Where does A’ja Wilson rank? The top 10 MVP seasons all time in the WNBA
Credit to Author: Michael Voepel| Date: Wed, 18 Sep 2024 08:03:09 EST
The seeds for A’ja Wilson‘s dynamic 2024 WNBA season were planted before last season was even over. In a tight three-player race for MVP a year ago, the Las Vegas Aces star finished third — and was unhappy about it.
It was nothing against the winner, the New York Liberty’s Breanna Stewart, or the runner-up, the Connecticut Sun’s Alyssa Thomas, who got the most first-place votes. Wilson admires both Stewart and Thomas, who were her U.S. Olympic gold medal teammates this summer.
But after having an even better 2023 season than in 2022 — when Wilson won her second MVP — not getting the honor last year bothered her.
Wilson turned the disappointment into something constructive. First, she was the 2023 WNBA Finals MVP, leading the Aces to their second consecutive championship. Then she spent the offseason preparing to be the best she has ever been.
Wilson has done that in a record-breaking 2024 that is sure to earn her a third WNBA MVP honor. The award hasn’t been officially decided yet, but she is the overwhelming favorite as the regular season wraps up Thursday.
Where will Wilson’s 2024 stand among all MVP seasons in WNBA history? We’ve ranked the top 10 since the league launched in 1997 — and it comes with an obvious truth: All MVP seasons are great, and the competition is always intense.
Of the 27 previous MVPs, 11 have won WNBA titles in their MVP seasons. Two others made the WNBA Finals but didn’t win the championship. Only one player — the Seattle Storm’s Lauren Jackson in 2003 — was named MVP in a season in which her team didn’t make the playoffs.
It’s difficult to not weigh team results — especially championships — into any ranking of MVPs. Winning a title makes an MVP season even better. But whether or not Wilson helps lead the Aces to a three-peat this year, her 2024 season has been the most dominant individually that we have seen in the WNBA.
Wilson is the first player to reach 1,000 points in a season. She is averaging 27.0 points per game and is guaranteed to finish with the highest season scoring average in league history, regardless of her performance in the Aces’ final two regular-season games. She is also averaging career highs in rebounding (12.0), blocks (2.6) and steals (1.8).
Wilson is shooting 51.9% from the field. Her player efficiency rating (PER) is 35.2, and her win shares 10.7, both the best in WNBA history.
“Since I’ve been a part of this league, which is 1999, I don’t know if we’ve seen a season like she’s having now,” Aces coach and former WNBA player Becky Hammon said. “She’s just a beautiful player to watch.
“She’s been doing this for two years in a row now: just crazy efficient. Everything I’ve ever asked her to do, she just goes and does it. And makes it look easy. It is not easy. It’s a special, generational talent.”
Wilson said she wants to get the most out of every workout, practice and game.
“It’s an understanding of when and how to be greedy,” she said. “I’m not perfect. I know I still have a lot of things to work on.”
Wilson, who turned 28 in August, will join Sheryl Swoopes, Lisa Leslie and Jackson as the league’s only three-time WNBA MVPs.
“She’s come back better every year,” Hammon said. “Last year, her efficiency was off the charts. And then this year, we’ve had more struggles as a team, and she’s put us on her back. She has the ability to take over a game at both ends. That’s a rare feat.
“She’s a super-humble human being. … She’s always about her teammates, and she’s always about winning.”
