A’ja Wilson Explains Why ‘Not All Money Is Good Money’

On the Friday of WNBA All-Star weekend, A’ja Wilson joined Sue Bird and Dwyane Wade onstage at the Chicago Theatre for a live taping of the new TOGETHXR podcast, Everyone Watches Women’s Sports, hosted by Ari Chambers and Sam Jay.

The event was presented by J.P. Morgan Wealth Management, and all of the athletes onstage serve on the JPMorganChase Athlete Council, which launched earlier this year to help athletes navigate their finances throughout their careers. Other members include Jalen Brunson, Megan Rapinoe, and Tom Brady.

After a first segment featuring Dallas Wings star Alysha Clark, vice president of the Women’s National Basketball Players Association, WNBPA executive director Terri Carmichael Jackson, and J.P. Morgan Wealth Management CEO Kristin Lemkau sharing insight into how the historic collective bargaining agreement was achieved, Wilson, Bird, and Wade answered questions about managing their finances and what they wanted athletes coming up behind them to know about money.

After the taping, I joined Wilson in her dressing room (her boyfriend, NBA star Bam Adebayo, was also there) to talk about money, her style, ESPN’s new Life in the W series starring the four-time MVP, and what to expect from the second half of the season.

With regard to personal finance, what do you wish you knew starting out?

The biggest thing is just the understanding that big checks do shrink. I think you don’t really understand that when you’re a young athlete coming into a lot of money. If you’re coming into a pro league, you’re getting hit with a big, big check, and those numbers look great, so you’re like, “Oh my gosh, yes, this is all that I wanted. I can get everything I want.” And you want to get everything quick, but then you start to realize that it’s going to shrink. So the lifestyle that you want to obtain, you have to think longevity. You can’t just think in the moment.

And so for me, I think the quicker you can get educated on how to manage your finances—and it doesn’t mean don’t spend on anything because, no, we deserve it, we’ve earned it—but it’s a matter of educating yourself on who to trust, how to trust them, and what to do. I think that is why I’m so grateful to be a part of this council, so we can continue to give our insight and share the decisions that we made with the next athlete.

You said onstage that “all money is not good money.” Can you explain what you meant by that?

Yeah. Not all money is good money is one of those terms that my mom always used to tell me. It’s crazy growing up because you see these opportunities and you see these big brands, and you may not be aligned with them, which means they’re not going to get the best from you and you’re probably not going to get the best out of them because it’s just going to bump heads. Even though the check looks great and the number could be great, the feel of it may not be good. And that’s what I mean when I say not all money’s good money. I know it may seem like it is, but again, you have to think about longevity—it might be gone in a second. So you have to be very careful about who you trust and where you want to put yourself when it comes to your image and your brand, but also the dollar bills behind it.

You’ve said social media can make it feel like you’re supposed to be successful immediately, but real success is setting yourself up for life after basketball. What pressure did you feel, and how are you setting yourself up long term now?

You can get fooled by the optics of a lot of things that we see on our phones. I feel like it looks like everyone’s living their best life, which obviously I love that for them. But it’s like, truly, are we? And sometimes social media can really disguise that, and it may seem like, “Oh my God, they got all of these things.” But you don’t know—that car could be leased or it could just be a picture. And so I think for me, I had to really understand that everything is not as it seems. You have to zoom in and see what’s real. And when it comes to your finances, sometimes you got to zoom in and see if it’s real, see if it’s really going to be a long-term thing. Can it be sustained? Can it help me when this basketball stops bouncing? Because I’m accustomed to a lifestyle. But once the ball stops bouncing and that check may not be coming in, can I still live the lifestyle that I want? So I’m just like, sometimes you got to give social media its break.

ESPN’s Life in the W series premiered on Friday, and it shows a different, more vulnerable side than we’ve seen of you before. How did it feel to open yourself up to the world on camera?

It feels good. I feel like I’m in a space of womanhood and adulthood where I’m okay with sharing my life. Or at least giving some glimpses because sometimes I have to protect my peace. In the world that we’re in, everyone constantly wants to know what am I eating? What am I wearing? Who am I with? Where am I going? And that’s great, and I get it. I love my fans, I do, but sometimes I have to protect my peace. So I was glad that we were able to kind of show a little insight into the real life that we live as athletes. It’s cool that you get to see behind the scenes. We’re so great at what we do, but it’s still hard sometimes, and yet we still show up every day as our true selves. So I’m excited for people to watch it all and really kind of get a glimpse of everyone’s life. It was pretty cool to have the cameras around. I’m not going to lie, I was a little creeped out sometimes, but that was all a part of it.

The series also gives a look at your relationship. You and Bam have kept your relationship pretty private, so how did that feel?

A’ja Wilson: I feel like it was organic. I feel like it was us.

Bam Adebayo: It wasn’t forced.

AW: I hope people see the realness of it. It was very, very us. We’re not really for the foolishness, honestly, but we always want to have each other’s backs. So I’m kind of excited to have people finally get some insight because I know everyone’s wanting to see it and wanting to be a part of it. So it’s cool to give them a glimpse of, like, no, we’re really just two athletes who love what we do and love each other, and we’re going to push each other to be great. So I’m excited to have that little piece in it.

The series follows the 2025 season, which started off rough for your team. I think sometimes you learn more from losing than you do from winning. What have you taken from losing?

I think what I take from losing is the value of winning. When you lose, you really understand how hard it is to win. When you win, it disguises everything. You’re like, “Oh, we’re good. We don’t have to worry about whatever those little things we brushed under the rug. It doesn’t matter. We won.” But when you lose, it magnifies everything. So I think the losses last year really taught us the value of Game 2 to Game 32. They’re equally as important. We can’t take possessions off. We can’t take days off and just think that we’re just going to be great, put on a light, and be great. It really takes a lot of hard work to get to what you want. We always say, “Oh, I want to win a championship.” And it’s like, “But do you? Do you want to do it when it’s really hard?” And so I think the losses last year really helped us put in perspective that we have to put a lot of things aside in order for us to win. We have to sacrifice.

What is your leadership style, and how have you developed as a leader?

I developed as a leader by understanding the different roles I may have to play and the different hats I may have to wear in order to get the best out of my teammates. I can’t lead one teammate the same way I would lead another. It just doesn’t work like that—we’re all too different. And so I love being a leader because it allows me to create different relationships and bonds with people to get the best out of them.

And I will always say last year, it was a joy for me to see my teammates healing right in front of me. I could see a walking testimony. I could see the breakthroughs. We were all going through things from top to bottom. We had grief, we had anxiety—we were all going through things—but it was a moment where you could really tell, “Oh, we’re healing. We’re coming together. We’re putting things in order.” And that right there is why I love being the leader of my team, because I get to see people be successful, and that’s a beautiful thing to watch.

You served an incredible look last night on the orange carpet—everyone is talking about it. How did you develop your personal style, and what makes you feel good?

I’ve always been a glamour girl growing up. And anytime I have an opportunity to get dolled up, I’m all for it. I’m like, “If we gonna do this, do the thing.” I feel like the Leo in me is like, “You have to be dramatic. You have to go above and beyond.” And my stylist is the perfect person to go above and beyond with me. So yes, we went from, “Yeah, let’s just do this dress,” to “Oh, let’s do gloves. Let’s do this…” I’m like, “Okay, let’s go for it.” So last night’s look was really just, “Let’s go all out. Let’s do it. If we’re going to show up on the carpet, let’s show up on the carpet.”

We’re at the midway point of the season. What’s been your favorite moment so far?

Becky Hammon literally tripping midgame, busting her ass on the sideline trying to yell at a ref because she fell out of her shoes. I think that is the highlight of my season right now. And for her to put it up on the screen for us to watch, I’m like, “This is why you’re the best. If you can’t laugh at yourself, what can you do?”

What are you thinking about for the second half of the season and leading your team through what’s to come?

My biggest thing is making sure my team doesn’t get complacent or think that we’re going to have the same run we did last year. It’s going to look very different. It’s going to be a lot harder for us to defend what’s ours. And so for me, I just have to make sure that we’re all of one accord and understand that this second half of the season is going to be hard. It’s going to be tough. I mean, we got the FIBA Women’s Basketball World Cup in September, and then we come back and it’s right into the playoffs. So we really have to buckle in and buckle down and make sure we take care of business.

This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.