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A'ja Wilson Wins Record Fifth MVP, First Three-Peat in WNBA History
ReA'ja Wilson Wins Record Fifth MVP, First Three-Peat in WNBA History
Las Vegas Aces star A'ja Wilson becomes the first five-time MVP and first player to win three consecutive MVP awards in WNBA history, receiving all but nine first-place votes.
Las Vegas Aces forward A'ja Wilson has been named the WNBA's Most Valuable Player for a record fifth time, becoming the first player in league history to win the award in three consecutive seasons. The announcement, made Thursday, adds another milestone to a career that coach Becky Hammon believes has already placed Wilson among the greatest players the sport has seen.
Wilson received all but nine of the first-place votes, an overwhelming margin that underscored her dominance during the 2026 regular season. Minnesota Lynx rookie Olivia Miles finished second with six first-place votes, while Indiana Fever guard Kelsey Mitchell received two. Mitchell's teammate, Caitlin Clark, received the remaining first-place vote and finished fourth in the balloting.
While Wilson may not have posted the most statistically impressive season of her career, she led the league in scoring at 26.2 points per game and paced the WNBA with 79 blocked shots. She also ranked among the top five rebounders in the league on a per-game basis. Atlanta Dream forward Angel Reese led the WNBA with 12.1 rebounds per game and was named the 2026 WNBA Defensive Player of the Year.
Hammon, who has coached Wilson throughout her rise to the top of the league, said talent alone does not account for the sustained success her star has achieved. «Because you can be a really talented and skilled basketball player and not win as much as she has, and not become as individually great as she has,» Hammon said. Earlier in the playoffs, Hammon offered a more colorful assessment of Wilson's place in the sport. «As I said, take her off Mount Rushmore — she's Everest,» Hammon said. «Now I'm taking her off Everest, and I have to put her on a different planet. She just has all of it.»
Wilson's fifth MVP breaks new ground in WNBA history. When she won her fourth award in 2025, she broke a tie with Hall of Famers Sheryl Swoopes, Lisa Leslie and Lauren Jackson for the most MVP trophies in league history. Those three players largely traded the award between 2000 and 2010, winning every MVP except in 2008, when Candace Parker claimed the honor, and 2009, when Diana Taurasi won. No player had ever won three straight MVP awards until now.
The achievement also places Wilson in rare company across all of basketball. In NBA history, only three players have been awarded at least five MVP honors: Bill Russell, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Michael Jordan. Wilson now stands alongside that select group of legends.
Speaking at a news conference in Las Vegas on Thursday, Wilson reflected on what the record means to her. «If you're able to set a standard, if you're able to rewrite things, and kind of etch yourself into history books, it means a lot,» she said. «I'm so grateful that I can share these moments with so many different people. But it's always fun when you're able to set the standard, and give people and yourself something to chase after.»
Beyond her WNBA accomplishments, Wilson won an NCAA Division I national championship at South Carolina, adding to a résumé that Hammon believes transcends the professional game.
Wilson's latest challenge is guiding the Aces through unprecedented territory in the playoffs. Las Vegas trails the Golden State Valkyries 2-0 in their best-of-five series and must become the first team in WNBA history to erase such a deficit and win a playoff series. Game 3 is scheduled for Friday night as the series shifts to Las Vegas. If Wilson leads the comeback, it would further cement her place in basketball lore.
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