Las Vegas Aces

SOURCE SPORTS: A’Ja Wilson Named 2022 WNBA Most Valuable Player

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A'Ja Wilson Named 2022 WNBA Most Valuable Player

One day after leading the Las Vegas Aces to the 2022 WNBA Finals, A’Ja Wilson has been named league MVP. The win is the second MVP award for Wilson, she previously won in 2020.

Wilson is now the seventh player in WNBA history to win the MVP Award more than once, joining Lauren Jackson, Lisa Leslie, Sheryl Swoopes, Cynthia Cooper, Elena Della Donne, and Candace Parker.

Late last month, Wilson was named the Defensive Player of the Year. She is the fifth player in league history to win both awards in a single season. The last to achieve the double win was Jackson in 2007. Yolanda Giffith, Swoopes, and Leslie are the others to win in the same season.

Second place in this year’s voting was Seattle Storm forward Breanna Stewart, third place was Wilson’s teammate Kelsey Plum and fourth was Alyssa Thomas of the Connecticut Sun. Fifth in voting was Candace Parker of The Chicago Sky.

In just her fifth season, Wilson averaged 19.95 points, 9.4 rebounds, shot 50.1 percent from the field and had 17 double-doubles across 36 games. She also led the league in blocks at 1.9 per game.

Wilson and the Aces will host the winner of the Sun and Sky in Game 1 of the WNBA Finals this Sunday.

The post SOURCE SPORTS: A’Ja Wilson Named 2022 WNBA Most Valuable Player appeared first on The Source.

SOURCE SPORTS: Las Vegas Aces’ A’Ja Wilson Named WNBA Defensive Player of the Year, Jackie Young Named Most Improved

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In the midst of their playoff run, two stars of the Las Vegas Aces are adding hardware to their trophy case. A’Ja Wilson has been named the WNBA Defensive Player of the Year, and Jackie Young has been dubbed Most Improved Player.

A’Ja Wilson becomes the first player in Aces’ team history to win the WNBA Defensive Player of the Year Award with this victory. It is also her first time winning the award.

In her fifth WNBA season, Wilson finished second in the league in defensive rebounds per game (a career-high 7.6), second in blocks (1.9 bpg), and 12th in steals (1.4 spg). Nine times, Wilson had at least 10 defensive rebounds in a single game. She also had six games with at least three steals and seven games with at least four blocks.

The Aces were tops in the WNBA in defensive rebounds per game (28.1), defensive rebound percentage (74.5), and steals (5.4), all behind Wilson (7.7 spg). Additionally, the 6-4 Wilson assisted Las Vegas in limiting opponents to 31.8 points per game in the paint, which is the third-lowest mark in the league.

The WNBA announced Jackie Young has been chosen as the 2022 Kia WNBA Most Improved Player. In the history of the Aces franchise, Young is the first player to get the honor.

The No. 1 overall pick in the 2019 WNBA Draft presented by State Farm, Young, increased his averages from 12.2 points, 4.1 rebounds, and 1.1 steals in 2021 to 15.9 points, 4.4 rebounds, and 1.4 steals this season. Young’s three-point shooting increased from 25 percent in the previous season to 43.1 percent in 2022. She had the 14th-most assists in the WNBA (3.9 apg).

The 6-0 guard took part in the WNBA All-Star Skills Challenge and was chosen to play in her first AT&T WNBA All-Star Game this season. Young assisted the Aces in registering the most victories (26) in the team’s history as they advanced to the WNBA Playoffs presented by Google with the top seed. This season, Las Vegas had the third-highest scoring average in league history and the highest mark since 2010, averaging a WNBA-high 90.4 points per game.

The post SOURCE SPORTS: Las Vegas Aces’ A’Ja Wilson Named WNBA Defensive Player of the Year, Jackie Young Named Most Improved appeared first on The Source.

SOURCE SPORTS: WNBA All-Star A’ja Wilson Talks Off-court Style and What’s Next for the Las Vegas Aces

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During WNBA All-Star Weekend, MTN DEW hit up Chicago to provide an experience throughout the weekend. In addition to hosting the three-point contest, MTN DEW had Las Vegas Aces superstar and league style icon A’ja Wilson on hand at the MTN DEW Style Suite.

Ahead of leading Team Wilson for the second straight All-Star game, Wilson spoke with The Source about the first half of the season, her partnership with MTN Dew, and more.

Being a style icon yourself. What did you think about the concept of the MTN DEW Style Lounge?

A’Ja Wilson: Man, it was so dope. It really put a smile on my face because when I tell you those Jersey dresses just popped in my mind – it was something that I really didn’t even honestly plan for. Honestly, MTN DEW brings a side of A’ja that doesn’t really come out because I’m always on the athlete’s side. So MTN Dew wants me to be bigger than an athlete. They want to dig a little deeper and have people connect with me on another level. So when I saw the style lounge, I was like, that’s gonna be so dope. And people love it, especially now. Like it’s all about the drip now. So I love that.

Coming into All-Star, did you already have an idea of what you want to wear to the game, or is it a spur of the moment?

It’s really spur of the moment, but also I have people just around me to see what we can do. I’m a simple girl, but I like my shoes to pop. I want all the focus to be on my shoes. So yeah, when it came to picking out stuff, I said let’s just do something slight, but let the feet do the talking. I’m in between and just like popping out, but really just kind of being subtle.

In this Style Lounge, we have a couple of your jersey dresses. Do you have one that you feel is your favorite so far?

It’s definitely Sheryl Swoopes. Because it’s [number] 22. For me, just being able to even say that I can talk to her is pretty dope. She’s, of course, one of the legends of our game. I also got Coach Staley, my old coach, and then Lisa Leslie, my role model. But my favorite has to be Sheryl that’s like the first one that really popped out.

What attracted you to working with MTN DEW in general?

It truly was a partnership that wanted to dig deeper than the player and show people my kid side. They turned to me as their WNBA player and they really just show a lot of love. They show me and the idea is when you can see her, you can be her. When they push me out there, I know that there are young girls out watching and that’s what it’s really for.

A couple of hoops questions. The first half of the season is wrapped up, what part of the season has you the most excited so far?

That we have a winning record. I love that we are having a winning record. That means that we’re on the right path. We’re doing something right. So I’m excited just to get ready for the second half.

In the second half, you want to keep that going, but is it something that you hope to improve on?

Oh my God. Yes. Our defense, we need to work on our defense a lot more. I think that’s something that we need to really lock in on. But other than that, I think we’re on the right path.

You’re going to be in Chicago again in a couple of weeks for the Commissioner’s Cup Finals. Fans and analysts spoke a lot about the historic comeback the Chicago Sky made in your last matchup, does that add extra motivation to the game?

Commissioner’s Club doesn’t really need much motivation as a whole. We are raising so much money for our charities and a mid-season tournament is pretty dope. So we’re gonna have some fun. It’s always a good game when we play Chicago.

The post SOURCE SPORTS: WNBA All-Star A’ja Wilson Talks Off-court Style and What’s Next for the Las Vegas Aces appeared first on The Source.