A’ja Wilson followed up a historic season with another incredible one to earn the WNBA player of the year honor in AP recognition for the second straight time.
The Las Vegas Aces center finished ahead of Minnesota Lynx forward Napheesa Collier and Phoenix Mercury forward Alyssa Thomas of Phoenix, who both had terrific seasons, in voting for the 2025 award.
“She’s put in the work and she passes all the tests — the math tests, the optics tests — she’s the most exciting player in the W,” Aces coach Becky Hammon told The Associated Press. “And here’s the thing: She’s also the most exciting player on the defensive end. She will do something once a game defensively that’s going to get you out of your seat.
“She’s the only player in this league that I’ve seen that has defensive highlights on a consistent basis.”
The 29-year-old Wilson, who helped the Aces to back-to-back WNBA titles in 2022-23 after leading South Carolina — her hometown program — to the NCAA Division I championship in 2017, was also honored as the AP defensive player of the year for the third time in four seasons. The 6-foot-4 star was the No. 1 pick of the 2018 WNBA draft after being a three-time AP All-America first-team selection under Gamecocks coach Dawn Staley.