A’ja Wilson Makes History as First-Ever Four-Time WNBA MVP
On Sunday, the WNBA crowned A’ja Wilson as the 2025 MVP, cementing her place in basketball history as the first four-time winner of the award. The milestone now raises a serious question: is Wilson the best women’s basketball player of all time?
This isn’t about tossing around the “GOAT” label casually. Instead, it’s a genuine debate, because Wilson’s résumé continues to outshine legends of the game.
She adds the 2025 MVP to her unanimous 2024 honor, along with her previous wins in 2020 and 2022. That breaks the tie with Sheryl Swoopes, Lisa Leslie, and Lauren Jackson, each of whom won three MVPs. Wilson is also the first back-to-back MVP since Cynthia Cooper in 1997–98, and alongside Cooper, she’s one of just two unanimous winners.
“This one is different because my name wasn’t even in conversations,” Wilson admitted. “Even coming off a unanimous season, it was kind of like, all right, cool. And that’s mind-blowing to me… Let me focus on how I can be a better teammate and a leader for this team because that’s what we need. We don’t necessarily need MVP all the time.”
The 29-year-old star dominated statistically in 2025, finishing first in scoring (23.4), first in blocks (2.3), second in rebounding (10.2), and third in steals (1.6). She also posted a career-best 3.1 assists and led the league in efficiency rating. Her surge came after Minnesota’s Napheesa Collier seemed like the runaway MVP favorite midseason before missing 11 games with an ankle injury.
In the final tally, the vote wasn’t even close. Wilson earned 657 points and 51 first-place votes out of 72, while Collier finished second with 534 points.
Her coach, Becky Hammon, didn’t hold back praise: “By the time it’s all said and done, she will be the greatest to ever do it. Four [MVPs] already says she is. In a league that has continued to get much better, she keeps getting better. You’re watching poetry in motion. You’re watching history. And she’s just 29 years old.”
Wilson’s records already speak volumes:
- Only WNBA player to average 20 points, 10 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 blocks, and 1 steal for a season—done twice.
- Holds both the single-season (26.9) and career (21.4) scoring average records.
- Only player with a 30-point, 20-rebound game in league history.
- Already top-10 all-time in free throws made, attempted, and blocks.
Her former college coach, Dawn Staley, believes the answer to the “greatest ever” question is clear: “She’s got an MVP for half of the seasons that she’s been in the league. I don’t think that’s ever been done. She’s the best in the world, for sure. She’s the very best in the world.”
Despite the accolades, Wilson insists she’s still just getting started. She’s in her prime, has added a reliable three-point shot (42.4% this season), and is already climbing career leaderboards at a blistering pace. She’s within striking distance of Diana Taurasi’s marks for 20- and 30-point games, despite playing nearly 300 fewer games.
And yet, her trophy case could be even fuller. A controversial 2023 MVP vote went to Breanna Stewart after one voter placed Wilson fourth, a decision that likely cost her a fifth MVP. Wilson acknowledged, “I know who it was,” though the voter has never come forward.
Still, Wilson’s focus is on the present and the meaning of her journey. “It’s probably not going to hit me until the end of the season,” she said. “I was a young girl that didn’t even like this sport… But now my name’s in the history books forever. To sit here today and say I’m the only four-time MVP—this is why you wake up every morning and do what you do.
