A’ja Wilson was handed the most significant trophy in WNBA history inside a near-empty arena on Thursday afternoon, after practice, with no crowd and no ceremony. It was exactly how she wanted it. Twenty-four hours later, the first five-time MVP in league history fouled, scrapped and shot her way through 43 minutes of a season-ending defeat, scoreless in overtime as the Golden State Valkyries beat Las Vegas 87-77 to complete a semi-final sweep.
Wilson’s fifth Most Valuable Player award, announced on Thursday, extends her own record and makes her the first player in the league’s 30-year history to win it in three consecutive seasons. She received 65 of 74 first-place votes and 713 points, finishing well clear of Minnesota’s Olivia Miles (442 points, six first-place votes), Indiana’s Kelsey Mitchell (287) and Caitlin Clark (212).
Wilson refused the spotlight — for a reason
The Aces had already moved the presentation to Thursday rather than stage it before Game 3, a deliberate choice from a franchise that has watched trophy, banner and ring ceremonies curdle into defeats on game nights. Wilson went further, ruling herself out of any pre-game recognition at Michelob Ultra Arena entirely.
“I love the fans, but I will not be doing that,” she said. “I will be warming up with my team.”
Las Vegas, the defending champions and the third seed after a 31-13 regular season, trailed the best-of-five series 2-0 and needed the win to survive. They led 45-36 at half-time and were six points up in the fourth quarter. Then the floor gave way: Golden State won the third quarter 17-7, Veronica Burton’s steal inside the final two minutes of regulation set up the tying layup, and Chelsea Gray’s winner rattled out at the buzzer. In overtime the Valkyries outscored the Aces 16-6, with Kayla Thornton (18 points), Gabby Williams (16) and Tiffany Hayes (11) accounting for every Golden State point of the extra period.
Wilson finished with 21 points on 6-of-19 shooting and 10 rebounds. Jackie Young added 18, Gray 17. In the five minutes that decided the series, the MVP attempted one shot.
The season that broke the record
The award itself was never in question. Wilson led the WNBA in scoring for a third straight year and produced the most complete offensive season of her career:
- 26.2 points per game — second only to her own 26.9 in 2024
- 9.4 rebounds, 3.2 assists, 1.4 steals and a league-leading 1.9 blocks
- 52.7% from the field, 40.4% from three, 86.4% from the free-throw line
- 13 games of 30 or more points, matching her own record, and 20 double-doubles
- Career highs of 38 three-pointers and 279 free throws made
Her 45-point game against Connecticut on 15 May made her the only player in league history with more than one 45-point performance. She climbed from 21st to 11th on the all-time scoring list, reaching 6,792 career points, and moved sixth in career blocks with 612. Her 32.4 player efficiency rating led the league. Kamala Harris delivered the news of the award by phone.
“This one here, I cried a little bit harder,” Wilson said. “Fifteen-year-old A’ja wasn’t sitting up here dreaming about being a five-time MVP. She was dreaming about surviving this world.”
Five MVPs, and the company that comes with them
Across American professional basketball, only Kareem Abdul-Jabbar has won more regular-season MVPs than Wilson’s five. Michael Jordan and Bill Russell also stopped at five. No other WNBA player has won more than three. Wilson is 30, under contract with the only franchise she has played for since being drafted first overall in 2018, and has added three championships (2022, 2023, 2025), two Finals MVPs and three Defensive Player of the Year awards along the way. In 2025 she swept the scoring title, MVP, Defensive Player of the Year and Finals MVP in a single season — a quadruple no player in the WNBA or NBA had managed before.
“Now, I’m taking her off Everest,” Aces coach Becky Hammon said. “I just have to put her on a different planet.”
The individual ledger has stopped being the interesting part. The team one has become urgent. Las Vegas has now been swept out of the playoffs by a franchise in its second season of existence — one that has become the first expansion team to reach the Finals within two years. Golden State meet the Atlanta Dream, winners of 10 straight and in their first Finals since 2013, at Chase Center on Saturday 17 October.
Wilson’s answer when asked how she felt about the record, before any of that unfolded, was two words: not satisfied.
Sports journalist and editor at SportsPortal.net. Covers cricket, football, Formula 1, tennis, and basketball with a focus on how global sports connect with Pakistani audiences. Follows the PSL, Pakistan national cricket team, Premier League, and major international tournaments. Has reported on sports for digital audiences since 2021.
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