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

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