LAS VEGAS — Aces star A’ja Wilson was named the WNBA’s MVP on Wednesday, edging Seattle Storm forward Breanna Stewart to win the award for the second time in three years.
Wilson received 478 points and 31 first-place votes from the national panel of 56 sports writers and broadcasters. The award comes eight days after she was named the league’s Defensive Player of the Year.
Stewart, who led the league in scoring at 21.4 points per game, finished with 446 points and 23 first-place votes. Aces guard Kelsey Plum, second in scoring at 20.2 ppg, was third with 181 points. Aces guard Chelsea Gray received one first-place vote and finished ninth.
The 6-foot-4-inch Wilson played all 36 regular-season games and was fifth in the league in scoring (19.5 ppg), second in rebounds (9.4) and first in blocks (1.9). Her teammates campaigned all season for her to win the award, but the forward focused on the team.
“At the end of the day, I can only control what I can control,” Wilson said before the semifinal series between the top-seeded Aces and No. 4 Storm.
Now, she can celebrate, less than 24 hours after she scored 23 points and played all 40 minutes of the Aces’ series-clinching 97-92 Game 4 win over Stewart and the Storm on Tuesday.
The Aces will play in the finals for the second time in three years. They will meet either the No. 2 Chicago Sky or No. 3 Connecticut Sun, who will play Game 5 of their series at 5 p.m. Thursday in Chicago.
Game 1 of the finals will be at noon Sunday at Michelob Ultra Arena.
Wilson is the seventh player in league history to be named MVP multiple times, joining Lauren Jackson, Lisa Leslie, Sheryl Swoopes, Cynthia Cooper, Elena Delle Donne and Candace Parker.
Wilson is the fifth player in league history to win the MVP and Defensive Player of the Year awards in the same season and the first since Jackson in 2007. Yolanda Griffith, Leslie and Swoopes also achieved the feat.
Wilson made her fourth All-Star Game appearance, as she was the leading vote-getter and named a captain. She was named Western Conference Player of the Month in May and July.
