A collection of tweets dating back as far as 2012 paints a pretty clear picture, one that truly represents the passion Wilson lives with on and off the hardwood. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201c#Favoritesnackinthewholewideworld pretzels, a rice crispy treat and an orange Gatorade #heaven #love\u201d. \u2013 March 2013.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cDear gas station, how do you run out of Orange Gatorade?\u201d \u2013 June 2012.\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201c#100thingsaboutme orange Gatorade is my SHIT!\u201d \u2013 July 2012.\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Growing up, Gatorade was Wilson\u2019s go-to bev for every random snack and meal. Not only was the flavor \u201ctop tier,\u201d but the brand\u2019s grasp on marketing toward athletes struck a chord with Wilson at an impressionable age. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI would be so mad going to restaurants with my parents because they didn\u2019t have Gatorade. I\u2019m just like, what else is there to drink? What am I supposed to drink? Because I felt like that <\/em>is what fueled great athletes,\u201d Wilson tells SLAM. \u201cIt felt like that\u2019s what was pumping in MJ\u2019s veins. It was like, no, I need that in my system.\u201d  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

And now, the former 2013-14 Gatorade State Player of the Year<\/a> will be continuing her legacy alongside the brand that has always been there throughout her journey.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis is what you worked so hard for. This is what you wanted to go after. You wanted this. You wanted to be a part of this family because that\u2019s all you knew,\u201d Wilson says as she reflects on what her 18-year-old self would think now. \u201cThat\u2019s what fuels greatness. Winning the award, it was cool, it was great, but now you\u2019ve even grown in that case. Like, yeah, you\u2019ve grown on-court but you\u2019ve even grown with the brand. It\u2019s been truly fun just to be a part of it. Even though it\u2019s just the beginning, the best is yet to come.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

Photos via Gatorade.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

After just six seasons, A\u2019ja Wilson has cemented her case as one of the greatest players to suit up in the WNBA. A two-time WNBA MVP, WNBA Champion and Defensive Player of the Year, her list of accolades also includes being a New York Times Best Selling author. With the Aces on the verge of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":448,"featured_media":803994,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[21],"tags":[11149,2091,49801],"yst_prominent_words":[],"class_list":["post-803993","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-wnba","tag-aja-wilson","tag-gatorade","tag-las-vegas-aces"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.slamonline.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/803993","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.slamonline.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.slamonline.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.slamonline.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/448"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.slamonline.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=803993"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.slamonline.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/803993\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":804002,"href":"https:\/\/www.slamonline.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/803993\/revisions\/804002"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.slamonline.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/803994"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.slamonline.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=803993"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.slamonline.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=803993"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.slamonline.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=803993"},{"taxonomy":"yst_prominent_words","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.slamonline.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/yst_prominent_words?post=803993"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}