‘Not Satisfied’ A’ja Wilson Remains Focused on Valkyries Series After Fifth WNBA MVP
A’ja Wilson has done everything a basketball player could possibly dream of. She has won three WNBA championships and is still in the running for a fourth despite falling behind against the Golden State Valkyries in the semifinals. Wilson also has three Defensive Player of the Year awards, five All-WNBA First Team selections, two Finals MVPs, and five MVP awards on her resume.
When Wilson won her fourth MVP award last season, she made history. No WNBA player had ever won four MVPs before. Yesterday, Wilson was named MVP for the fifth time in her career and the third year in a row, edging out rookie phenom Olivia Miles and further cementing her status as the WNBA GOAT—and a basketball great in general. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar is the only NBA player with more MVPs than Wilson, with six. Michael Jordan and Bill Russell also have five MVPs each.
Considering that Wilson just turned 30 in August and still continues to get better every season, she still has plenty of time left to add more MVPs and championships to her resume. She’s certainly not done proving her greatness over and over again.
“This is pretty solidified in a bunch of different ways,” Wilson said when asked about achieving a previously mentioned goal of putting herself in Bill Russell’s company, per a video on the Aces’ YouTube channel. “I’m not satisfied, but I am also so grateful, and I’m so blessed to be able to do what I do, and obviously getting rewarded is also fun…I never want to lose the fun of the game.”
The fact that Wilson is “not satisfied” after everything she has already accomplished should scare the rest of the WNBA. Wilson’s hold on the MVP race and championship competition doesn’t seem likely to loosen anytime soon.
Wilson is focused on the task at hand
While Wilson’s individual dominance this season is out of the question—she averaged 26.2 points, 9.4 rebounds, 3.2 assists, 1.4 steals, and 1.9 blocks, leading the WNBA in points per game—the Aces’ season and title pursuit are in serious jeopardy.
After absolutely dominating the Valkyries in the regular season, the Aces lost two consecutive games in Ballhalla and now face elimination in Game 3 of the semifinals.
With such an important game coming up, Wilson shared in her media availability that she wouldn’t take part in a pregame ceremony for her MVP award so she could focus on the game.
“Tomorrow, when it comes to hoisting it in front of the fans—I love the fans. Thank you so much, but I doubt I will be doing that,” Wilson said. “I’ll be warming up with my team. Maybe my mom and dad can hold it, but I won’t be there because everyone in this room knows the competitor that I am. Everyone knows what my main focus is and that is to get a game.”
Pregame ceremonies haven’t always led to success for the Aces. When Wilson was honored for her fourth MVP last season, the Aces lost Game 1 of the semifinals to the Indiana Fever. They also opened this season with an embarrassing loss to the Phoenix Mercury after receiving their championship rings.
They cannot afford to continue that trend. Losing to the Valkyries on Friday would end their season.
Even if Wilson can carry her team to a Game 3 victory, the situation will remain tense. No WNBA team has come back from a 0-2 deficit to win a best-of-five series.
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Elaine Blum covers women’s basketball for On SI from Europe. She has been writing about women's hoops since 2023 and holds a Bachelor’s degree in English and Journalism and a master’s degree in American Studies with a focus on women’s and gender studies. She started playing basketball when she was 10 years old and won several league and state championships at the youth and senior level.