Less than two minutes into Tuesday's WNBA matchup between the Las Vegas Aces and Washington Mystics, former league MVP and perennial All-Star Elena Delle Donne drove on former South Carolina star A'ja Wilson and went for the layup.
Wilson, in just the second game of her young professional career, swatted the shot right back.
It was, as Wilson acknowledged after the game, a surreal moment, one that many top draft picks across sports feel when they go up against the players they loved when they were younger.
Wilson's appreciation for Delle Donne, a 6-foot-5 forward/guard with a silky smooth jumper and powerful post moves, dates back at least half a decade — in April 2013, Wilson, then a high school junior, wrote on Twitter that Delle Donne was her favorite player.