The reason Michael Jordan and Babe Ruth are the best players ever is that they were better at their sport than anybody else in the world is at anything.” – Bill Addleman
With the WNBA regular season nearing its close, two names dominate the MVP conversation: A’ja Wilson and Napheesa Collier.
Collier holds the edge with sportsbooks like BetMGM and FanDuel and remains the popular media choice. Her résumé is strong: best player on the best team, league leader in scoring, top three in steals, top four in blocks. The drawback is the ten games she has missed, a quarter of the season gone.
Wilson’s case is every bit as compelling. She leads the league in blocks, ranks second in rebounds, second in scoring, fourth in steals, and sits atop efficiency ratings. She is the anchor of the league’s second-best team and has been its most dominant force in the last month.
So why does it feel like the momentum leans Collier’s way? Minnesota’s blistering start framed the narrative early. Meanwhile, Las Vegas stumbled near .500, and Wilson’s brilliance was overlooked. The Aces have since surged, with Wilson powering the run, but minds appear made up.
Voter fatigue is her hidden rival. The league has not crowned a back-to-back MVP since Cynthia Cooper in 1998. In 2023, Breanna Stewart took the award despite Wilson’s stronger voting totals, a reminder that voters often search for novelty rather than repeat excellence.
Wilson is chasing history. She needs fewer than 100 points in the final four games to post the second-highest scoring season ever, though it will not eclipse her own record from last year. Her dominance has become so routine that it risks being taken for granted.
Becky Hammon, her coach, put it plainly: “Don’t get tired of her greatness. At times I look down at the stat sheet and she has 36 or 34, and you hardly notice because it feels normal. I don’t want the world to miss her while she is right here in her prime.”
Wilson, at 29, already sits among the best to ever play the game. She owns three MVP awards and will almost certainly be the first to four. The company she is chasing includes Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Michael Jordan, Bill Russell, Wilt Chamberlain, and LeBron James in basketball, alongside legends like Barry Bonds, Peyton Manning, and Aaron Rodgers in other sports.
Thursday night brings a fitting stage: Wilson and Collier face off in Las Vegas. With Minnesota already securing homecourt advantage, it may be the final chance for either to stamp their case. For Wilson, it is another opportunity to remind everyone that her excellence is not routine, it is historic.
