A’ja Wilson is now the standard for the best of the best in the WNBA. With every season, the Las Vegas Aces star continues to add to a résumé few in basketball history can match. So while the Aces prepare for a do-or-die Semifinals Game 3 against the Golden State Valkyries on Friday, her latest individual achievement has given fans another reason to celebrate her greatness. And for her former college coach, Dawn Staley, it has made one debate easier than ever to settle.
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The WNBA announced Wilson as its 2026 Most Valuable Player, and as she clinches this title for the fifth time in her career, On3 reporter Chris Wellbaum turned to Staley with his annual question. “Is A’ja the best women’s basketball player ever?”
Having coached the now-30-year-old at South Carolina nearly a decade ago, Staley has watched her grow into one of the most decorated players in the game. And with her latest MVP, the Gamecocks’ head coach made her stance clear.
“THE BEST! 5/9 of your pro career you’re the MVP especially the controversial one when some voter gave her a 4th place vote…..it’s not even close anymore!” she wrote on X.
A’ja Wilson led the league in scoring this season with 26.2 points per game on 52.7% shooting from the field and 40.4% from the three-point range. She also averaged 9.4 rebounds, 3.2 assists – a career best – and 1.9 blocks, delivering production at both ends of the floor. So how dominant of a player she is reflected in the MVP voting, too.
Wilson collected 65 first-place votes, while Minnesota rookie Olivia Miles finished second with just six. And this voting gap only highlighted just how far Wilson stood ahead of the competition.
But the achievement also places her in rare company beyond the WNBA. In NBA history, only Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (6), Michael Jordan (5), and Bill Russell (5) have won at least five regular-season MVP awards. Wilson has now reached that same five-award threshold, further strengthening her case among basketball’s all-time greats.
The recognition for her greatness even extended beyond the league, as Nike Basketball took to X to congratulate A’ja Wilson on her fifth MVP, where they also shared a clip of the Aces star firing back at her critics.
“Five MVPs. At some point, it stops being a debate and starts being a pattern. Congrats, A’ja Wilson,” the brand wrote, while in the clip, Wilson made it clear that the outside noise has not gone unnoticed.
“I see the trolls. I hear the chatter. Y’all had a lot to say about the first four. I heard it all… I get it. Every year, y’all find a new reason it shouldn’t be me. But it is me. Whoops. Five, to be exact. Whoops again. So keep talking. But if I’m always on your mind – just say you’re a fan,” she said.
The latest award also adds another layer to her historic run. After becoming the first player in WNBA history to win four MVP awards last season, she has now become the first to claim the honor in three consecutive seasons. And the Aces were quick to celebrate that distinction.
“Back-to-back…and back again. 💅 Making history is what she does. A’ja Wilson is the only player in WNBA history to win Most Valuable Player three times in a row,” the team wrote.
Even the league didn’t stay behind.
“U’nmatched greatness. MVP No. 5 🖐️🏆 A’ja Wilson is your 2026 @Kia WNBA Most Valuable Player!” the WNBA posted on X.
For Wilson, the individual accolades continue to pile up. However, the challenge now is ensuring that her historic season ends with another championship. The Aces are down 2-0 to the Valkyries in the semifinals, leaving them with no margin for error. One more loss would end their postseason run and their hopes of securing a second consecutive title.
So while her place among the game’s elite may be becoming harder to dispute, as Staley insists, with Las Vegas on the brink of elimination, her next challenge is turning individual greatness into another championship run.