What a crazy week for A’ja Wilson ! A few days after being voted defender of the year in the WNBA, the Las Vegas Aces player also won the supreme individual distinction: the MVP trophy, the second in her career after that of 2020. Her coach Becky Hammon, herself rewarded this year, had made the announcement after the final victory of the Aces over the Storm, but the women’s league is only making it official now.
The 26-year-old is only the seventh to win the MVP multiple times in her career, joining Lauren Jackson, Lisa Leslie and Sheryl Swoopes, who have won it three times, as well as Cynthia Cooper, Elena Delle Donne and Candace Parker, double MVP.
The last player to achieve the MVP–DPOY double in the same year was Lauren Jackson in 2007. In the NBA, only Michael Jordan (1988), Hakeem Olajuwon (1994) and Giannis Antetokounmpo (2020) have achieved this feat.
Breanna Stewart beaten again
” I hadn’t imagined it. I called my parents and said, ‘You don’t have to tell anyone, but we did it’, and they started screaming like they did the first time! […] It doesn’t even look real. It’s something you can’t even dream of. You look at the list of those who have won more than one, it’s amazing to think about. I smile just to see my name in the conversation for the title of MVP, because our league is so tough“, reacted the left-handed.
This last, with 478 points obtained, narrowly edged Seattle player and MVP in 2018, Breanna Stewart (446 points), who therefore had a much less happy week. The podium is completed by fellow Las Vegas player Kelsey Plum, while legend Candace Parker came in fifth.
A’ja Wilson, who averaged 19.5 points (50%), 9.4 rebounds and 1.9 against this season (her production is up slightly in the playoffs), will try to continue her superb year 2022 with the quest for a first WNBA title. The Aces are still waiting to find out who from the Connecticut Sun or the Chicago Sky will join them in the final, which starts on Sunday. The series is tied (2-2), and Game 5 takes place next night.
