NBA

A’Ja Wilson of the Las Vegas Aces is the KIA MVP of the 2022 WNBA season

Published

3 years ago

September 8, 2022

Jeremiah

A’Ja Wilson of the Las Vegas Aces is the KIA MVP of the 2022 WNBA season

(NBAE via Getty Images)

New York, September 7, 2022 – A’ja Wilson of Aces of Las Vegas named as WNBA MVP 2022as the league announced today.

This is the 2nd WNBA MVP Award for Wilsonwhich already won the award in 2020. It was done seventh player in WNBA history to win the award more than once, with three-time MVPs Lauren Jackson, Lisa Leslie and Sheryl Swoopes, and two-time MVPs Cynthia Cooper, Elena Delle Donne and Candace Parker.

Wilson is also the fifth player to win MVP and best defenseman awards in the same season and the first since Jackson in 2007. The others are Yolanda Griffith (1999), Swoopes (2000 and 2002) and Leslie (2004).

A’Ja received 31 of 56 first-place votes and 478 total points from a national panel of 56 sportswriters and broadcasters. Seattle Storm’s Breanna Stewart, 2018 MVP, finished second with 446 points (23 first place votes). Kelsey Plum of the Las Vegas Aces finished in third place with 181 points and Alyssa Thomas of the Connecticut Sun placed fourth with 94 points. Top 5 completed Candace Parker of the Chicago Sky with 78 points, including the first ballot.

Players received 10 points for a first-place vote, seven points for a second-place vote, five points for a third-place vote, three points for a fourth-place vote and one point for a fifth-place vote.

In his fifth season in the WNBA, Wilson was the fifth leading scorer in the league with 19.5 points per game and the second player with the best rebounding average (9.5 per game) in 36 games. The four-time WNBA All-Star shot 50.1 percent from the field and led the league in double-doubles (17).

Wilson too led the league in blocks (1.9 per game) and was twelfth in steals (1.4 per game). With her at the helm, the Aces (26-10) posted the most wins in franchise history and advanced to the Playoffs as the top seed. Las Vegas averaged 90.4 points per game this season, the third-highest scoring average in league history and the highest mark since 2010.

Las Vegas will continue its quest for the first WNBA championship in franchise history when it hosts Game 1 of the WNBA Finals on Sunday, September 11 against the winner of the semifinal series between the Chicago Sky and Connecticut Sun.

Wilson was named the WNBA Western Conference Player of the Month for May and July, months in which Las Vegas posted a combined 18-4 record. A’Ja was the leading player in fan voting for the 2022 AT&T WNBA All-Star Game, leading her team to a 134-112 victory.

In honor of being named the 2022 WNBA MVP, Wilson will receive $15,450 and a custom-designed trophy from Tiffany & Co.

All WNBA MVP winners

Year	player	Equipment
2022	A’ja Wilson	Aces of Las Vegas
2021	Jonquel Jones	Connecticut Suns
2020	A’ja Wilson	Aces of Las Vegas
2019	Elena Del Don	Washington Mystics
2018	Breanna Stewart	Seattle Storm
2017	Sylvia Fowles	Minnesota lynx
2016	Nneka Ogwumike	Los Angeles Sparks
2015	Elena Del Don	Chicago skyline
2014	Maya Moore	Minnesota lynx
2013	Candace Parker	Los Angeles Sparks
2012	Tina Charles	Sun Connecticut
2011	Treasure catches	Indiana fever
2010	Lauren Jackson	Seattle Storm
2009	Diana Taurasi	phoenixmercury
2008	Candace Parker	Los Angeles Sparks
2007	Lauren Jackson	Seattle Storm
2006	Lisa Leslie	Los Angeles Sparks
2005	Cheryl Soups	Houston Comets
2004	Lisa Leslie	Los Angeles Sparks
2003	Lauren Jackson	Seattle Storm
2002	Cheryl Soups	Houston Comets
2001	Lisa Leslie	Los Angeles Sparks
2000	Cheryl Soups	Houston Comets
1999	Yolanda Griffith	Sacramento Monarchs
1998	Cynthia Cooper	Houston Comets
1997	Cynthia Cooper	Houston Comets

Author:

NBA.com Staff

Source: Sporting News

Jeremiah

I am a sports journalist who has been writing for a news website since 2015. My work primarily focuses on sports news, but I have also written about other topics such as technology and the arts. I have an extensive background in journalism, having worked as a reporter for a local newspaper before moving to a news website.

NBA

Forbes named the most valuable sports team of 2025

Published

6 hours ago

December 23, 2025

Paula

Forbes named the most valuable sports team of 2025

Version Forbes announced its annual ranking of the world’s most expensive sports teams.

NFL franchise Dallas Cowboys, estimated to be worth $13 billion, has led the pack for the ninth year in a row.

While NBA Golden State Warriors ranked second with a valuation of $11 billion, another representative of American football, Los Angeles Rams (10.5 billion), was in the top three.

The top 10, as last year, includes only American teams from the NFL and NBA. There are seven NFL clubs in the top 10 overall, which Forbes analysts attribute to the league’s large-scale television contracts.

Among football clubs, Real Madrid remains the most expensive – the Spanish giant ranked only 20th with a value of $6.75 billion.

Also in the top 50 are Manchester United (24th, 6.6 billion), Barcelona (42nd, 5.65 billion) and Liverpool (48th, 5.4 billion). In total, only four football clubs are represented in the top 50 rankings.

Formula 1 representatives also returned to the list – Ferrari (26th place) and Mercedes (34th).

The 20 most valuable sports teams in the world according to Forbes

1. Dallas Cowboys (American football) – $13 billion
2. Golden State Warriors (basketball) – $11 billion
3. Los Angeles Rams (American football) – $10.5 billion
4. New York Giants (American football) – $10.1 billion
5. Los Angeles Lakers (basketball) – $10 billion
6. New York Knicks (basketball) – $9.75 billion
7. New England Patriots (American football) – $9 billion
8. San Francisco 49ers (American football) – $8.6 billion
9. Philadelphia Eagles (American football) – $8.3 billion
10. Chicago Bears (American football) – $8.2 billion
11. New York Yankees (baseball) – $8.2 billion
12. New York Jets (American football) – $8.1 billion
13. Las Vegas Raiders (American football) – $7.7 billion
14. Washington Commanders (American football) – $7.6 billion
15. Los Angeles Clippers (basketball) – $7.5 billion
16. Miami Dolphins (American football) – $7.5 billion
17. Houston Texans (American football) – $7.4 billion
18. Denver Broncos (American football) – $6.8 billion
19. Los Angeles Dodgers (baseball) – $6.8 billion
20. Real Madrid (soccer) – $6.75 billion

Source: Sport UA

Paula

I am a sports journalist who has written for various websites and magazines. I currently work as an author at Sportish, a news website that covers sports news. My main focus is writing about soccer, rugby and other sports in the world.

NBA

NBA: Tension in Atlanta, overtime in Sacramento and confident victory for New York

Published

1 day ago

December 22, 2025

Paula

NBA: Tension in Atlanta, overtime in Sacramento and confident victory for New York

Six games of the NBA regular season were played on the night of December 21-22.

Atlanta hosted Chicago and lost in a high-scoring game.

The teams focused on offense from the beginning of the match and this continued throughout the game. As a result, Atlanta made 23 three-pointers and Chicago made 20, and both teams had a shooting percentage close to 50. The teams also frequently missed each other at the basket, so the game resembled a constant exchange of points. The leader changed 20 times in the meeting and the fate of the match was decided at the last minute. Prior to that, the Bulls had built a 6-point advantage, but the Hawks nearly made up for it as the opponents took one of every two shots and Young and Johnson each scored three points for the home team. Still, the outcome was 152:150 in favor of Chicago.

The most productive player of the match was Johnson, who fell one assist short of a triple-double with 36 points and 11 rebounds. The Bulls also had a triple-double contender, but Giddy, who had 19 points and 11 assists, was one rebound short.

Sacramento made a great comeback against Houston and won at home.

Having performed better in the first half, the Rockets eventually gained an advantage of 11 points (68:57) and maintained a comfortable distance from the opponent in the third quarter with 9 points (91:82), and at the beginning of the fourth 12 minutes, this difference increased to +14 – 100:86. But after that the Kings made a 12:0 move and practically equalized: 98:100. Houston then had a few-point advantage, but with 15 seconds left in the fourth quarter, Westbrook made a three-pointer and tied the score at 112:112. The match went to overtime and Schroeder’s three-point shot 4 seconds before the siren was decisive – 125:124.

At the end of this match, Schröder recorded a double-double with 27 points and 10 assists. While Westbrook achieved the same success with 21 points and 13 rebounds, Reynaud also played with 12 points and 14 rebounds.

New York confidently won its home game against Miami.

Heat had a successful performance by winning the first quarter with a score of 37:30, but in the second 12 minutes, the Knicks managed to close the gap and take the lead and entered the long break with +4 – 66:62 on the scoreboard. In the second half, New York constantly kept its opponent within two or three attacks and carried the match to a confident victory with 132:125.

Brunson was the best player of the game, scoring 47 points, which significantly helped the Knicks win.

NBA. Regular season, December 22

Atlanta – Chicago – 150:152 (38:38, 35:45, 42:33, 35:36)

In Atlanta: Johnson (36 + 11 rebounds + 9 assists), Young (35 + 9 assists), Okongwu (23 + 7 rebounds + 6 assists), Risache (17), Daniels (8 + 9 rebounds + 9 assists) – start; Krejci (20), Alexander-Walker (9), Gueye (2), Kennard (0), Newell (0).

Chicago: Buzelis (28), White (21), Giddy (19 + 9 rebounds + 12 assists), Okoro (14), Vucevic (13 + 6 assists) – start; Herter (16), Dosunmu (13), Jones (11), Collins (10 + 7 rebounds), Williams (4), Smith (3).

Sacramento – Houston – 125:124 Overtime (30:31, 27:37, 25:23, 30:21, 13:12)

Sacramento: DeRozan (27 + 9 assists), Murray (26), Westbrook (21 + 13 rebounds), Reynaud (12 + 14 rebounds), Achiuwa (5) – start; Schroeder (24 + 7 rebounds + 10 assists), Clifford (6), Cardwell (2), Monk (2), Ellis (0).

Houston: Shengyun (28), Durant (24 + 10 rebounds + 8 assists), Thompson (18 + 9 rebounds + 8 assists), Smith (18), Okogie (3) – start; Ison (16), Shepard (15), Capela (2).

New York – Miami – 132:125 (30:37, 36:25, 39:37, 27:26)

New York: Brunson (47 + 8 assists), Bridges (24), Anunoby (18), Hart (13 + 10 rebounds), Towns (2) – start; Clarkson (10), Robinson (9 + 7 rebounds), Kolek (6), Diawara (3).

Miami: Ware (28 + 19 rebounds), Powell (22), Adebayo (14 + 9 rebounds), Mitchell (13 + 8 assists), Wiggins (7) – start; Haykes (23), Smith (9), Fontecchio (7), Yakucionis (2).

Brooklyn – Toronto – 96:81 (24:18, 25:21, 18:26, 29:16)

Brooklyn: Porter (24 + 11 rebounds), Clowney (19 + 9 rebounds), Diomin (16), Clexton (12 + 7 rebounds), Menn (5 + 7 assists) – start; Sharp (8), Traore (8), Z. Williams (2), Martin (2), Wolf (0).

Toronto: Ingram (19), Quickley (17 + 10 assists), Agbaji (7), Barnes (6), Poeltl (2) – start; Walter (9), Murray-Boyles (8), Bettle (4), Mamukelashvili (4), Dick (3), Shead (2), Temple (0).

Washington – San Antonio – 113:124 (28:26, 21:43, 37:29, 27:26)

Washington: Carrington (21), Vukcevic (18 + 9 rebounds), McCollum (15), George (14 + 7 assists), Shempeni (5) – start; Johnson (19 + 7 rebounds), Brenham (9), Riley (8), Watkins (4), Hill (0).

San Antonio: Fox (27 + 7 rebounds + 6 assists), Cornet (20 + 12 rebounds), Castle (18 + 11 assists), Barnes (14), Vassell (11) – start; Vembanyama (14 + 12 rebounds), K. Johnson (12 + 9 rebounds), Olynyk (4), Shempeni (3), Harper (1).

Minnesota – Milwaukee – 103:100 (23:29, 25:31, 27:15, 28:25)

Minnesota: Edwards (24 + 6 assists), DiVincenzo (18), Randle (12 + 7 rebounds), Gobert (11 + 18 rebounds), McDaniels (0) – start; Reed (12), Shannon (11), Hyland (9), Conley (6 + 6 assists), Clark (0).

Milwaukee: Porter (24 + 10 rebounds + 9 assists + 6 turnovers), Portis (16 + 11 rebounds), Turner (13), Kuzma (12 + 10 rebounds), Green (4) – start; Rollins (16), Sims (9), Trent (6), G. Harris (0).