A'ja Wilson wins record 5th WNBA MVP, skips ceremony — SkimNews
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- A'ja Wilson won a record fifth WNBA MVP, becoming the first player in league history to win three consecutive, receiving 65 of 74 first-place votes and nine second-place votes.
- Wilson said she'll skip the traditional pregame ceremony to focus on Game 3 against the Golden State Valkyries, noting the Aces are down 2-0 in the best-of-five semifinals series — and that the team has historically struggled after such ceremonies.
- Wilson became the first WNBA player to average at least 25 points while shooting 50%+ from the floor and 40%+ on three-pointers, with her 26.2 PPG ranking second in league history behind her own 26.9 mark from two years ago.
- With the award, Wilson joins Michael Jordan and Bill Russell as five-time MVP winners across major U.S. team sports; only Wayne Gretzky (9), Barry Bonds (7), Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (6), and Peyton Manning (5) have more.
- Lynx rookie Olivia Miles finished second in voting with 442 points, followed by Kelsey Mitchell (287) and Caitlin Clark (212); Wilson learned of the award via a phone call from former Vice President Kamala Harris.
- Aces coach Becky Hammon said of Wilson: 'Take her off Mount Rushmore, she's Everest. Now I'm taking her off Everest, and I just have to put her on a different planet.'
Why it matters: Wilson's fifth MVP places her in elite company — only Gretzky (9), Bonds (7), and Abdul-Jabbar (6) have won more among major U.S. team-sport athletes. Her decision to skip the ceremony reveals her competitive focus: the Aces lost a Game 1 last season after Wilson's fourth MVP ceremony and again this year after a championship-ring ceremony, and now trail the Valkyries 2-0 heading into Friday's elimination Game 3.
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