"What a night": Former No. 1 pick A'ja Wilson recounts memories of her WNBA Draft night on 6-year anniversary

Entering the WNBA as a young rookie is an exhilarating feeling that only a few people in this world get to experience. However, out of the hundreds of players who can even enlist their names on draft day, the WNBA selects only 36 or fewer. So, getting your name called out on WNBA draft day is probably the most stressful and exhilarating moment of any athlete's career.

Echoing the same sentiment, former No. 1 pick and Las Vegas Aces standout player A’ja Wilson fondly looked back on her 2018 WNBA draft night as she marked its sixth anniversary on Friday.

Taking to her X account, Wilson responded to a post shared by the Aces looking back at the moment and wrote:

"Whew, what a night."

In her six-year WNBA career, A'ja Wilson has surpassed expectations, delivering exceptional performances. The South Carolina Gamecocks alum boasts an impressive resume, including being a two-time WNBA champion in 2023 and 2022, a two-time WNBA Most Valuable Player in 2022 and 2020 and the 2023 WNBA Finals Most Valuable Player.

Entering the 2024 season, she's already cemented herself as a legend, ranking among the top five in WNBA history for points per game, rebounds per game, defensive rebounds per game and blocks per game.

A'ja Wilson lists Blake Griffin's surprise message trumping draft night as life's highlight

A'ja Wilson has been a huge fan of former NBA star Blake Griffin, and when she was drafted in 2018 as the No. 1 overall pick by the Las Vegas Aces, she received a special video message from Griffin himself.

The video was obviously great, but her narration of the incident months later was even better.

In an interview with The Players' Tribune in 2018, she recounted how the surprise message from her idol Blake Griffin topped the draft night in terms of her life's amazing moments.

“So, they gave me this iPad and they’re like, ‘don’t touch it until we say so,’” Wilson said. “So, I tap it, and all I hear is, ‘What’s up A’ja?.’ And I’m like, ‘What?’”

She found herself watching it at least six times because she had to look for something different each time.

“Like, “OK he said my name here. He really talking about watching how he’s about to watch me play. OK. He follows me on Twitter,’” Wilson said. “Like I had to gather everything together to make sure I wasn’t dreaming. So yeah, that was the highlight that was probably in front of even getting drafted. That was just an amazing moment in A’ja’s life.”

Who will be the No. 1 pick in this year's draft? Let us know in the comments below!