Aces forward Wilson named WNBA Most Valuable Player

[September 08, 2022] (Reuters) - Las Vegas Aces forward A'ja Wilson has been named the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) Most Valuable Player after leading her team to the top seed in the postseason, the league said on Wednesday.

Wilson, who previously earned the MVP honor in 2020 and last month was named the Defensive Player of the Year, ranked fifth in the WNBA in scoring as she averaged 19.5 points per game and was second in rebounding with a career-high 9.4 per game.

The 26-year-old Wilson, playing in her fifth WNBA season, received 31 of the 56 first-place votes from a national panel of sportswriters and broadcasters to finish ahead of Seattle Storm forward Breanna Stewart (23 first-place votes).

The award was announced a day after Wilson's Aces beat Stewart's Storm 3-1 in a best-of-five series to advance to the WNBA Finals.

Las Vegas Aces center A'ja Wilson (22) laughs after defeating the Connecticut Sun in game 5 of the WNBA semifinals at IMG Academy. Mandatory Credit: Mary Holt-USA TODAY Sports

Wilson joins three-time winners Lauren Jackson, Lisa Leslie and Sheryl Swoopes and two-time MVPs Cynthia Cooper, Elena Delle Donne and Candace Parker as the only players to win the award multiple times.

(Reporting by Frank Pingue in Toronto; Editing by Toby Davis)

[© 2022 Thomson Reuters. All rights reserved.]  This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.  Thompson Reuters is solely responsible for this content.