A'ja Wilson named 2026 Kia WNBA Most Valuable Player as Las Vegas Aces star earns record fifth MVP

By Vancouver Television Sports Desk

Las Vegas Aces center-forward A’ja Wilson has been named the 2026 Kia WNBA Most Valuable Player, the WNBA announced Oct. 8, 2026. The league said Wilson will be recognized for a record-setting fifth MVP award, adding to her previous honors in 2020, 2022, 2024 and 2025.

With the 2026 award, Wilson also becomes the first player in the WNBA’s 30-year history to win the MVP trophy in three consecutive seasons, the WNBA said. The league noted that Cynthia Cooper, who won the award in 1997 and 1998, is the only other player to have earned MVP in back-to-back years.

The WNBA said Wilson received 65 of 74 first-place votes and nine second-place votes, totaling 713 points, from a panel of sportswriters and broadcasters. Minnesota Lynx rookie guard Olivia Miles placed second with 442 points and six first-place votes, while Indiana Fever guard Kelsey Mitchell finished third with 287 points and two first-place votes.

The WNBA voting results continued with Indiana guard Caitlin Clark finishing fourth with 212 points and one first-place vote, followed by New York Liberty forward Breanna Stewart in fifth with 171 points. The league also published the point values used in balloting, with first-place votes worth 10 points, second place worth seven, third worth five, fourth worth three and fifth worth one.

For her ninth season, Wilson’s 2026 statistical profile included 26.2 points, 9.4 rebounds, 3.2 assists, 1.9 blocked shots and 1.4 steals per game in 32.0 minutes across 41 games, according to the WNBA. The league said Wilson led the WNBA in points per game for a third straight season and in blocks per game for the fifth consecutive season and sixth time overall, including earlier seasons in 2020 and 2022-26.

The WNBA also reported that Wilson paced the league in efficiency rating at 30.4. It further stated that her 26.2 points per game in 2026 rank second in league history behind her own 26.9 mark set in 2024, and that her career scoring average increased to 22.1 points, which the league described as the highest in WNBA history.

In addition, the WNBA said Wilson shot 52.7% from the field, 40.4% from three-point range and 86.4% from the free throw line, each described as the second-best figures of her career. The league said she set career highs with 38 three-pointers made and 94 three-point attempts, along with 279 free throws made and 323 free throw attempts.

The WNBA tied Wilson’s individual season to the Las Vegas Aces’ team success, saying the franchise finished the regular season with a 31-13 record and earned the No. 3 seed in the 2026 WNBA Playoffs presented by Google Pixel. The league also said Wilson and the Aces will host the Golden State Valkyries in Game 3 of their Semifinals series on Oct. 9 at 9:30 p.m. ET on Peacock/NBCSN, with Golden State leading the series 2-0.

Beyond MVP, the WNBA listed additional career milestones for Wilson, including eight All-Star selections, five All-WNBA First Team nods, four All-Defensive First Team selections, three WNBA championships, three Kia WNBA Defensive Player of the Year awards and two WNBA Finals MVP awards. The league said Wilson’s 2026 season also included notable league honors, including all four Kia WNBA Western Conference Player of the Month awards and recognition as Western Conference Player of the Week a league-high five times.

As part of the MVP recognition, the WNBA said Wilson will receive $60,000 and a trophy specially designed by Tiffany & Co. The league also published a list of past Kia WNBA Most Valuable Player Award winners dating back to 1997, showing Wilson as the recipient in 2020, 2022, 2024 and 2025 as well as 2026.

The WNBA’s announcement established that the MVP decision came from a multi-sport panel of sportswriters and broadcasters and included the final point totals and positional placements for the top five vote-getters. With Wilson’s fifth league MVP nod and third consecutive win, the league said she adds another chapter to the award’s history while continuing into the 2026 playoffs with Las Vegas as the No. 3 seed.