A’ja Wilson wins record fifth WNBA MVP award — The Guardian

A’ja Wilson has been named the WNBA’s most valuable player for the third consecutive year and the fifth time in her career. She became the first basketball player in league history to win the MVP award three years in a row, The Guardian reports.

WNBA record

The 30-year-old Wilson also won the MVP title in 2020 and 2022. Previously, no WNBA player had received the award more than three times: Sheryl Swoopes, Lisa Leslie and Lauren Jackson each have three honors.

In voting by a national panel of sports journalists and broadcasters, Wilson received 713 points — 65 first-place and nine second-place votes. Olivia Miles of Minnesota finished second with 442 points. Indiana guards Kelsey Mitchell and Caitlin Clark received 287 and 212 points, respectively.

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Season statistics and playoffs

Wilson once again became the league’s leading scorer, averaging 26.2 points per game and making nearly 53% of her field-goal attempts. She also averaged 9.4 rebounds, a career-high 3.2 assists and 1.9 blocks.

Wilson helped the defending champion Las Vegas Aces reach the WNBA semifinals for the eighth consecutive season. In the first-to-three-wins series, the team trails Golden State 0-2.