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By Cassandra Cousineau, LVSportsBiz.com Las Vegas Aces Writer
Las Vegas Aces anchor A’ja Wilson and her Aces pals learned the news Tuesday, but everyone on the WNBA team kept the news that Wilson was the league’s 2022 MVP a secret.
It wasn’t until Wednesday when the WNBA revealed that Wilson, who added an effective three-point shot and was the league’s Defensive Player of the Year, won the Most Valuable Player award this season.
Now a two-time MVP after winning the honor in 2020, Wilson became the seventh player in WNBA history to win the award multiple times, joining three-time winners Lauren Jackson, Lisa Leslie and Sheryl Swoopes and two-time MVPs Cynthia Cooper, Elena Delle Donne and Candace Parker.
The former No. 1 overall pick received 31 of 56 first-place votes and 478 total points from a national panel of 56 sportswriters and broadcasters. Seattle Storm forward Breanna Stewart, the 2018 WNBA Most Valuable Player, finished in second place with 446 points (23 first-place votes).
The outgoing 26-year-old acknowledged her teammates when she met with the media today when she discussed winning the MVP award.
“I don’t win this alone. I have to thank my teammates,” Wilson said. “I don’t do this without them.”
Also, of note, Wilson’s teammate, guard Kelsey Plum, finished in third in the voting.
Wilson singled out Plum. “I’m thankful to just be her teammate. Sometimes I just watch and am in awe of what KP does on the court.”
At the request of WNBA Coach of The Year, Becky Hammon, the 6-foot, 4-inch power forward was moved to center to anchor the team’s newly-tooled, high-powered offense. She responded by leading the league in blocks (1.9 bpg), ranked second in defensive rebounds per game (career-high 7.6) and was 12th in steals (1.4 spg). In the Semifinals against Seattle, she played in all but four minutes during a competitive four-game series with the Storm.
It’s been quite a year for Wilson who was named the WNBA’s Defensive Player of The Year, WNBA All-Star Team Captain, named to the WNBA All-Defensive First Team, and split a $500,000 bonus from winning the Commissioner’s Cup with her team. There’s only one accolade left to cap off this season.
The Aces begin their quest for the organization’s first WNBA championship on Sunday in Las Vegas versus either the Connecticut Sun or Chicago Sky.
On their last attempt to win the title during the COVID Bubble in Florida, the Aces were swept by the Storm inside the IMG Academy in Bradenton, Fl. at the end of the COVID-shortened season.
The loss left a bad taste in Wilson’s mouth. The South Carolina native is approaching the series with a more business-like attitude.
Wilson on why 2022 is different from 2020: “We’re a different team this time around because I think the first time around we were just happy to be there. Win or lose, we just felt like we needed to get out of this bubble. It was like a rookie happy to be there feeling.” She’s one of only two players to return from the 2020 Finals season. The other is Jackie Young. Kelsey Plum and Dearica Hamby were both on the roster, but injured and unable to play in the series.
The two-time MVP said she didn’t fully realize how important she was to the Las Vegas franchise “until this year.”
She said, “Every year I feel like I still have something more to give. When we head into this series, this time around it’s going to take 40 minutes of mental toughness. One through 12 – it’s going to take all of us.”
Wilson is expecting to leave it all on the floor this season and for years to come. “I don’t want to be satisfied, that’s just how my parents raised me.”