A'ja Wilson of the Las Vegas Aces unanimously wins the 2024 KIA WNBA Most Valuable Player Award

– Wilson sets WNBA record with third MVP after historic regular season –

NEW YORKSeptember 22, 2024 – Las Vegas Aces center forward A'ja Wilson has been named the 2024 Kia ​​WNBA Most Valuable Player, the WNBA announced today.

This is the record-breaking third Kia WNBA MVP Award for Wilson, who also received the award in 2020 and 2022. She is the fourth player in WNBA history to win three MVPs, joining Sheryl Swoopes (2000, 2002 and 2005) and Lisa Leslie (2003, 2007 and 2010) and Lauren Jackson (2003, 2007 and 2010).

Wilson received all 67 first-place votes (670 points) from a national panel of sportswriters and broadcasters, becoming the Kia WNBA's first unanimous MVP since Cynthia Cooper of the Houston Comets in the league's inaugural season in 1997.

Minnesota Lynx forward Napheesa Collier (467 points) took second place, followed by New York Liberty forward Breanna Stewart (295 points), followed by Indiana Fever forward Caitlin Clark (130 points) in third place ), in fourth place and Connecticut Sun forward Alyssa Thomas (83). points) in fifth place. Players were awarded 10 points for a first place vote, seven points for a second place vote, five points for a third place vote, three points for a fourth place vote and one point for a fourth place vote credited with fifth place.

In her seventh WNBA season, Wilson averaged 26.9 points, 11.9 rebounds, 2.58 blocked shots and 1.79 steals in 34.4 minutes in 38 games. She ranked first in the WNBA in both points and blocks, second in rebounds, fifth in steals and fourth in minutes, setting career highs in all five categories per game. Wilson also ranked seventh in the league in field goal percentage (51.8) and 17th^Th in the free throw rate (84.4).

At 6-4, Wilson broke the WNBA single-season scoring average record set by Phoenix Mercury guard Diana Taurasi in 2006 (25.3 ppg). Wilson also set single-season records with 1,021 total points and 451 total rebounds. She is the first player to lead the WNBA in total points, rebounds and blocks (98) in a season.

Behind Wilson, the two-time defending WNBA champion Aces (27-13) earned fourth place in the 2024 WNBA Playoffs presented by Google. Las Vegas will host the Seattle Storm in Game 1 of a first-round series tonight at 10 p.m. ET on ESPN -Organize playoff series.

During the 2024 regular season, Wilson was named the Kia WNBA Western Conference Player of the Month four times (May, June, July and September) and the WNBA Western Conference Player of the Week six times (Weeks 3, 6, 7, 8, 10 and 12) . A six-time WNBA All-Star, Wilson played for the United States Women's National Team at the 2024 AT&T WNBA All-Star Game before leading the United States to a gold medal at the Paris Olympics, where she was honored as the tournament's MVP became .

Other highlights of Wilson's 2024 season include:

• Recorded the two highest-scoring games of the WNBA season, with 42 points against the Dallas Wings on August 27th and 41 points against the Mercury on September 1st.
• Scored at least 20 points in 89.5% of her games (34 of 38), a WNBA single-season record.
• Scored 9.8 defensive rebounds per game, the highest single-season average in WNBA history.
• Posted the third-highest rebounding average in a WNBA season (11.87), behind No. 1 Angel Reese (13.1 rpg with the Chicago Sky in 2024) and No. 2 Sylvia Fowles (11.88 with the Minnesota Lynx in 2018).
• On July 10, she finished the first 20-20 game of her career against the Storm with 24 points and 20 rebounds, the most of her career.
• Became the second player in WNBA history, joining Candace Parker (2008), to record at least 25 points, 15 rebounds, five assists and five blocks in a game (against the Atlanta Dream on August 30).
• Set WNBA records for consecutive games with 20 or more points (15) and consecutive games with at least 20 points and 10 rebounds (eight) in a season.
• Became the Aces' franchise leader in both total points and total rebounds.
• Led the WNBA in steals per turnover ratio (1.42 to 1) and had a career-low 1.3 turnovers per game.

In August, Wilson won the 2024 Dawn Staley Community Leadership Award for her commitment and positive impact on the community. Dawn Staley was the head coach for all four of Wilson's seasons at the University of South Carolina, where the two won a national championship together in the 2016-17 season and Wilson was named to the All-America team four times.

Wilson was selected by the Aces with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2018 WNBA Draft, presented by State Farm. She led the franchise to its first two WNBA championships in 2022 and 2023 and won the WNBA Finals MVP Award last season. Among her accolades, Wilson was a two-time Kia WNBA Rookie of the Year, a two-time Kia WNBA Defensive Player of the Year and a four-time All-WNBA Team selection.

In honor of being named the 2024 Kia ​​WNBA Most Valuable Player, Wilson will receive $15,450 and a specially designed trophy from Tiffany & Co.

Below are the voting results for the 2024 Kia ​​WNBA Most Valuable Player Award and a list of past recipients of the annual award.

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