Former Gamecock A’ja Wilson was named the 2020 WNBA MVP.
Wilson averaged 20.5 points, 8.5 rebounds, 2.0 blocks, 2.0 assists, 1.5 steals while playing 31.7 minutes per game. She received 43 of 47 first place votes. Seattle’s Breanna Stewart, who returned from an Achilles injury, received three first-place votes and Chicago’s Courtney Vandersloot, who became the first WNBA player to average 10 assists per game, received one first place vote. Voters picked their top five candidates, and Wilson was second on the other four.
Wilson finished second in the league in scoring, second in efficiency, and sixth in rebounding. She led the league in blocks and in free throws made and attempted. Wilson was also 11th in steals. For most of the season, until the final week, she had made more free throws than any other player had attempted. She was the best player on the best team, leading the Aces to an 18-4 record and the number one overall seed.
Wilson thanked her teammates for supporting her. The Aces lost two key starters off last year’s team, leading scorer Liz Cambage (COVID) and guard Kelsey Plum (Achilles), and had to retool their philosophy with Wilson as the centerpiece. Wilson responded by scoring at least 20 points in 15 of 22 games, with a season-high of 31, and seven double-doubles.
One of the first things Wilson did after receiving the award was to FaceTime Dawn Staley. Staley was never a WNBA MVP, but she does have an award named after her - the Dawn Staley Community Leadership Award. Wilson is the tenth Gamecock to play in the WNBA (not counting Staley, of course), and the first to win MVP. She and Allisha Gray both won rookie of the year.
For Wilson, the award is another in a long line of recognitions. She was the WNBA’s top overall draft pick in 2018 and won Rookie of the Year. She is a two-time WNBA All-Star (there was no All-Star game this season). As a college player at South Carolina, Wilson was the unanimous national player of the year in 2018 (winning the Wooden Award, Naismith Trophy, and Wade Trophy), the first three-time SEC Player of the Year, four-time All-SEC and All-American, two-time SEC Defensive Player of the year, two-time SEC Tournament MVP, and 2017 NCAA Tournament MOP.
