Liberty's Breanna Stewart Named AP WNBA Player of the Year; A'ja Wilson 1 Vote Short
In what could foreshadow one of the closest WNBA MVP races in recent memory, the Associated Press named New York Liberty star Breanna Stewart its Player of the Year for the 2023 season.
Stewart eclipsed the Las Vegas Aces' A'ja Wilson by a solitary vote from the 12-member panel.
The gap between Stewart and Wilson in the hunt for MVP is razor-thin, and the candidacy of Connecticut Sun star Alyssa Thomas can't be dismissed either.
Stewart averaged a career-high 23.0 points along with 9.3 rebounds, 1.5 steals and 1.6 blocks to anchor a Liberty squad that underwent a major upheaval in the offseason. She was one of two former MVPs New York added along with Jonquel Jones, and the team signed the active leader in career assists (Courtney Vandersloot).
While the Liberty finished two games behind the Aces in the standings, they had the league's best net rating (12.5) after the All-Star break, per WNBA.com. New York's strong second half added to Stewart's MVP résumé.
The reigning winner will be difficult to take down, though.
Wilson was the best player on the best team, and she managed to raise her game to an even higher level than she had before. The 27-year-old put up 22.8 points, 9.5 rebounds, 1.4 steals and 2.2 blocks per game.
Her output would've been even higher, too, if the way in which the Aces rolled over multiple opponents meant she didn't need to play much in the fourth quarters of games.
- Stewart: 34.1 PTS, 13.8 REB, 5.6 AST, 2.2 STL, 2.3 BLK
- Wilson: 36.7 PTS, 15.3 REB, 2.6 AST, 2.2 STL, 3.6 BLK
Of course, Thomas might actually fit the "most valuable" criteria even more so than Stewart or Wilson.
Per WNBA.com, the Sun had a plus-7.5 net rating when Thomas was on the floor and a minus-22.7 net rating when she was on the bench. That second number isn't a misprint, and it's worth noting the 6'2" forward only missed 169 minutes for the entire season.
Thomas did a little bit of everything (15.5 points, 9.9 rebounds and 7.9 assists) to help the Sun remain a top-four squad despite the departures of Jones and head coach Curt Miller.
Especially considering the AP Player of the Year voting, it's still anybody's guess as to who comes out on top for MVP.
