Former South Carolina standouts A’ja Wilson and Allisha Gray are officially among the five finalists for the 2025 WNBA MVP award, the league announced Friday.
Joining them on the shortlist are Napheesa Collier, Kelsey Mitchell, and Alyssa Thomas.
Wilson, the unanimous MVP last season, enters as the frontrunner to secure her historic fourth MVP trophy. She has already been recognized as the AP Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year, underscoring her dominance on both ends of the court.
“Allisha Gray and A’ja Wilson continue to show why Gamecock Nation is proud,” the league release noted.
Gray, meanwhile, is enjoying the best campaign of her career. She helped guide an injury-depleted Atlanta Dream squad to a tie for the second-best record in the league. Named to the AP All-WNBA First Team and earning her first All-Star starting nod, Gray averaged 18.4 points, 5.3 rebounds, 3.5 assists, and 1.1 steals—all career highs. Along the way, she set the franchise’s single-season scoring record and pushed the Dream to a new mark for wins in a season.
Wilson’s résumé is historic. She led the league in scoring (23.4 ppg) and blocks (2.3 bpg), ranked second in rebounds (10.2 rpg), and third in steals (1.6 spg). She also dished out a career-best 3.1 assists per game and posted the highest efficiency rating in the league. Remarkably, Wilson now owns three of the top five efficiency seasons in WNBA history, all in the past three years.
Her accomplishments this season include:
- First player in WNBA history to average at least 20 points, 10 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 blocks, and 1 steal over a full season.
- Nearly tied Jewel Loyd’s single-season scoring mark, finishing just two points shy with 937 points.
- Recorded 407 rebounds, the third-most in league history.
- Made history in August with the WNBA’s first 30-point, 20-rebound game.
- Set a new record with 13 games of 30+ points in a single season.
If Wilson secures the MVP honor again, she will become the first four-time MVP in league history, surpassing legends Sheryl Swoopes, Lisa Leslie, and Lauren Jackson, who each won three.
Her potential fourth MVP would place her in elite company across professional sports. In the NBA, only Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (6), Michael Jordan (5), Bill Russell (5), Wilt Chamberlain (4), and LeBron James (4) have won as many or more. In baseball, Barry Bonds (7) is the only player with more than three. In the NFL, only Peyton Manning (5) and Aaron Rodgers (4) have matched or exceeded the mark.
👉 Two Gamecocks, one MVP race. Wilson is chasing history, while Gray cements herself as one of the brightest stars in the game.
