Sue Bird Takes Clear Stance on WNBA MVP Award Race

Sue Bird got honest about who she thinks should win the 2025 WNBA MVP award.

Aug 9, 2024; Paris, France; Megan Rapinoe and Sue Bird watch a women's basketball semifinal game during the Paris 2024 Olympic Summer Games at Accor Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-Imagn Images | Kyle Terada-Imagn Images

Arguably, the biggest storyline to follow as the 2025 WNBA regular season winds down is who is going to win the 2025 WNBA MVP award.

As it currently stands, most would agree that the race is between three players: Lynx forward Napheesa Collier, Aces forward A'ja Wilson, and Mercury forward Alyssa Thomas. But while Thomas has put together (another) spectacular season during her first campaign in Phoenix, the general sentiment is that the true race is between Collier and Wilson.

Both star players have great cases for winning the MVP award. For Collier, she is currently leading the league in points per game (23.9), and Minnesota is one regular season win away from clinching the WNBA's top seed for the playoffs, even though they still have seven regular season games left to play.

Wilson (who is the reigning WNBA MVP) is right behind Collier's points per game total, with 23.4. However, her Aces are in the midst of a 12-game winning streak and have been the league's best team by far since the All-Star break over a month ago.

Jul 25, 2025; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Las Vegas Aces center A'ja Wilson (22) shoots against the Minnesota Lynx forward Napheesa Collier (24) in the third quarter at Target Center. Mandatory Credit: Brad Rempel-Imagn Images | Brad Rempel-Imagn Images

It's also worth noting that Collier has missed 10 games this season (most of which came in early August because of an ankle issue) while Wilson missed four games earlier in the year.

Sue Bird Asserts Her WNBA MVP Award Stance

WNBA legend Sue Bird is one of the most respected voices in all of women's basketball. Therefore, her opinion on league matters holds considerable weight. And in an August 28 episode of the A Touch More podcast, Bird asserted who she thinks is leading the WNBA MVP award race.

After Bird's co-host and fiancée, Megan Rapinoe, said that she thinks Collier is running away with the MVP award, Bird said, "I agree with you. I'm leaning towards Phee. I think they don't have that many games left, so whatever is remaining could help tell the story.

"What has really kept me in the Phee camp, is her first game back from injury, she had 32 points, 9 rebounds, shot almost 70% from the field. Yeah. That's crazy. And like you said, it's best player on best team, by a mile, and when that's happening, it's hard to turn away from [Collier]," Bird added.

Bird went on to give Wilson her flowers, asserting that it's ultimately going to be up to voters' personal preference on which of these two superstars receives the award.

It will be interesting to see which direction voters go, given that both Collier and Wilson are deserving.