A'ja Wilson named unanimous WNBA MVP, the third MVP award for Las Vegas Aces star

There was no fourth-place vote this time around.

A'ja Wilson became the second player in WNBA history to win the Most Valuable Player award unanimously, the league announced on Sunday ahead of a full slate of first-round playoff games. The Las Vegas Aces forward earned all 67 first-place votes for 670 points from a national panel of sportswriters and broadcasters.

Minnesota Lynx forward Napheesa Collier finished second with 66 of 67 second-place votes and 467 points. New York forward Breanna Stewart (295 points), Indiana Fever point guard Caitlin Clark (130) and Connecticut Sun forward Alyssa Thomas (83 points) rounded out the top five.

It is the third MVP award for Wilson, who also won in 2020 and 2022. She finished third last year in one of the closest votes in WNBA history and took umbrage to a voter ranking her fourth on the five-player MVP ballot. She wore the vote totals on a T-shirt celebrating the Aces second consecutive championship and used it as fuel to dominate this season with one of the best performances in league history.

Cynthia Cooper-Dyke is the only other player to win the award unanimously, doing so in the league's inaugural season in 1997. Wilson is the fourth player in WNBA history to win three MVPs, with Sheryl Swoopes, Lisa Leslie and Lauren Jackson all having three MVP awards to their name.

Wilson undoubtedly put together an incredible season, averaging 26.9 points, 11.9 rebounds and 2.6 blocks per game. Two weeks ago, Wilson broke the league's single-season scoring record and became the first player to crack 1,000 points in a season. Her scoring average broke the 25.3 points per game record set by Diana Taurasi in 2006 and she did it on a league-leading 51.8% shooting. She is the first player to lead the league in total points, rebounds and blocks in a season.

Her season highlights are a list of records, from the season's two highest-scoring games (42 and 41 points) to the most consecutive games with 20 or more points. She scored at least 20 in all but four of the Aces games, another record, and posted the highest single-season average of defensive rebounds per game (9.8).

Her elevated production was needed for an Aces squad that ebbed and flowed through its season, unlike years past. She was the sole offense on most nights and often carried the team to wins on her own. The Aces are the No. 4 seed, the first time they're out of the top 3 since 2019. The 2018 Rookie of the Year was named an All-Star for the sixth time in her seven-year career (the league did not hold one in 2020) and won a second Olympic gold medal with Team USA in Paris. History will look back on her last three years as one of the greatest stretches for a player in basketball.

The Aces take on the Storm in the first round on Sunday. Sabrina Ionescu (Liberty), Nneka Ogwumike (Storm), Kahleah Copper (Mercury), Arike Ogunbowale (Wings), Jonquel Jones (Liberty), Kelsey Mitchell (Fever), Angel Reese (Sky), Dearica Hamby (Sparks), DeWanna Bonner (Sun) and Kayla McBride (Lynx) all made it on at least one MVP ballot.