Las Vegas Aces star A'ja Wilson named 2022 WNBA MVP

The Las Vegas Aces are in the midst of a great 2022 WNBA season behind star A’ja Wilson. Wednesday, she picked up a prestigious honor for her efforts.

Wilson was named the WNBA MVP, the league announced. She ranked third in the league with 20.5 points and 10.8 rebounds per game during the regular season while also blocking 2.3 shots per game — second only to Chicago Sky star Candace Parker.

This is Wilson’s second MVP award after previously bringing home the honor in 2020. The Aces drafted her No. 1 overall in 2018 out of South Carolina, where she was a three-time SEC Player of the Year and a consensus All-American her last three years in Columbia.

CLICK HERE to subscribe for FREE to the On3 YouTube channel

In her four years with the Gamecocks, Wilson averaged 17.3 points, 8.7 rebounds and 2.6 blocks per game. Her best season came as a senior in 2017-18 when she scored 22.6 points per contest, grabbed 11.8 boards per game and to help South Carolina to an SEC Tournament championship and an NCAA Tournament Elite Eight appearance.

When she graduated, she left as the Gamecocks’ leader in points, blocks and made free throws for a career.

Tuesday night, Las Vegas defeated the Seattle Storm 97-92 in the WNBA Playoffs to clinch a Finals appearance in Becky Hammon’s first season at the helm. That meant that game end up being the final game of Sue Bird’s illustrious 20-year career — marking the end of an era for the former UConn star, the Storm and the WNBA.

The Aces — the No. 1 seed in the playoffs after an impressive 26-10 regular-season record — will take on the winner of the Connecticut Sun vs. Chicago Sky series. Game 5 between those two teams tips off Thursday night at 8 p.m. ET.