The seeds for A’ja Wilson‘s dynamic 2024 WNBA season were planted before last season was even over. In a tight three-player race for MVP a year ago, the Las Vegas Aces star finished third — and was unhappy about it.
It was nothing against the winner, the New York Liberty’s Breanna Stewart, or the runner-up, the Connecticut Sun’s Alyssa Thomas, who got the most first-place votes. Wilson admires both Stewart and Thomas, who were her U.S. Olympic gold medal teammates this summer.
But after having an even better 2023 season than in 2022 — when Wilson won her second MVP — not getting the honor last year bothered her.
Wilson turned the disappointment into something constructive. First, she was the 2023 WNBA Finals MVP, leading the Aces to their second consecutive championship. Then she spent the offseason preparing to be the best she has ever been.
Wilson has done that in a record-breaking 2024 that is sure to earn her a third WNBA MVP honor. The award hasn’t been officially decided yet, but she is the overwhelming favorite as the…
