A’ja Wilson returned to the top of the WNBA in 2025 with an unprecedented victory fourth MVP as his Las Vegas Aces won their third championship in four seasons.
For that, she won the Associated Press Female Athlete of the Year for the first time in her career on Wednesday. It’s the second year in a row that a basketball player has won the award after Caitlin Clark was honored. In 2024.
“It’s an honor when you think about a group of women who have won before,” Wilson said in a phone interview. “I’m just happy it’s part of my name.”
Wilson is only the fifth basketball player to be honored as the Female Athlete of the Year since it was first introduced in 1931, joining Sheryl Swoopes (1993), Rebecca Lobo (1995), Candace Parker (2008, 2021) and Clark.
A group of 47 sports journalists and members of AP voted. Wilson received 17 votes, tennis star Aryna Sabalenka was second with nine votes, and Paige Bueckers was third with five votes.
“What he’s done on the court has never been done. To me, he’s in a category of his own,” Aces coach Becky Hammon said of Wilson. “People always ask who’s on Mount Rushmore? I say he’s on Everest – there’s nobody next to him.”
Shohei Ohtani won AP Male Athlete of the Year for the fourth time on Tuesday.
During his four years coaching in Las Vegas, Hammon was impressed by everything about Wilson.
“His consistency, his down-to-earthness makes him a huge superstar,” Hammon said. “His skill set is unmatched, but he’s also the easiest player to coach. To have that mix of humility, grace and skill, there’s a reason he’s done things that have never been done before.”
This season has been different for Wilson and the Aces, who won their previous two titles as heavy favorites. This year, after a month, the Aces were sitting at .500 and in danger of missing the playoffs after a record 53-point loss against Minnesota.
Wilson led his team to wins in the final 16 regular season games to secure the No. 2 seed and win the Las Vegas championship.
“I found myself in the mud and adversity that we’ve been through this season,” he said.
Despite his numbers matching his unanimous MVP season a year ago, Wilson has heard he hasn’t played as much and isn’t a front-runner to repeat as the league’s best player.
The 29-year-old football player used it as fuel in court. He led the league with 23.4 points and 2.3 blocks per game.
“The way they’re talking about us, the way they’re talking about me, I’m ready for it, I’m ready for the noise,” Wilson said. “It’s always going to be something. If we sit here and try to please everybody, we’re going to be crazy. I’m going to continue to prove why I’m one of the greatest and why my team is part of a dynamic dynasty.”
Wilson elevated his game in the playoffs, helping the Aces survive decisive winner-take-all games in the quarterfinals and semifinals. She then helped Las Vegas sweep Phoenix in the WNBA Finals, hitting the game-winning shot in Game 3.
“It’s fair to say the expectations for him are so high now, he’s going to be compared to the unanimous MVP a year ago,” ESPN analyst Rebecca Lobo said. “Even though he wasn’t the unanimous MVP this year, his journey this season was different and he was playing the best basketball of his career in the playoffs.”
“Every year you wonder how he’s going to improve, and he always does.”
Wilson became the first player to win both the WNBA and NBA MVP, Defensive Player of the Year, Finals MVP awards and lead the league in scoring in the same season.
Wilson tied Swoopes, Lisa Leslie and Lauren Jackson for three-time WNBA MVP honors. Since he won’t be playing overseas or in a local 3-on-3 league, he plans to have another relaxing season.
Having met her idol Beyoncé at the Formula 1 race in Las Vegas last month, she has already crossed one thing off the list.
“It was great, Beyoncé is someone I always wanted to meet because I admired her work,” Wilson said.
Aces are like that for many. Created a shoe and clothing line with Nike. Her shoes sold out within minutes of going on sale.
“It’s amazing, it’s something I think about every day when I look around and see people just wearing my shoes. Every day it’s a reminder that you know it’s a special moment that we’re living in and looking back I’m so grateful.”
