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It’s official. And it’s unanimous.
Congratulations to the Las Vegas Aces’ A’ja Wilson, the 2024 Kia WNBA Most Valuable Player. She received all 67 first-place votes, joining the Houston Comets’ Cynthia Cooper (1997) as the league’s second unanimous MVP. Wilson also ascends alongside the Comets’ Sheryl Swoopes (2000, 2002, 2005), Los Angeles Sparks’ Lisa Leslie (2001, 2004, 2006) and Seattle Storm’s Lauren Jackson (2003, 2007, 2010) as a three-time MVP.
Wilson’s seventh WNBA season arguably (or inarguably) is the greatest in league history. She scored a WNBA-record 26.9 points per game as she became the first player in league history to score more than 1,000 points in a season, finishing with 1,021. Along the way, she had a record 15-straight games of at least 20 points and 10 rebounds. She also set the single-season mark for total rebounds, grabbing 451 while averaging a career-best 11.9 boards per game, including a league-record 9.8 defensive rebounds per game. With a career-high 2.58 blocks per game, she also became the first player in WNBA history to lead the league in points, rebounds and blocks in a single season.
All those statistical accomplishments helped Wilson earn four Western Conference Player of the Month honors and six Western Conference Player of the Week awards. On top of all that, she was named the MVP of the women’s basketball tournament at the 2024 Paris Olympics, earning her second Olympic gold medal with Team USA.
Wilson, in short, has made excellence seem routine. But, it’s not. Her firsts, records, awards and honors demand appreciation and celebration. Such greatness should never be taken for granted.
The Minnesota Lynx’s Napheesa Collier finished second, earning 66 of 67 second-place votes. Last year’s MVP, the New York Liberty’s Breanna Stewart, received the stray second-place vote, as well as 52 third-place votes. She finished third, ahead of the Indiana Fever’s Caitlin Clark and Connecticut Sun’s Alyssa Thomas.
On Sunday, Sept. 22 at 7:45 p.m. ET, the WNBA will host a MVP press conference with Wilson and Commissioner Cathy Engelbert. Fans can watch the event on NBA TV or stream it in the WNBA App.
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