A'ja Wilson Named WNBA MVP
In just her third professional season A'ja Wilson has been named WNBA MVP.
The South Carolina native led the way for the top-seeded Las Vegas Aces averaging 20.5 points per game, 8.5 rebounds and 2.0 assists.
Wilson was recently named AP MVP as well as back-to-back Western Conference Player of the Month
WNBA Commissioner Cathy Englebert surprised Wilson in the WNBA Bubble in Bradenton, Fla.
Wilson was on ESPN's The Jump and said she thought it was an officiating meeting for the playoffs currently underway when she received the surprise.
"A'ja has loved on the game of basketball for as long as I've known her, and the game is loving her back in the form of this recognition," South Carolina women's basketball head coach Dawn Staley said in a press release issued by the school. "We are proud of her great work on the hardwood and being a change agent for social justice."
Wilson collected 43 of 47 first-place votes and 458 total points from a national panel of sportswriters and broadcasters.
The 6-4 forward led the WNBA in blocks, ranked second in scoring and finished sixth in rebounding. Wilson also shot a career-high 48.0 percent from the field and 78.1 percent from the free throw line. She led the WNBA in free throws made (118) and attempted (151).
Wilson scored at least 20 points in 15 of 22 games, including a season-high 31 points against the New York Liberty on Aug. 9. She recorded seven double-doubles (points-rebounds) and had two games with five blocks. Wilson was named the WNBA Western Conference Player of the Month for August and September, with Las Vegas posting a combined 17-2 record in those two months.
Behind Wilson, the Aces tied for the best record in the WNBA (18-4) during the regular season and earned the top seed in WNBA Playoffs 2020 presented by AT&T. Las Vegas received a double bye into the WNBA Semifinals, which will begin on Sunday, Sept. 20.
Wilson was the No. 1 pick in the 2018 WNBA Draft after a four-year college career that saw her become the most decorated student-athlete of any sport at South Carolina. She was the program's first National Player of the Year, bringing home the honor unanimously in 2018, and the first three-time SEC Player of the Year in SEC history. In addition to being a four-time All-American, including three first-team selections, Wilson helped the Gamecocks to their first NCAA Final Four in 2015 and their first NCAA National Championship in 2017. Her teams went a combined 57-7 in SEC play en route to three regular-season titles, became the first team to win four consecutive SEC Tournament crowns, and won 89.0 percent of their games (129-16).