On Thursday, A’ja Wilson added another line to her already lengthy basketball resume, reaching yet another level of WNBA greatness by becoming the league’s first five-time MVP.
The Las Vegas Aces superstar has claimed the coveted trophy for a third consecutive season, becoming the first player in league history to win three straight MVP awards. It marks her fourth MVP title in the past five years.
Aces coach Becky Hammon believes Wilson’s résumé already places her among the greatest players in basketball. In addition to her WNBA accomplishments, Wilson won an NCAA Division I national championship at South Carolina.
DREAM MOVE WITHIN ONE WIN OF FIRST WNBA FINALS APPEARANCE SINCE 2013 AFTER OVERTIME VICTORY
“(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 emphasized that talent alone does not guarantee the kind of sustained team and individual success Wilson has achieved. “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.”
Wilson may not have put together the most statistically impressive season of her career, but she remained dominant across the board.
Her 26.2 points per game led the WNBA in scoring, while her 79 blocks were also a league high. She ranked among the league’s top five rebounders in rebounds per game during the regular season. 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.
When Wilson won her fourth MVP award in 2025, she broke a tie with Hall of Famers Sheryl Swoopes, Lisa Leslie and Lauren Jackson for the most MVP trophies in WNBA history at the time. The three standout players largely traded the award between 2000 and 2010, winning every MVP except in 2008, when Candace Parker claimed the honor, and 2009, when Diana Taurasi won.
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In NBA history, only three players have been awarded at least five MVPs: Bill Russell, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Michael Jordan. With her fifth MVP, Wilson is now among select group of legendary basketball players.
“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 at a news conference in Las Vegas on Thursday. “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 was the overwhelming MVP choice, receiving all but nine of the first-place votes. Minnesota Lynx rookie Olivia Miles finished second with six first-place votes, followed by Indiana Fever guard Kelsey Mitchell with two. Mitchell’s teammate, Caitlin Clark, received the remaining first-place vote and finished fourth.
A’ja Wilson’s latest challenge is guiding the Aces through unprecedented territory. They would have to become the first team in WNBA history to erase a 2-0 deficit against the Golden State Valkyries and win a best-of-five playoff series. If Wilson leads the comeback, it would further cement her place in basketball lore.
Game 3 is scheduled for Friday night as the series shifts to Las Vegas.
