With two near-triple-doubles, Chelsea Gray is holding onto a Finals MVP candidacy. Certainly if Jackie Young strings together some more big scoring performances, she’ll be in the mix as well, despite a quiet
Game 1. Dana Evans and Jewell Loyd were huge in Game 1 and, like Young, could re-enter the conversation with more big games as the series progresses. And, of course, the Phoenix Mercury could come back from their 2-0 hole and defeat the Las Vegas Aces, allowing someone from their squad to capture MVP honors.
However, right now, A’ja Wilson is on track to be the 2025 WNBA Finals MVP.
The question The IX Basketball’s Howard Megdal asked Gray after the 2022 Finals becomes more and more relevant with each passing standout performance by A’ja in this year’s championship round: “Is (Wilson) on track to be the best in the history of (the WNBA)?”
At the time of Megdal’s question, Wilson was 26 years old with two regular-season MVPs, a title and a Defensive Player of the Year award. It was a bold question to ask, but a relevant one. Though she hadn’t been awarded Finals MVP moments before because of Gray’s incredible heater, she had just completed the trifecta of winning a championship, MVP and DPOY in the same season. And what people often forget is that she was neck and neck with Gray to win Finals MVP; Gray’s best performances that postseason actually came in Game 2 of the first round and Games 3 and 4 of the semis.
Furthermore, it was a relevant question because Wilson had started to turn the corner on passing Breanna Stewart as the best player in the world. 2022 was the first season that a healthy Stewart in her prime did not win the championship and Finals MVP. Wilson and the Aces defeated her Seattle Storm in the semifinals in four games. After the Aces won it all, Wilson had more regular-season MVP awards than Stewart, and the title to back it up.
Stewart had seemed destined to, by the end of her career, surpass Diana Taurasi as the women’s basketball GOAT. Megdal’s question sparked the thought that perhaps Wilson was taking the title of GOAT-in-waiting from her.
The difference between where Stewart was then and where Wilson is now is that A’ja may not be “in-waiting.”
Taurasi played 20 seasons, retiring after last year. Wilson has played eight. The obvious thing that stands out is that Wilson already has four regular-season MVPs (more than anyone ever); despite all of her greatness, Taurasi only won one. It’s fair to not hold that against Taurasi because even if you’re not the best every season, you can be in the mix to be the best more than anyone else, which she was. But it’s going to be equally fair to not hold Wilson accountable if, perhaps, she doesn’t break Taurasi’s total points record, because taller players (Wilson has four inches on Taurasi) don’t typically have the same longevity as shorter players.
With all that being said, why not consider A’ja the GOAT right now? If she’s even just pretty good over the remainder of her career—and we know she will be more than that—she’s got it sewn up, right? I mean, think about the defense. She now has three DPOYs; Taurasi was nowhere near as good on that end of the floor.
What it may come down to, to reduce doubt about A’ja being the clear-cut best, is championships and Finals MVPs. If Wilson captures both this year, she will match Taurasi with three and two, respectively, with a long way to go.
To leave no doubt, Wilson will try to catch the all-time greats who have more titles and/or Finals MVPs than Taurasi. Cynthia Cooper has four titles and won MVP in each series. Maya Moore has four rings and one Finals MVP. Sheryl Swoopes has four chips, but Cooper took all the MVP awards during the duo’s Houston Comet dynasty days. And then there’s Stewart, who currently matches Taurasi and what Wilson is seeking with three and two.
Some consider Cooper to be the GOAT. She has the compelling case that she won Finals MVP every year she was in her prime (actually, she was a little past her prime), just like Michael Jordan did in every full season of his prime in NBA. Cooper wasn’t young enough when the league started to compile the same number of regular-season MVPs and other accolades that Wilson has. Meanwhile, Swoopes is someone who Wilson only passed in regular-season MVPs this year, so she has a convincing case as well. Moore, like Cooper, didn’t play a full career in the league, leaving the game at 29 to pursue criminal justice reform. Moore may be the most gifted guard-like player I’ve ever witnessed (I didn’t get to see Cooper and Swoopes in the moment), but that’s not A’ja’s game and that’s okay. As for Stewart, we saw Wilson dominate her head-to-head in the deciding Game 4 of the 2023 Finals, and we expect Wilson to go on to have better regular seasons than her for years to come, but Stewie’s three titles and two Finals MVP is still impressive, especially if Wilson remains at two and one.
We’ll always wonder what could have been for Cooper and Moore, but we have to go with what we’ve got, and I tend to favor Wilson’s eight years to Cooper’s four, even without A’ja yet, or ever, matching the four titles and four Finals MVPs. Wilson has that coveted all-time scoring average crown as of right now, something we all tend to fall in love with (Jordan has it for the NBA, and it’s part of why people favor him). She’s also third all-time in rebounds per game and fourth in blocks per game. What’s staggering is she’s the only player to be top five in two of the three major categories (points per game, rebounds per game and assists per game). Only she and Stewart are top 10 in two and only 17 players are top 25 in two (Candace Parker is the only one who is top 25 in all three):
- A’ja Wilson – 1st ppg, 3rd rpg
- Cynthia Cooper – 2nd ppg, 13th apg
- Breanna Stewart – 3rd ppg, 6th rpg
- Lauren Jackson – 6th ppg, 14th rpg
- Diana Taurasi – 7th ppg, 18th apg
- Napheesa Collier – 10th ppg, 13th rpg
- Tina Charles – 11th ppg, 5th rpg
- Lisa Leslie – 13th ppg, 4th rpg
- Chamique Holdsclaw – 15th ppg, 16th rpg
- Brittney Griner – 16th ppg, 22nd rpg
- Sabrina Ionescu – 17th ppg, 2nd apg
- Nneka Ogwumike – 18th ppg, 18th rpg
- Skylar Diggins – 19th ppg, 6th apg
- Tamika Catchings – 22nd ppg, 21st rpg
- Candace Parker – 23rd ppg, 8th rpg, 25th apg
- Liz Cambage – 25th ppg, 17th rpg
- Alyssa Thomas – 15th rpg, 10th apg
This is why you might be able to consider A’ja the GOAT even before Game 3 is played Wednesday night, if you want to.
And then you think about the fact that she’s 29, which gives her about five more prime years left to chase more MVPs. It also seems reasonable to believe she has a shot at five rings, surpassing Cooper, Swoopes and Moore. Maybe she could even get a sixth, plus five Finals MVPs to put her ahead of Cooper.
Getting to three titles and two Finals MVPs this year could prove to be crucial, though, as success is fickle. In fact, the Mercury could storm back in this series, and Wilson could never get another ring or MVP award. However, and this is the point, it’s unlikely we won’t crown her the GOAT anyway based on the things she’s already achieved, assuming the greatness continues, even if certain hard-to-attain honors don’t come along with it.
These are the musings of a sports writer when a four-time regular-season MVP, two-time champion and one-time Finals MVP is averaging 24.5 points, 12 boards, four assists, one block and one steal through two wins of a 2-0 Finals that are far from over as the series shifts to Phoenix.
Is she the GOAT now? Is she just on track to be the GOAT? And what will she do next? With A’ja the player, and even more so with A’ja the personality, you know it will be something special.
