Image Credit: Candice Ward-Imagn Images

WNBA Reveals Finalists for 2025 MVP Award, A’ja Wilson, Napheesa Collier Headlines Top Five Contenders

Image Credit: Candice Ward-Imagn Images

The WNBA revealed the top five finalists for the 2025 MVP Award on Friday. The winner of the award will be announced on Sunday, at 11:30 am ET. Headlining the five award contenders is Las Vegas Aces’ superstar A’ja Wilson, who was also named the Co-Defensive Player of the Year alongside Alanna Smith of the Minnesota Lynx. Wilson is in a position to become the league’s first four-time MVP.

Your 5️⃣ finalists for the 2025 WNBA @Kia Most Valuable Player!

🏆 Napheesa Collier, @minnesotalynx
🏆 Allisha Gray, @AtlantaDream
🏆 Kelsey Mitchell, @IndianaFever
🏆 Alyssa Thomas, @PhoenixMercury
🏆 A’ja Wilson, @LVAces

The 2025 Kia Most Valuable Player announcement will… pic.twitter.com/gciBotIEb9
— WNBA (@WNBA) September 19, 2025

The other finalists for the WNBA 2025 MVP Award are Minnesota Lynx forward Napheesa Collier, Atlanta Dream guard Allisha Gray, Indiana Fever guard Kelsey Mitchell, and Phoenix Mercury forward Alyssa Thomas. Wilson, who won the award in 2020, 2022, 2024, has averaged 23.4 points, 10.2 rebounds, and 3.1 assists per game across 40 appearances for the Aces. Apart from dominating the statistical charts individually, she also played a key role in guiding the side to a remarkable 16-game winning streak finish in the regular season.

Napheesa Collier, on the other hand, was leading the charts for her first MVP Award for most of the season. However, she had to miss 11 games due to injury, which gave Wilson an edge in the contention. Despite it, Collier led the Lynx to the league’s best record, and averaged 22.9 points, 7.3 rebounds, and 1.6 steals. Apart from finishing atop the standings, the Lynx also lead the league in both offensive and defensive ratings this season.

The other finalist for the award, Alyssa Thomas averaged 15.4 points, 8.8 rebounds, and 9.2 assists per game this season. Allisha Gray of the Dream maintained an average of 18.4 points, 5.3 rebounds, and 3.5 assists per game. In addition to them, Fever’s Kelsey Mitchell averaged 20.2 points, 1.8 rebounds, and 3.4 assists per game.

Aces Coach Becky Hammon Labels A’ja Wilson as the ‘Best Player Ever in the WNBA’

The Las Vegas Aces head coach Becky Hammon hailed Wilson as the ‘best player ever to play in the WNBA’. Hammon, who recorded her 21st career postseason win, the ninth most by a coach in WNBA’s history as the Aces defeated the Seattle Storm in Game 3, appeared on NBA Today, where she heaped praise on the MVP frontrunner. Hammon lauded Wilson’s gameplay during the elimination game, where she finished with 38 points and tied her postseason best score.

“If she's the best ever to play in the WNBA, I could make a strong argument she is the best ever to walk this planet.”

– Becky Hammon on A'ja Wilson

(h/t @ohnohedidnt24 )

pic.twitter.com/DjHT24Liz7
— NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) September 19, 2025

On being asked about whether Wilson could be talked about as the greatest WNBA player, Hammon said, “It is entirely I mean, she hasn’t even hit 30 yet. And you know, she still has a lot left in the tank.”

Talking about what makes Wilson a great teammate, Hammon said, “It’s her whole being that makes her so special. Um, you know, it’s how she cares about her teammates. She is just so intentional about caring about the people around her. She’s actually quite shy as a person and almost uncomfortable with all those compliments, but hopefully she’s going to have to get used to it because she’s all the adjectives.”

Hammon added, “I give a lot of credit to her parents. I was like talking to them. I’m like if she’s the best ever to play the WNBA, I could make a strong argument. She is the best ever to walk this planet.”

Notably, Wilson has been in her red-hot form this season as well. The eight-year veteran led the league across multiple statistical categories including blocks per game (2.3), total rebounds (407), defensive rebounds (316), and combined steals and blocks (156). In addition to it, Wilson also finished second in total blocks (92) and rebounds per game (10.2), and more such other categories.

2025 WNBA MVP

A’ja Wilson

Napheesa Collier

Garima Ranawat

Garima is a sports writer with around two years of experience in Indian sports and a newfound interest in the NBA. Inspired by the leadership of cricketing legend MS Dhoni, she wishes to bring in newer perspectives to the NBA fanatics with her writing.