Having your name mentioned in the same sentence as Michael Jordan should be an achievement in itself. But for the Las Vegas Aces’ star A’ja Wilson, this may soon turn out to be a reality, as she is gunning for her fifth WNBA MVP title this season, in a repeat from last year. For WNBA analyst Terrika, it’s hard to imagine the coveted individual prize going to any other player, considering the performances that Wilson has displayed this season.
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“If A’ja Wilson gets this 5th MVP, she’ll be in the same stratosphere as Bill Russell and Michael Jordan as the only players in either league with 5 MVPs. And after tonight’s performance, hard to think she won’t win it. #WNBA,” wrote Terrika in an X post on September 28.
Michael Jordan was the NBA’s regular-season MVP five times during his illustrious career with the Chicago Bulls and Washington Wizards. Jordan won the award in 1988, 1991, 1992, 1996, and 1998, all with the Chicago Bulls. He also won the Finals MVP on six occasions: 1991, 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, and 1998.
Before Michael Jordan, Bill Russell was also the regular-season MVP on five different occasions: 1957–58, 1960–61, 1961–62, 1962–63, and 1964–65.
And now, Wilson is not far behind in joining this exclusive club. Having already won the WNBA regular season MVP four times, in 2020, 2022, 2024, and 2025, Wilson’s numbers this season make the case for a repeat this season too.
A’ja Wilson finished the 2026 regular season as the top scorer in the league in points per game, at 26.2, while adding 9.4 rebounds and 3.2 assists per game as well. She also led the league in blocks per game, with 1.9 BPG. Wilson also became the first player in WNBA history to record multiple seasons of 1000+ points. She finished the regular season with a staggering 1,073 points, just 13 shy of Indiana’s Kelsey Mitchell, who broke Wilson’s 2024 record of 1,021 points in a season. Aces HC Becky Hammon was all praise for Wilson after she achieved her second 1000+ season on September 20 in a game against the Seattle Storm.
“It seems like she’s breaking a record every day, so you start to lose track of them. Nothing surprises me with that woman. I mean, tonight she has nine dimes. She just continues to get better,” said Hammon.
In a previous game against the Seattle Storm in June, Wilson broke Diana Taurasi’s record for the fastest player to reach 6,000 career points, achieving the feat in just 278 games, compared to Taurasi’s 291. She dropped 34 points, 12 rebounds, and nine assists in a win over the Storm.
In May, when Wilson dropped 45 points against the Connecticut Sun, her teammate and Aces’ guard Chelsea Gray was in awe of her after the game
“You can’t get bored with watching greatness,” said Gray. “I’m around it all the time, but I’m surprised every day. I never want to get to the spot where I’m comfortable, like, yeah, that’s unheard of.”
Wilson’s dominance is truly one of a kind, as she was named the AP WNBA Player of the Year for a third year in a row recently. Wilson took home the coveted individual award after 15 of the 17 panelists on the board voted in her favor. This was the fourth time that Wilson had won this award in her career, but the award’s charm remained special for her.
“It’s big. It’s an honor for me to do it three times in a row. It’s not easy,” Wilson said, per AP. “My counterparts in this league are really good. I don’t take it lightly because of how much talent we do have in this league.”
The Aces will look to ride Wilson’s fine form to book their place in the WNBA Finals for a second year in a row.
Wilson has also shown no intent of slowing down in the postseason, having dropped 38 points, 16 rebounds, two assists, and four blocks in Game 1 against the Indiana Fever. The Aces will look for a repeat of last season when they defeated the Fever on their way to the title. But regardless of the postseason results, Wilson remains the favorite to retain her regular-season MVP crown.