What happens when you combine lethal offense with unshakable defense? Get a player of A’ja Wilson’s caliber. And that equals the status of the 2025 WNBA MVP. Proving she’s in a league of her own, the Las Vegas Aces star clinched her fourth WNBA MVP trophy, becoming the first person to do so. Wilson led the WNBA in points per game and blocks per game this season. She also became the first player to average 20 points and 10 rebounds in multiple seasons in WNBA history.

Furthermore, Wilson had 13 30-point games this season, the most ever in a WNBA campaign. When you stack up achievements like this, you are bound to turn the heads of all MVP juries. So was the verdict unanimously in her favor like last year? Unfortunately, no, as many juries have already come forward to claim they voted for her rival, Napheesa Collier. So how many votes did Wilson get? Let’s find out.

What is the number of votes A’ja Wilson got to win WNBA MVP 2025?

Unlike last year, Wilson got a lot of competition from Minnesota’s Napheesa Collier and Phoenix’s Alyssa Thomas. However, in the end, the Las Vegas Aces player bagged the honor. Here are the top five players from the full list of votes for the 2025 WNBA MVP award:

Apart from these top five players, Aliyah Boston (Indiana) and Nneka Ogwumike (Seattle) got five points. Jackie Young (Las Vegas) earned two points for herself. Veronica Burton (Golden State), Dearica Hamby (Los Angeles), Rhyne Howard (Atlanta), Rickea Jackson (Los Angeles), and Breanna Stewart (New York) all secured one point each. But sitting on top of them all was A’ja Wilson, earning her fourth MVP by a solid margin.
For MVP voting, players receive 10 points for a first-place vote, seven for second, five for third, three for fourth, and one for fifth—an approach designed to prevent ties at the top. That same system, however, isn’t applied to the Defensive Player of the Year ballot, which led to A’ja Wilson and Alanna Smith sharing this year’s honor. The award marked Wilson’s third DPOY in the WNBA, and she also added the AP Player of the Year earlier this month to her ever-expanding trophy case.

For the second straight year, Wilson averaged at least 20 points, 10 rebounds, two assists, two blocks, and a steal per game, becoming the only WNBA player to reach those numbers while appearing in at least 15 games. Furthermore, with the WNBA MVP honor, Wilson moved ahead of WNBA legends Sheryl Swoopes, Lisa Leslie, and Lauren Jackson for the most in WNBA history.

Although A’ja Wilson has now surpassed some of the game’s legends, Lisa Leslie was quick to celebrate her achievement. She took to Instagram to share a post in honor of Wilson, stating, “Congratulations @aja22wilson, I could not be more proud of you! You fought for absolutely everything you have earned!”

Wilson is and continues to be the most important player on the Las Vegas roster. Her importance in taking her team to the semifinals is unmatched. As WNBA reporter Nekias Duncan puts it, “Vegas had a +12.1 net rating with her on the floor this year, -16.9 with her off.” And while Wilson ultimately claimed the 2025 MVP, her rise to the top unfolded in the season’s second half.

From MVP Race to playoff chase, Wilson and Collier stay locked in

Early on, Napheesa Collier looked like the runaway choice. Especially after Minnesota dominated Las Vegas by 53 points, holding Wilson to just 10 points. But Collier’s ankle injury sidelined her for three critical weeks, causing her to miss 11 games and leaving a sizable gap in her MVP resume. During that stretch, the Aces responded with a 16-game win streak, fueled by Wilson’s dominance. The numbers spoke for themselves.

Wilson averaged 26.1 points, 12 rebounds, 1.6 steals, and 2.3 blocks while lifting Las Vegas from a playoff bubble team to the No. 2 seed in that 16-game win streak in the regular season.

Aces coach Becky Hammon defended Wilson emphatically over Collier, claiming, “This is not who’s the best on their team or anything like that. This is who’s the best in the league. This is the league MVP. So please stop all that silly talk about who’s more impactful on their team. By the way, [Wilson] wins that argument, too. We were 1-3 without her. She impacts both sides of the game.” 

It looks like juries heard her argument, which was backed by numbers. In the end, it could have gone either Collier’s or Wilson’s way. But if you ask either of these players, they’ll pick winning the championship over winning the MVP honor. And both of them have their work cut out in leading their teams to the championship finals. A’ja Wilson’s next task is to take on the Indiana Fever, who are looking hard to get rid of in the postseason.