While a ceremony marking her latest historic feat will take place Friday evening, A’ja Wilson does not want to participate.
The 30-year-old Las Vegas Aces star is unrivaled after becoming the first five-time Most Valuable Player (MVP) in WNBA history, and was informed of her unprecedented third consecutive award by a former US vice president.
But recent history means Wilson has no interest in joining the celebrations that will take place in his name.
When the Aces held a pregame ceremony to honor Wilson last year, as is tradition for the MVP winner, they lost the first game of their play-off semifinal.
They also lost heavily following similar celebrations after receiving their championship rings in May.
Ahead of a must-win Game 3 of their best-of-five semifinal against the Golden State Valkyries, Wilson isn’t taking any chances.
“I love the fans, but I’m not going to do that,” she said. “I’m going to warm up with my team. Everyone knows how competitive I am (and) what my main goal is.”
No other WNBA player has won more than three MVP awards.
Having also won in 2020 and 2022, Wilson joins NBA legends Michael Jordan and Bill Russell as five-time MVP winners. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar has won six.
“I said (before), ‘Take her off Mount Rushmore, it’s Everest,'” Aces coach Becky Hammon said.
“Now I’m taking her off Everest and I just have to put her on another planet.”
Wilson, who received 65 of 74 first-place votes, received a voicemail from former Vice President Kamala Harris telling him the news.
Despite her long list of honors, Wilson was very emotional after receiving her final MVP award on the Aces practice field.
“When you dream as a young girl, you dream so big and you write down your goals and you never imagine you’ll be able to check them off,” Wilson said.
“I think that’s why I cried a little harder on this one because 15-year-old A’ja wasn’t sitting here dreaming of becoming a five-time MVP, she wasn’t dreaming of being a three-time champion, she was dreaming of surviving in this world.”
Wilson averaged 26.2 points to lead the league in scoring for the third straight season.
An eight-time All-Star, she scored at least 20 points in 33 games – the third-highest single-season streak in WNBA history, and tied her own WNBA single-season record by scoring at least 30 points in 13 games.
Wilson has won three league titles with the Aces – in the last four years – but they face elimination in this year’s semifinals as they trail Golden State 2-0.
Gn sports
