A’ja Wilson wins her fifth WNBA MVP award

A’ja Wilson won the 2026 WNBA MVP award with 65 of 74 first-place votes and 713 points. It is the fifth award of her career — a league record — and her third in a row, an unprecedented streak in the competition’s 30-year history. The selection was backed by a 26.2-point scoring average, the league’s top efficiency rating and milestones that strengthened the Las Vegas Aces player’s place in history.

How the MVP voting finished

The result released on October 8 showed Wilson winning by a wide margin. In addition to her 65 first-place votes, she received the remaining nine votes for second place. Minnesota Lynx rookie Olivia Miles finished second with 442 points and six first-place votes. Indiana Fever guard Kelsey Mitchell was third with 287 points and two first-place votes.

Caitlin Clark collected 212 points and the other first-place vote to finish fourth. Breanna Stewart completed the top five with 171 points. The panel consisted of 74 sportswriters and broadcasters. Each ballot awarded 10 points for first, seven for second, five for third, three for fourth and one for fifth. The complete table appears in the WNBA’s official announcement.

The numbers behind the selection

In her ninth WNBA season, Wilson played 41 games and averaged 26.2 points, 9.4 rebounds, 3.2 assists, 1.9 blocks and 1.4 steals in 32 minutes. She led the league in points per game for a third consecutive season, in blocks for a fifth consecutive season and in efficiency rating at 30.4.

Her scoring average was the second highest for a season in WNBA history, behind only the 26.9 that Wilson herself posted in 2024. She finished 2026 with 1,073 total points, the league’s second-highest tally, while Mitchell scored 1,086. The distinction between leading in average and leading in total points matters: Wilson combined volume, consistency and impact across several areas without holding every statistical lead on her own.

Her offensive efficiency improved as well. Wilson shot 52.7% from the field, 40.4% from three-point range and 86.4% at the free-throw line — the second-best figure of her career in each category. She established personal highs with 38 made three-pointers and 279 made free throws.

Why the fifth award is historic

Wilson had previously won in 2020, 2022, 2024 and 2025. Adding the 2026 trophy took her total to five and extended the WNBA record for most MVP awards. She also became the first player to win three consecutive editions. Before Wilson, only Cynthia Cooper had managed a two-year streak, in 1997 and 1998.

Her dominance appeared in several measures. Wilson tied her record of 13 games with at least 30 points in a season. She recorded 19 double-doubles with at least 20 points and 10 rebounds, plus seven with at least 30 points and 10 rebounds; both were league-leading totals in 2026. The latter performances increased her career record to 33.

She also scored 45 points against the Connecticut Sun on May 15, becoming the first WNBA player with multiple career games of at least 45 points. Wilson collected all four Western Conference Player of the Month awards too, repeating a sweep she first completed in 2020.

Her rise on the all-time scoring list

Wilson ended the regular season with 6,792 career points and climbed from 21st to 11th on the all-time list. She was 11 points behind Sue Bird’s 6,803 — meaning she needed 12 to pass Bird and move into 10th place.

Her career scoring average increased to 22.1 points, the highest in WNBA history. Wilson also came to own four of the seven largest single-season point totals and reached 50 career games with at least 30 points, four short of Diana Taurasi’s record. These figures show that 2026 was more than another award-winning year: it materially changed her standing in both cumulative and rate-based records.

The award and the playoffs are separate stories

MVP honors regular-season performance. The Aces finished that phase 31–13 and entered the playoffs as the No. 3 seed. They eliminated the Indiana Fever 2–1 in the first round, with Wilson producing 36 points and 10 rebounds in the deciding game. The WNBA semifinals preview also reported that she averaged 32 points on 64.6% shooting in the opening round.

Those playoff numbers do not turn MVP into a postseason assessment. When the award was announced, the Golden State Valkyries led the semifinal series 2–0, with Game 3 scheduled for October 9 at 6:30 p.m. Pacific Time in Las Vegas. Golden State’s official series preview provides the schedule and matchup context. Because times, broadcasters and series status can change, check the official pages for current information.

The fifth MVP is therefore settled regardless of how the Aces’ playoff run ends: it rewards an individual regular season defined by a decisive voting margin, historic production and impact at both ends of the floor.

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