A’ja Wilson Wins Unanimous MVP Award in Historic Year on and Off the Court

Las Vegas Aces A’ja Wilson has never minced words with regards to her quest for greatness. Being the top talent in today’s WNBA simply is not adequate for Wilson. Elite in this era is not enough.

In May 2023, Wilson, while a guest on the show, when asked by George what legacy she wanted to depart behind in the sport, replied that she wanted her name to be synonymous with all of girls’s basketball.

“When you talk about GOATs of the W, my name has to be there. At least in the top three. That’s my goal,” Wilson told George. “When you think about women’s basketball, when you think about the W, I want my name to be there. Whatever it takes. Whatever it takes to get there — whether it’s rings, whether it’s individual accolades — I want to be there in that category.”

It’s an announcement that few players with the talent and circumstances to attain could make. Those are former players like Sheryl Swoopes and Candace Parker, Maya Moore and Cynthia Cooper.

Since joining the league as the No. 1 overall pick in 2018, Wilson has steadily climbed the WNBA’s Mount Rushmore, starting with a Rookie of the Year award and an All-Star nomination. In 2020, she won her first MVP title and her first gold medal at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics. In 2022, she added one other MVP title, Defensive Player of the Year honors and her first WNBA championship with Las Vegas. Wilson added a second straight title by winning one other Defensive Player of the Year award in 2023.

In her seven-year profession, Wilson has gone from basketball immortality to jumping. It’s gotten to the point where Wilson could achieve her Goliath goal before she turns 30.

In 2024, Wilson became the league’s first 1,000-point scorer, set the record for many points and rebounds in a season, set a brand new record for points per game — breaking the previous record that had stood for 18 years — and became the first player to average 25 points and 10 rebounds in a season. That doesn’t include her second Olympic gold medal in Paris, where she was named tournament MVP.

On Sunday, Wilson became the second player in WNBA history to be unanimously named MVP — a feat that hasn’t happened since 2006.

“I know how hard it is to be successful in this league, how hard it is to maintain your greatness in this league,” Wilson said Sunday after receiving the MVP trophy. “My first one was, ‘OK, I kind of have my name in the record books, in the history books of this league.’ To this day, I feel like I’ve fully settled into the league that I dreamed of playing in.”

When Atlanta Dream point guard Allisha Gray first saw Wilson play as a freshman at South Carolina, she knew Wilson was playing at a unique level. Gray met Wilson as her recruiting host at the University of North Carolina when Wilson was the No. 1 recruiter in the 2014 class. The two quickly became friends after a funny experience at a neighborhood carousel during Wilson’s stay.

“It was one of those UFOs that just spins around and you’re glued to the wall,” Gray said. “That ride blew us away, man.”

That moment brought the two closer together and they at the moment are best friends. Gray, who later moved to South Carolina and won a national championship with Wilson, texted her friend when she heard the news.

“I know her phone is blowing up,” Gray said before the Dream’s first-round playoff game against the New York Liberty on Sunday. “As a best friend, I’m really happy with her. I’ve all the time believed in her and I knew she could do it, it’s only a matter of whether she believes in herself — and she does.

“She is the best player in the world.”

This season, Wilson became the first player to guide the league in points, rebounds and blocks in a single season. It was a dominant performance that spanned the entire league. According to ESPN Stats & Information, Wilson has averaged 25 points and 10 rebounds against six opponents this yr. Before this season, no player in WNBA history had averaged the same numbers against greater than two different opponents in a single season.

Throughout the yr, Wilson’s pursuit of greatness was measured by the performance of other great men whom she equaled or surpassed.

The single-season points-per-game record was originally set by Phoenix Mercury point guard Diana Taurasi. Wilson and Parker are the only players to record at the least 25 points, 15 rebounds, 5 assists, and 5 blocks in a single game, which Wilson did against Atlanta on August 30. Wilson’s single-season rebounding record broke the record set by Sylvia Fowles (Chicago Sky rookie Angel Reese also broke Fowles’ record that season). Wilson became the second player in WNBA history after Yolanda Griffith (1999) to complete in the league’s top five in points, rebounds, blocks, and steals per game. Wilson has scored 40 points twice this season, giving her 4 profession 40-point games, tying Taurasi and Breanna Stewart for the most points in WNBA history. With her third MVP title, she joins Lauren Jackson, Lisa Leslie and Swoopes as the only players to perform this feat.

“When you have players of that caliber playing now, you appreciate it. One day she won’t be here,” Las Vegas Aces guard Alysha Clark said Sept. 11. “She’ll retire and move on with her life, and people will admire what she did. Marvel at it now. It’s pretty damn impressive.”

Wilson matches that energy off the field as well.

In February, her first book, , was published and became a bestseller. In April, she was named considered one of the magazine’s 100 most influential people. In May, Nike announced that Wilson would receive her own signed shoe, making her the first black female WNBA player to have a signed shoe since Parker in 2010 and the first black woman since Swoopes in 2002 to have a signed Nike basketball shoe. In July, 2K Sports announced that Wilson would seem in the NBA 2K25 All-Star and WNBA editions of the popular video game.

For Gray, Wilson’s recognition is something she’s been waiting for for a very long time. While Wilson’s performances and resume could have warranted the amount of attention she’s currently receiving, Gray said Wilson has never complained earlier in her profession.

“A’ja, she’s a very humble person. What’s hers is hers. We know what she deserves, but she won’t cry and complain – she just shows what she does,” Gray said. “She’s not conceited, she’s not arrogant, what’s hers is hers and that’s why she’s always blessed. She always does everything right.”

A yr ago, Wilson finished third in considered one of the tightest MVP races the league has ever seen. The final vote tally revealed Wilson received the fourth-place votewhich could have affected her placement in the race. Wilson said she “pushed” for the vote early on. During the Aces’ 2023 championship parade, Wilson, the reigning Finals MVP, wore a T-shirt that referenced her fourth-place finish and thanked the voter during her speech. But she said in February that she had decided to let the situation go.

“I had this epiphany moment where I just thought, ‘You know what, get my feelings out there. Put in the work, A’ja. Make sure people have no doubts about who you are and who you want to be in this league,’” Wilson said. “I think that was a turning point for me.”

Wilson ended her answer by saying that she didn’t really need to speak about the fourth-place vote anymore. She gestured to the silver MVP trophy that sat on the podium next to her, tapping the base just a few times as she finished.

“Because we are of one mind.”