By Cassandra Cousineau for LVSportsBiz.com
Las Vegas Aces forward A’ja Wilson has earned the WNBA Associated Press 2020 Player of the Year honors. Averaging 20.5 points, 8.5 rebounds and two blocks per game, Wilson led the Aces to an 18-4 record, and the league’s No. 1 seed in this season’s playoffs.
Wilson was picked first on 43 of 47 ballots of a national panel of sportswriters and broadcasters, who selected their top five for the MVP award. The 2018 WNBA Most Valuable Player, Seattle Storm forward Breanna Stewart, finished in second place with 308 points, three of which were first-place votes.
Now in her third season, Wilson has won an MVP trophy, Rookie of the Year and made two All-Star Games appearances, including last year’s shindig hosted by Las Vegas and held at the Mandalay Bay Arena on the Strip.
“To win it definitely means a lot,” Wilson shared noting the pressure of the COVID-19 shortened season. “There were times I might’ve doubted myself. I had to let the game come to me and trust myself and others around me.”
Going back to her introduction to the game of basketball, Wilson’s patience on the court has been a cornerstone of her presence for the Aces. “If you would’ve told 13-year-old A’ja she was going to be MVP she would have laughed in your face. I was a late bloomer. I started playing when I was 13 or 14 years old.“
Flanked by her teammates in the IMG Academy bubble in Bradenton, Fla., Wilson FaceTimed her parents immediately after WNBA Commissioner Cathy Englebert handed her the hardware. Her mother could be heard releasing a piercing scream for an extended amount of time. According to A’ja, her father, Roscoe Wilson, told her to “Make sure you make your free throws.”
Since its inception, every WNBA regular season MVP has also hoisted the league’s championship that same year. That list includes Deanna Nolan and Katie Smith of the 2006 and 2008 Detroit Shock respectively. Both teams were helmed by Aces head coach Bill Laimbeer.
Laimbeer praised his team anchor’s growth this season. “Her willingness to be a leader now is what stands out to me most. When she first got here it was unclear what her path held in terms of her leading a team. Last year, she went through a lot of emotional struggles with it. Today, she understands what being a professional basketball player is. There’s more to do. She wants to win.”
Laimbeer also decided not to sign off on any exterior paid marketing or social media to promote Wilson as an MVP candidate throughout the season. “I’m very proud of her winning this on her own merits.”
Wilson, who turned 24 last month, echoed Laimbeer’s sentiment focusing on her emergence as a team leader. “lt’s something I had to grow into, that’s the biggest thing. It’s knowing my team needs me, every possession, every time, and no matter what.”
“We’re not done. we haven’t won anything as a whole and the job is still out there,” the former South Carolina Gamecock told LVSportsBiz.com.
Wilson will receive $15,450 and a specially designed trophy by Tiffany & Co.
The Aces already claimed the league’s No. 1 seed in the 2020 postseason after defeating the Storm, 86-84 last Sunday. They will face the No. 7 seed, Connecticut Sun in the best-of-five Semifinal round beginning Sunday, Sept. 20 on ESPN at 1:00 ET. Las Vegas swept the season series with the Conn, 2-0, winning each of those games by an average of 18 points.