A’ja Wilson #22 of the Las Vegas Aces reacts against the Seattle Storm during the first quarter in Game Three of the 2022 WNBA Playoffs semifinals at Climate Pledge Arena on September 04, 2022 in Seattle, Washington. Steph Chambers/Getty Images/AFP (
Las Vegas Aces forward A’ja Wilson, who helped her team clinch a spot in the WNBA Finals on Tuesday, was named the league’s MVP on Wednesday.
It is the second MVP award for Wilson, who also earned the honor in 2020.
Wilson received 31 of 56 first-place votes and 478 total points. Seattle Storm forward Breanna Stewart, the 2018 MVP, finished in second place with 446 points (23 first-place votes). Las Vegas guard Kelsey Plum finished in third place with 181 points.
Already named WNBA Defensive Player of the Year for 2022, Wilson also was proficient on offense, scoring 19.5 points per game in the regular season to go along with 9.4 rebounds, 2.1 assists and a league-leading 1.9 blocks.
Wilson, 26, has raised her game over six playoff contests, scoring 20.5 points per game with 10.8 rebounds, 2.7 assists and 2.3 blocks.
The Aces advanced to the finals with a 97-92 victory over the Storm in Game 4 of the semifinals. Wilson had a double-double in the deciding game, scoring 23 points with 13 rebounds. She added three blocked shots.
👑 𝗠'𝗩𝗣! 𝗠'𝗩𝗣! 𝗠'𝗩𝗣! 👑
A'ja Wilson has been named the 2022 #WNBA @Kia 𝐌𝐨𝐬𝐭 𝐕𝐚𝐥𝐮𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐏𝐥𝐚𝐲𝐞𝐫!
Congratulations, @_ajawilson22! pic.twitter.com/2HsHJfRJVG
— Las Vegas Aces (@LVAces) September 7, 2022
In five seasons, Wilson has been named a WNBA All-Star four times. In 149 career games (148 starts), all with the Aces, Wilson has averaged 19.1 points, 8.4 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 1.7 blocks.
Other honors for Wilson this season include All-Defensive first team, All-Star Game team captain, two player-of-the-month honors and four player-of-the-week nods. She helped the Aces to the in-season Commissioner’s Cup title.
A former No. 1 overall draft pick in 2018 out of South Carolina, Wilson won an NCAA title with the Gamecocks in 2017 and was named the NCAA Tournament’s most outstanding player that year.
The Aces will face the Connecticut Sun or Chicago Sky in the WNBA Finals, which begin Sunday at Las Vegas. The Sun and Sky play the deciding Game 5 of their semifinal series on Thursday.