Despite the Las Vegas Aces sitting on the verge of playoff elimination, star A'ja Wilson received good news on Thursday.  

The Aces center, 30, was named MVP for the 2026 WNBA season, marking a record fifth time that she has won the award. 

In doing so, Wilson became the first player in league history to win three straight MVPs.

Last season, Wilson became the WNBA's first four-time MVP; Sheryl Swoopes, Lisa Leslie and Lauren Jackson each won three.

Now, she has further elevated herself in the league's history, cementing herself among other sporting greats. 

She has now tied with former quarterback Peyton Manning, who leads the NFL with five season MVP awards, as well as NBA legends Michael Jordan and Bill Russell.

Meanwhile, Barry Bonds leads MLB players with seven, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar leads the NBA with six, and NHL icon Wayne Gretzky leads them all with nine Hart Trophies. 

Wilson received 65 first-place votes and nine second-place votes (total 713 points) from a national panel of sportswriters and broadcasters. 

Minnesota's Olivia Miles received six first-place votes and 40 second-place votes (442 points), while Indiana guards Kelsey Mitchell and Caitlin Clark followed with 287 and 212 points, respectively.

Wilson once again led the league in scoring (26.2) while shooting nearly 53 percent from the field this season. She also averaged 9.4 rebounds, a career-best 3.2 assists and 1.9 blocks.

Her points per game this season ranked second best in WNBA history - only behind her own record from two years ago.

Wilson, who also has won the WNBA Finals MVP twice, has three league titles with the Aces: in 2022, 2023 and 2025.

She has the defending champion Aces back in the WNBA semifinals for the eighth consecutive season although Las Vegas is down 2-0 in the best-of-five series against Golden State.