A'ja Wilson wins AP WNBA Player of the Year for 3rd straight year; Angel Reese top defensive player

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NEW YORK (AP) — A'ja Wilson is in a class by herself, winning the AP's WNBA Player of the Year award for an unprecedented third straight year.

Wilson received 15 of the 17 first-place votes from a national media panel Sunday. She topped Olivia Miles of Minnesota as well as Caitlin Clark and Kelsey Mitchell of Indiana, who all had stellar seasons.

“It’s big. It's an honor for me to do it three times in a row. It’s not easy,” Wilson said in a phone interview. “My counterparts in this league are really good. I don’t take it lightly because of how much talent we do have in this league."

It's the fourth time that Wilson has won the AP award, breaking a tie with Breanna Stewart for most since the awards were first given in 2016.

“That’s got a nice ring to it,” Wilson said. “That’s pretty cool.”

The AP voting is done by a 17-member panel that votes on the power poll each week. It’s the 11th year of the awards.

The WNBA will announce its postseason awards over the course of the playoffs, which begin Sunday. Wilson is a huge favorite to win the WNBA MVP for the third straight season.

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

Angel Reese dethroned Wilson as the AP Defensive Player of the Year. Wilson had won the award in three of the last four seasons.

Reese made the most of her move to Atlanta this offseason. She was third in the league in steals and had the versatility to guard most positions defensively. She also topped the league in rebounds for the third consecutive season.

Miles had an incredible first season and was honored as the AP Rookie of the Year as a unanimous choice. The No. 2 pick in the draft by the Lynx averaged 19.8 points, 6.0 assists and 4.7 rebounds to help Minnesota finish with the best record in the league. She set the WNBA record for points by a rookie, surpassing Clark's from 2024.

Miles was joined on the AP All-Rookie team by Dallas' Azzi Fudd, Chicago's Sydney Taylor, Seattle's Flau'jae Johnson, New York's Pauline Astier and Toronto's Kiki Rice.

Wilson, Clark, Miles and Mitchell headlined the AP All-WNBA first team. They were joined by New York's Stewart. Reese was on the second team along with teammate Rhyne Howard, Dallas' Paige Bueckers, Las Vegas' Jackie Young and Golden State's Gabby Williams.

Other AP winners included:

— Coach of the Year: Cheryl Reeve. It's the third time the Lynx coach has won the award, also being honored in 2020 and 2024. She guided the team to the No. 1 seed in the playoffs while it was missing superstar Napheesa Collier for the first half of the season when she recovered from offseason surgery on both her ankles. Reeve beat out Golden State's Natalie Nakase and Washington's Sydney Johnson.

— Comeback Player of the Year: Clark. The Fever guard missed much of last season with a variety of injuries. She came back strong this year, playing in 40 games. She averaged 22.3 points, 8.3 assists and 4.0 rebounds. Washington's Georgia Amoore and Chicago's Courtney Vandersloot also received votes.

— Most Improved Player: Jessica Shepard. The Dallas Wings forward came to the team as a free agent and excelled. Shepard averaged career highs in points (14.5), rebounds (11.1), assists (5.3) and minutes (31.7). Shepard had six triple-doubles this season. Washington's Shakira Austin and Seattle Dominique Malonga were next in the balloting.

— Sixth Woman of the Year: Janelle Salaun. The Valkyries forward came off the bench in all 40 games she played this season and averaged 12.7 points and 4.0 rebounds while shooting 39.2% from behind the 3-point line. She led all reserves in scoring this season and the Golden State bench averaged over 36 points a game. Marine Johannes of New York was next in the voting.

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