A’ja Wilson Is Really HER, Earns Record 5th WNBA MVP

A’ja Wilson has entered rare air.  

The Las Vegas Aces forward just earned her fifth MVP, putting her alongside the all-time greats. Wilson, 29, was awarded her latest honor on Thursday, with outgoing WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert, Aces owner Mark Davis, team president Nikki Fargas and Wilson’s mother, Eva, presenting the award to her at their practice facility in Las Vegas.  

“Each one of these has not been taken lightly,” Wilson said, surrounded by all five trophies. “In my heart, they’ve always been so special. But this one here, I cried a little bit harder. This one here is just a little bit different, and whatever that may look like, or whatever that may feel, my fifth one, I think, is one that’s just … when you dream as a young girl, your dream so big and you write your goals out, and you just never imagine that you were able to just check them off.” 

“She added, And when you’re able to check them off — small wins, big wins — it truly means a lot. And so, I think that’s why I cried a little bit harder on this one, because 15-year-old A’ja wasn’t sitting up here dreaming about being a five-time MVP. She wasn’t dreaming about being a three-time champion. She was dreaming about surviving this world.” 

Wilson was the #1 choice for 65 voters out of a possible 74 from a panel of WNBA media. Olivia Miles, the Minnesota Lynx guard who was already earned Rookie of the Year honors came in second with six first-place votes. Indiana Fever guards Kelsey Mitchell and Caitlin Clark who comprised one of the most effective offensive duos in WNBA history, scored two and one first-place vote respectively and New York forward Breanna Stewart finished fifth.  

South Carolina native Wilson played four seasons for the Gamecocks, leading them to their first national championship in 2017. The Las Vegas Aces picked her first in the WNBA draft in 2018 and she won Rookie of the Year. Her dominance soon asserted itself as Vegas built a solid team around her. Wilson and the Aces won the league championship in 2022, 2023 and 2025, establishing itself as one of the WNBA’s dynasties. She won the MVP Award previously in 2020, 2022, 2024 and 2025.  

In basketball history, only Los Angeles Lakers icon has won more MVP Awards. Wilson now stands with Bill Russell and Michael Jordan as the only 5-time MVP Award winners in pro basketball history. LeBron James and Wilt Chamberlain both won four. WNBA players Sheryl Swoopes, Lisa Leslie and Lauren Jackson have each earned three MVP Awards.  

This season Wilson averaged 26.2 ppg, 9.4 rpg and 3.2 apg, shooting 52.7% from the field and 40.4% from the 3-pt. line. Over her career, she’s averaged 22 ppg, 9.3 rpg and 2.4 apg shooting 50.2% and 37.6% from the 3-pt. line.   

“This is pretty solidified in a bunch of different ways,” Wilson said at a press conference after the award was announced. “I’m not satisfied but I’m so grateful and I’m so blessed to be able to do what I do and obviously to get the reward is also fun. But just to do it with so much fun. I never want to lose the fun of the game. And yes, I hope my resume continues to get long, and I can love this, but I don’t want to lose the fun and the joy of this game. So,  I’m grateful to have my name alongside the greats who’ve played different kind of sports. Just to say you’re one of the greats, I think it just goes a long way in itself.”  

Wilson also thanked her teammates saying how grateful she was to be able to go to “war” with them every single day.  

Wilson was also lauded by some other big names, including former vice-president Kamala Harris who phoned in a tribute. Gamecocks coach Dawn Staley, Lisa Leslie, WNBA Hall of Famer Sylvia Fowles, teammate NaLyssa Smith, and her partner, Miami Heat center Bam Adebayo, who scored 83 points in a game last season, putting him second  on the all-time list behind Wilt Chamberlain all recorded a message for the five-time MVP.  

“”Congratulations, sweets, on your fifth MVP,” Adebayo said in the recorded message as Wilson cried. “It’s truly special to see you become this player you’ve become. Not only the player, but the person that you’ve become…I’m here to gas you up every single day. I don’t care what anybody else says. You’re the greatest of all time. I want you to know (that) it would always be celebrated. I will always celebrate you. I will always be the one to be like, ‘Yeah, that’s my wife getting the fifth MVP.”  

The Aces will need Wilson’s best effort as they take on the Golden State Valkyries at the Michelop ULTRA Arena in Las Vegas on Friday night. The three-time champions are trying to get out from a 2-0 deficit to win back-to-back titles, but have been stalled in that effort by a suffocating defense from the expansion team.  

Watch Wilson respond to the messages below: