4-time WNBA MVP A'ja Wilson named AP Female Athlete of Year

Las Vegas Aces star center A'ja Wilson was named the Associated Press Female Athlete of the Year on Wednesday.

Wilson, the WNBA's first four-time WNBA MVP, is the second consecutive member of the league to win the award. Indiana Fever star Caitlin Clark received the nod in 2024.

Wilson, who earned the honor for the first time in her career, received 17 votes from the group of 47 sports journalists from the AP and its members. Tennis standout Aryna Sabalenka finished second with nine votes, and Dallas Wings star Paige Buckers was third with five.

"It's an honor when you think about the group of women who have won before," Wilson said in a phone interview with the AP. "Just to have my name be a part of it, I'm blessed."

Time magazine named her its Athlete of the Year on Tuesday.

Aces head coach Becky Hammon praised Wilson for her more recent accomplishment.

"The things she's done on the court have never been done. To me, she's in a category all her own," Hammon said to the AP of Wilson. "People always ask who's on your Mount Rushmore? I'm saying she's on Everest -- there's nobody up there with her."

Wilson, 29, helped the Aces end the regular season on a 16-game winning streak, averaging 26.1 points, 12.0 rebounds, 2.6 assists and 2.3 blocks per game in that run. She set a WNBA single-season record for games of 30 or more points with 13.

In 40 games this season, she averaged a league-high 23.4 points plus 10.2 rebounds and 3.1 assists. Wilson also won co-Defensive Player of the Year alongside Minnesota's Alanna Smith; Wilson ranked second in the league in blocks (92) and third in steals (64).

--Field Level Media