Wilson Wins Record 5th WNBA MVP, Skips Ceremony — SkimNews
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- A'ja Wilson won a record fifth WNBA MVP, the first player to capture three straight, receiving 65 of 74 first-place votes and nine second-place votes.
- Wilson will skip Friday's pregame ceremony to warm up with her team instead, citing the Aces' 2-0 deficit in their best-of-five semifinal against the Golden State Valkyries.
- Rookie guard Olivia Miles finished second in voting with 442 points and six first-place votes, ahead of Kelsey Mitchell (287 points), Caitlin Clark (212) and Breanna Stewart (171).
- Wilson became the first WNBA player to average at least 25 points while shooting 50% from the field and 40% from three; her 26.2-point scoring average ranked second in league history behind her own 26.9 set two years ago.
- The MVP places Wilson alongside Michael Jordan and Bill Russell as five-time MVPs among major U.S. team sports — trailing only Wayne Gretzky (9 Hart Trophies), Barry Bonds (7) and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (6).
- Aces coach Becky Hammon said she had to take Wilson off 'Mount Rushmore,' then off 'Everest,' and put her 'on a different planet.'
- Back issues kept Wilson out of September's FIBA Women's World Cup, but she played 41 of 44 regular-season games and led the Aces to a 31-13 finish and the No. 3 playoff seed.
Why it matters: Wilson is choosing preparation over pageantry with the Aces facing elimination Friday down 2-0 in a best-of-five series, while her fifth MVP — unprecedented in WNBA history — places her alongside Jordan and Russell in the cross-sport record books and just three trophies behind Gretzky.
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