A’ja Wilson Wins 5th WNBA MVP as Caitlin Clark Earns First First-Place Vote

Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark received one first-place vote and finished fourth overall in the 2026 WNBA regular-season MVP voting, while Las Vegas Aces center A’ja Wilson won the award for a record fifth time. The league revealed the full voting results on Thursday, highlighting a ballot breakdown where Clark appeared on 55 out of 74 total ballots cast by a panel of sportswriters and broadcasters.

Voting Breakdown and Where Other Stars Finished

Wilson secured her third consecutive MVP honor and fifth overall by dominating the balloting with 65 first-place votes and 713 total points, according to Yahoo Sports. Securing one first-place vote, six second-place votes, 20 third-place votes, 16 fourth-place votes, and 12 fifth-place votes, Clark landed in fourth place with a total of 212 points. New York Liberty forward Breanna Stewart rounded out the top five with 171 points.

Further down the ballot, Dallas Wings guard Paige Bueckers secured three third-place votes to finish sixth overall. Atlanta Dream forward Angel Reese collected four fourth-place votes to end the voting in seventh place.

Clark Sets Historic WNBA Scoring and Assist Records

Despite logging a historic campaign, Fox News reported that 19 voters left Clark entirely off their MVP ballots. Clark averaged 22.3 points, 8.3 assists, and 4.0 rebounds per game across 40 appearances, becoming the first player in WNBA history to finish a single season averaging at least 20 points and eight assists per contest. Her season included a 45-point, 10-assist performance against Seattle on July 17, marking the first 40-point, 10-assist game in league history. She recorded 13 games with at least 20 points and 10 assists.

By comparison, Wilson played 41 games for Las Vegas, averaging a league-high 26.2 points alongside 9.4 rebounds, 3.2 assists, 1.4 steals, and 1.9 blocks per game. Miles posted 19.8 points, 6.0 assists, and 4.7 rebounds per game for Minnesota, while Mitchell contributed 24.7 points per contest for Indiana.

Fever, Wings and Dream Compete in Postseason

The individual accolades arrived as teams played the postseason push. Indiana finished the regular season with a 28-16 record to secure a playoff spot, though the Fever were eliminated in a hard-fought first-round series by Wilson and the defending champion Aces.

Bueckers guided the Dallas Wings from 10 wins to 27 wins and a playoff berth, where the Wings pushed the Golden State Valkyries to three games in the opening round. Meanwhile, Reese helped the Atlanta Dream finish second in defensive rating and secure 30 wins before advancing deep into the postseason schedule.

Wilson Ties Record for Most MVP Awards

Last year, Wilson surpassed Sheryl Swoopes, Lisa Leslie and Lauren Jackson—who each won three—to claim the all-time WNBA record of four MVP awards, a mark she had already established. Wilson’s fifth ties her with Michael Jordan and Bill Russell. Across the NBA and WNBA, only Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (6) has more MVPs. Delivering when it mattered most, the four-time WNBA MVP stepped up to record 36 points, 10 rebounds, 2 blocks, and 1 assist, propelling the Aces past Clark and the Fever. Throughout the series against the Fever, Wilson put up averages of 32.0 points, 11.7 rebounds, 1.7 steals, and 2.0 blocks per contest while hitting 64.6% of her field goal attempts and 66.7% of her three-pointers. Adebayo was asked about Wilson’s dominant performance during the Miami Heat’s training camp on Friday. She’s the MVP for a reason. I feel like people get greatness fatigue. She just keeps going to another level. I don’t really know how to put it in words, Adebayo told reporters on Friday. I’m so grateful to be surrounded by people that could constantly lift me up. So once I put that on the back burner, I had to come up. I had to show up for my team today. And I’m glad we got the win, Wilson said during her postgame press conference. The WNBA playoffs present another demanding test for the Aces next, as they face either the Dallas Wings or the Golden State Valkyries in the semifinals. Other AP winners included: — Coach of the Year: Cheryl Reeve. Alongside Miles, the AP All-Rookie squad featured Kiki Rice of Toronto, Pauline Astier of New York, Flau’jae Johnson of Seattle, Sydney Taylor of Chicago, and Azzi Fudd of Dallas.

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