A’ja Wilson was named the 2025 WNBA MVP, becoming the first player in league history to win the award four times.
Her latest recognition places her above Sheryl Swoopes, Lisa Leslie and Lauren Jackson — who each won three times — cementing her as a central figure in the current era of women’s basketball.
Wilson’s statistical profile this season was impressive. She averaged 23.4 points, 10.2 rebounds, 2.3 blocks, 3.1 assists and 1.6 steals per game while shooting efficiently across the floor. Her expanded three-point accuracy provided the Las Vegas Aces with a new offensive dimension, while her rim protection and defensive versatility anchored the team’s system. She also claimed her third Defensive Player of the Year award.
The context of the Aces’ season made Wilson’s performance even more decisive. At midseason, Las Vegas was inconsistent, hovering near the middle of the standings. Wilson’s leadership powered a 16-game winning streak to close the regular season, re-establishing the Aces as championship contenders. In that stretch, she consistently combined high scoring with rebounding and defensive dominance, demonstrating value beyond metrics by stabilizing the team through pressure.
Winning a fourth MVP award redefines the expectations of greatness in the WNBA. For much of the league’s history, MVP awards rotated among a small group of stars, with few able to sustain dominance for several years. Wilson’s ability to accumulate four in eight seasons signals a shift from short-term peaks to long-term primacy. Her durability and consistency separate her from both her predecessors and her contemporaries.
Her achievement also reshaped the competitive scene. Players like Napheesa Collier and Alyssa Thomas had strong MVP cases in 2025, but Wilson’s ability to combine elite offense and defense set her apart. By maintaining excellence across all facets of the game, she creates a standard that other stars must match not only in isolated seasons but across entire careers.
Wilson has become the public face of the Las Vegas Aces, the WNBA’s most prominent dynasty in the making, and by extension, one of the most visible representatives of the league itself. Her success reflects the WNBA’s current trajectory towards greater visibility, investment and cultural relevance. In that sense, Wilson is more than an individual standout — she is the athlete most closely tied to the league’s ongoing growth.
The symbolic importance of her fourth MVP is that it recalibrates the scale of achievement. To win once confirms elite talent; to win four times redefines the threshold of sustained greatness. Wilson remains in her prime, and her career trajectory suggests further accomplishments are likely. If she continues to produce at this level, the distance between her and past legends will only grow and future generations will measure themselves against her standard.