A'ja Wilson Named AP Female Athlete of the Year After Historic WNBA Season with Aces

The accolades continue to pile up for Las Vegas Aces star A'ja Wilson.

The Associated Press named the 6'4" center its Female Athlete of the Year for 2025 after she won a third WNBA title and a record-setting fourth MVP.

"It's an honor when you think about the group of women who have won before," she told the AP's Doug Feinberg. "Just to have my name be a part of it, I'm blessed."

On Aug. 2, the Aces fell back to .500 with a lopsided 111-58 loss to the Minnesota Lynx. The margin of victory was the biggest ever for a road team.

Getting embarrassed by the Lynx for a second time—Minnesota also won by 31 points on July 25—lit a fire under Las Vegas, and Wilson was at the fore during the team's blistering closing stretch.

The Aces won their final 16 games of the regular season. Over that span, Wilson averaged 26.1 points, 12.0 rebounds, 1.6 steals and 2.3 blocks. She also shot 52.7 percent from the floor and hit 59.3 percent of her threes.

What had seemingly been a tight MVP race between Wilson and Lynx star Napheesa Collier proved to be a blowout. Wilson received 51 first-place votes to 18 for Collier.

The Aces big further cemented her status as the WNBA's best player by putting up 26.8 points and 10.0 boards per contest during her team's championship run.

Wilson was a national champion and won every major individual honor at South Carolina. Between that and what she has achieved in the WNBA, her Hall of Fame case was pretty much settled a few years ago.

Collecting a fourth MVP and third title before she has even turned 30 puts her on a GOAT-type trajectory. Staying on this path means she'll have the stats and awards to rival any other contender for the distinction.

As the cliche goes, genius is never understood in its time. When it comes to Wilson, fans shouldn't lose sight of the generational talent they're watching before their eyes.