A’ja Wilson Becomes First Five-Time MVP in WNBA History

Las Vegas Aces star A’ja Wilson was named the WNBA’s Most Valuable Player on Thursday, becoming the first player in league history to win the award five times. The honor also makes her the first player ever to win three straight MVP titles, and it marks her fourth MVP in the past five years.

Wilson was the near-unanimous choice, receiving all but nine first-place votes. Minnesota Lynx rookie Olivia Miles finished second with six first-place votes, Indiana Fever guard Kelsey Mitchell was third with two, and Fever guard Caitlin Clark received the remaining first-place vote to finish fourth.

Statistically, it was not necessarily Wilson’s best season, but she remained dominant. Her 26.2 points per game led the WNBA, and her 79 blocks were also a league high. She ranked among the top five rebounders in the league during the regular season, though Atlanta Dream forward Angel Reese led the WNBA with 12.1 rebounds per game and was named the 2026 WNBA Defensive Player of the Year.

Aces coach Becky Hammon has argued that Wilson already belongs among the sport’s all-time greats.

“(As) I said, take her off Mount Rushmore — she’s Everest,” Hammon said earlier in the playoffs. “Now I’m taking her off Everest, and I have to put her on a different planet. She just has all of it.”

Hammon also noted that individual talent does not automatically translate into the kind of sustained success Wilson has produced. “Because you can be a really talented and skilled basketball player and not win as much as she has, and not become as individually great as she has,” Hammon said.

When Wilson claimed her fourth MVP in 2025, she broke a tie with Hall of Famers Sheryl Swoopes, Lisa Leslie and Lauren Jackson for the most MVP awards in WNBA history. Those three players had largely split the award between 2000 and 2010, with Candace Parker winning in 2008 and Diana Taurasi winning in 2009. In NBA history, only Bill Russell, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Michael Jordan have won at least five MVPs, putting Wilson in rare company across professional basketball.

Wilson, who also won an NCAA Division I national championship at South Carolina, reflected on the milestone at a news conference in Las Vegas on Thursday.

“If you’re able to set a standard, if you’re able to rewrite things, and kind of etch yourself into history books, it means a lot,” Wilson said. “I’m so grateful that I can share these moments with so many different people. But it’s always fun when you’re able to set the standard, and give people and yourself something to chase after.”

Wilson’s attention now turns to the playoffs, where the Aces trail the Golden State Valkyries 2-0 in their best-of-five series. No team in WNBA history has come back from a 2-0 deficit to win such a series. Game 3 is scheduled for Friday night in Las Vegas.