Breaking down the two-player race for WNBA MVP

The GIST: The Seattle Storm officially completed the WNBA’s eight-team playoff field with last night’s win over the Golden State Valkyries — but postseason positioning will come down to the last two days of the season…and so will the league’s MVP award.

• It’s essentially a two-player race between Minnesota Lynx star Napheesa Collier and Las Vegas Ace A’ja Wilson, but which hooper is most deserving of the coveted individual prize? Let’s break it down.

🏆 The award: The regular-season award honors the W’s most valuable player, but as is true in every league, there’s always a fiery debate about what that actually means: Should it be awarded to the player most valuable to their team, the best player on the best team, or the league’s top overall player? Sometimes that’s all the same athlete, but not always.

🐱 The case for Napheesa Collier: The Lynx superstar is the best player on the league’s best team. Case in point? She’s only the third W hooper to ever record at least 700 points, 50 steals, and 50 blocks in a single season, and she did it in just 32 games. She’s been the MVP frontrunner all season long, but an August ankle injury sidelined Collier for more games than any previous winner.

🃏 The case for A’ja Wilson: The three-time and reigning MVP made a late charge, leading the Aces to 15 straight wins and a meteoric rise in the standings. Often considered the league’s most impactful player, Wilson tops the W in scoring and blocks, not to mention 20- and 30-point double-doubles. She’s also the first player in W history to put up a 30-point, 20-rebound game.

⚖️ The verdict: The 2025 MVP winner will ultimately come down to one not-so-simple question — how do each of the 54 media voters define “most valuable”? The good news is there’s no wrong answer: While we’re giving Wilson a slight edge, both icons are worthy winners. How lucky are we to watch the battle unfold.