A four-time WNBA All-Star, 2018 WNBA Rookie of the Year and 2020 WNBA Most Valuable Player, A’ja Wilson already has quite the resume as a fifth-year player.
She now gets to add to the list of accolades.
On Tuesday afternoon, the league officially named Wilson the 2022 Defensive Player of the Year award winner.
Wilson led the W in blocked shots and anchored a middle-of-the-pack Las Vegas Aces defense throughout the season en route to a finish atop the regular-season standings.
The South Carolina native earned 20 of the 56 total votes to narrowly beat out Alyssa Thomas (14) and Breanna Stewart (13) for the 2022 DPOY honor.
It's official 🚨@_ajawilson22 is your 2022 #WNBA @Kia Defensive Player of the Year 🙌
Wilson wins DPOY for the first time in her career and is the first player in @LVAces history to earn this award
Her 1.9 BPG led the league and she ranked 2nd in defensive RPG 👏#MoreThan pic.twitter.com/5uyofjA5sd
— WNBA (@WNBA) August 30, 2022
While Wilson will happily take ownership of the award, the prize money and the slick-looking piece of hardware, there’s more out there for her to get.
Las Vegas is three wins away from a WNBA Finals berth, and six wins away from hoisting the championship trophy for the 2022 season, which would be her and the Aces’ first. But after a rough game opening game of the semifinals for Wilson and the Aces, they find themselves down 0-1 in their series with the Breanna Stewart and the Seattle Storm.
The battle between the Aces and Storm is highlighted by the Wilson-Stewart matchup, who are both widely assumed to be the two leading candidates for the soon-to-be-announced 2022 MVP award.
So, Tuesday’s award could be one of a few for Wilson this summer. We’ll have to wait and see how many she ends up with.
The Las Vegas Aces have +210 title odds at Tipico Sportsbook.
