A record no WNBA player had reached
The WNBA named Las Vegas Aces center-forward A’ja Wilson its 2026 Most Valuable Player on October 8, giving her a record fifth MVP award. Wilson also became the first player in the league’s 30-year history to win the honor in three consecutive seasons, following her 2024 and 2025 awards. Her earlier MVP seasons were 2020 and 2022.
Wilson received 65 of 74 first-place votes and the remaining nine second-place votes for 713 points. Minnesota rookie Olivia Miles finished second with 442 points, followed by Kelsey Mitchell, Caitlin Clark and Breanna Stewart. The voting was conducted by a national panel of sportswriters and broadcasters.
The season behind the award
Wilson led the WNBA in scoring for a third consecutive season at 26.2 points per game. Across 41 regular-season games, she also averaged 9.4 rebounds, a career-best 3.2 assists, 1.9 blocked shots and 1.4 steals while shooting 52.7% from the field and 40.4% from three-point range.
The league’s award release says Wilson led the WNBA in blocks per game for a fifth straight season and posted a league-best 30.4 efficiency rating. She recorded 13 games with at least 30 points, tying her own single-season league record, and 19 games with at least 20 points and 10 rebounds. Las Vegas finished the regular season 31-13 and entered the playoffs as the No. 3 seed.
The Aces’ playoff run ended the next night
Golden State eliminated Las Vegas with an 87-77 overtime win at Michelob ULTRA Arena on October 9, completing a three-game semifinal sweep. The official Valkyries recap says Golden State overcame a 13-point deficit, used a 17-0 third-quarter run and outscored the Aces 16-6 in overtime.
Wilson finished Game 3 with 21 points and 10 rebounds, according to an Associated Press report carried by News 3. Golden State held her to 6-of-19 shooting. The playoff result ended Las Vegas’ title defense but does not change the completed regular-season voting that produced Wilson’s fifth MVP award.
Sources & further reading
- A’ja Wilson wins record fifth Kia WNBA Most Valuable Player Award — WNBA · 2026-10-08
- Aces star A’ja Wilson wins record fifth MVP award — Reuters · 2026-10-08
- A’ja Wilson 2026 Kia MVP full press conference — WNBA · 2026-10-08
- Valkyries complete semifinal sweep with overtime win over Aces — Golden State Valkyries · 2026-10-09
- News 3 / Associated Press: Game 3 score and Aces player statistics · 2026-10-09; updated 2026-10-10
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