A'ja Wilson accuses Dawn Staley of scaring South Carolina players over picking 1v1 winner

A'ja Wilson accused Dawn Staley, the head coach of the University of South Carolina women's basketball team, of scaring her players in picking a winner in their hypothetical confrontation. The official X handle of the South Carolina women's basketball team posted a video and asked the fans to pick a winner between Wilson and Staley from her playing days in Team USA.

In the video, the USC women's basketball team answered the question and picked sides, with some choosing their coach and some choosing the Las Vegas Aces star. Wilson responded to the post with a repost and jokingly accused Staley of scaring the players to choose their coach instead of the WNBA star.

"Coach got some ppl scared but I respect it the ones that know…KNOW," Wilson wrote.

She accompanied the repost with a GIF image of a man shrugging while eating popcorn. Wilson and Staley have had a good relationship since Wilson's days as a player for the University of South Carolina. Staley has made a major contribution to Wilson's career, as she coached her in college, including in 2017 when Wilson became the NCAA champion and was named NCAA tournaments Most Outstanding Player.

However, when it comes to their performance as players, both are among the greatest to play the game. Staley from her playing days representing the national team is a three-time Olympic gold medalist. Wilson has only won one gold medal, but she is on a quest to get another one in Paris.

Dawn Staley hails A'ja Wilson-led Team USA's victory over Belgium at the 2024 Paris Olympics

The USA Women's National Basketball Team secured their second win at the Paris Olympics against Belgium. A'ja Wilson and Breanna Stewart were at the forefront of the offense that led Team USA to an 87-74 victory over the Belgians.

Coach Staley gave her flowers to the national team for making it past Belgium and punching a ticket to the next round of the tournament in Paris.

"Great win ladies!!! @usabasketball See yall in Paris!!!" Staley posted.

Staley transitioned from a player to a coach later on in her career. She was assistant coach of the USA Women's National Basketball Team in the 2008 Beijing Olympics, where USA women won the gold medal after defeating Australia 92-65 in the final. After almost a decade in 2017, Dawn Staley was named the head coach of Team USA and led them to a gold medal at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.