'It truly means a lot': A'ja Wilson extends WNBA record with 5th MVP award

Danny Webster, Las Vegas Review-Journal on Oct 8, 2026

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LAS VEGAS — It still doesn’t get old for A’ja Wilson. She’s done this five times now, further cementing herself as the greatest of all time.

The emotions are the same, if not a little more.

“They’ve always been special, but this one here, I cried a little bit harder,” she said.

The Las Vegas Aces’ superstar, with a diamond-encrusted crown in hand, was named WNBA Most Valuable Player for the third straight year and fifth time overall on Thursday.

Wilson and the Aces wrapped up practice in what was supposed to be a conventional way. They serenaded point guard Chelsea Gray on her 34th birthday. Wilson chased Gray around the court for the customary birthday celebration.

When Wilson turned around, WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert approached her while holding a rotary phone on a tray. On the other line was a recorded message from former Vice President Kamala Harris.

“You dream as a young girl, you dream so big. You write your goals out, and you just never imagine that you were able to check them off,” Wilson said. “And when you’re able to check them off, small wins, big wins, it truly means a lot.”

Wilson put herself in rarefied air last year by becoming the only player in league history to become a four-time MVP. She became the first back-to-back winner since Cynthia Cooper in 1997-98.

This one puts her in company that not many athletes — let alone women’s basketball players — can put themselves in. Wilson is the fourth player, WNBA or NBA, to win at least five MVPs.

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar did it six times. Michael Jordan and Bill Russell each won five.

More rarefied air? Peyton Manning won it in the NFL five times and Wayne Gretzky won the NHL award nine times.

“I love to win. I hate losing more than anything,” Wilson said. “I love the joy that it brings me and my teammates. Anything I can do to get me to that feeling of winning, I’m going to do it.”

The 30-year-old won in convincing fashion with 65 first-place votes. Minnesota Lynx rookie Olivia Miles earned six first-place votes to finish second. Indiana’s Kelsey Mitchell and Caitlin Clark, and New York’s Breanna Stewart rounded out the top five.

There hasn’t been a year where Wilson took home the hardware and hasn’t been dominant. This was, arguably, her most dominant campaign.

Wilson scored in double figures in all 41 games she played. She reached the 20-point mark 33 times and 30 points 13 times. That tied the WNBA record that she set last season.

She won her third consecutive scoring title, averaging 26.2 points per game for the second-highest average of her career. The three-time Defensive Player of the Year led the league with 1.9 blocks per game.

Wilson swept all Western Conference Player of the Month awards this season.

“I’m not satisfied, but I am so grateful and I’m so blessed to be able to do what I do,” Wilson said. “Getting rewarded is also fun, but just to do it with so much fun. I never want to lose the fun of the game.

“My resume, hopefully, continues to get long and I can love this. I’m grateful to have my name alongside other greats that have played all different kinds of sports. Just to say you’re one of the greats, I think it goes a long way.”

The celebration will be short-lived, though. There’s still the matter of the Aces facing elimination heading into Friday’s Game 3 of the semifinals against the Golden State Valkyries. The Aces are trying to avoid being swept for the first time since the 2020 finals, the year Wilson won her first MVP.

There’s going to be the customary pregame celebration with Wilson being acknowledged and cheered by the fans. Her attention will be elsewhere.

“Tomorrow, when it comes to hoisting in front of the fans — and I love the fans — but I doubt I’ll be doing that. I’ll be over with my team,” Wilson said. “Everyone in this room knows the competitor that I am. Everyone knows that one of my main focuses is to get a game.”