Aja Wilson Wins Third Straight WNBA MVP Award

Las Vegas Aces forward Aja Wilson secured her third consecutive WNBA Most Valuable Player award on Thursday, extending her total to five career MVP honors. Wilson earned the recognition after leading the league in scoring with 26.2 points per game, establishing a historic run of individual success that Nikola Jokic did not achieve in the NBA.

According to the award voting results, Wilson received 65 first-place votes, while Minnesota Lynx rookie Olivia Miles finished second with six. Indiana Fever guard Kelsey Mitchell placed third with two first-place votes, leaving Wilson with a commanding advantage over her closest competitors.

Wilson previously won the award in 2020 and 2022 before beginning her current three-year streak. No other player in WNBA history has collected more than three MVP awards, according to the source report.

During her ninth season, Wilson averaged 26.2 points, 9.4 rebounds, 3.2 assists, 1.4 steals and 1.9 blocks per game. She shot 52.7% from the field and 40.4% from three-point range while recording a career-high usage rate of 32.9%, reflecting the significant offensive responsibility she carried for Las Vegas.

Her latest award also highlights a contrast with Jokic's experience in the NBA. The Denver Nuggets center won consecutive MVP awards in 2020-21 and 2021-22 but finished behind Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid in the 2022-23 voting.

Jokic averaged 24.5 points, 11.8 rebounds and 9.8 assists per game during that season, shooting a career-high 63.2% from the field. His 9.8 assists per game established the highest single-season average by a center in NBA history at the time, although he later surpassed that mark with 10.7 assists per game in the following season cited by the report.

Embiid won the 2022-23 MVP award after averaging 33.1 points, 10.2 rebounds, 4.2 assists, 1.7 steals and 1.0 blocks per game. He received 73 first-place votes, compared with 15 for Jokic and 12 for Milwaukee Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo.

The voting gap illustrated how a player with a strong statistical record can lose the award when another candidate produces an exceptional season. Jokic had already won twice consecutively, while Embiid's scoring production helped establish a compelling alternative in a closely watched race.

Jokic subsequently won his third MVP award in four seasons, but he did not join Larry Bird, Bill Russell and Wilt Chamberlain as an NBA player who captured three consecutive MVP honors. Wilson's latest victory places her among the WNBA's most decorated MVP winners, with three consecutive awards added to her earlier wins in 2020 and 2022.