I found myself in a bit of a social media spat between games 3 and 4 of the WNBA Finals this year; I replied to a suggestion that A’ja Wilson was the GOAT WNBA player by throwing out a few names that might have an argument, and was told ‘No sir, you are wrong’. So now that the Finals are over, she has 3 championships and 2 Finals MVP Awards to go along with 4 regular seasons MVPs, a Rookie of the Year (ROY) Award and 3 Defensive Player of the Year (DPOY) Awards, 5 block titles AND 2 scoring titles. That sure is a lot! But is more than anyone else has ever gotten? And if so, is there any reason that someone else would be the choice over her? There are a few that have more rings, and several who played more years than she has so far (8) at an All-WNBA/Hall of Fame level. But outside of those two things she’s all out in front in several categories. So let’s look at all the numbers and see how this thing plays out:
MVPs
A’ja has the most ever with 4. Sheryl Swoopes, Lisa Leslie, and Lauren Jackson all have 3. OK, next question!
Championships
A’ja has 3, second only to Sue Bird, Maya Moore and the Houston Comets trio of Cynthia Cooper, Sheryl Swoopes and Tina Thompson. She’s currently tied with Diana Taurasi, Candace Parker, Breanna Stewart and Swin Cash. She and Stewart have a chance to tie for the lead or take it outright, but for now she’s high enough to qualify for GOAT status.
Finals MVPs
She’s got 2, only Cooper has more. Man, this is getting more cut and dried as I go on.
League Leaders
A’ja has two scoring titles and 5 block titles. By comparison Diana Taurasi has 5 scoring titles and is the all time WNBA leading scorer, Candace Parker has 3 rebounding titles, 2 block titles and an assist title, Tamika Catchings has seven steals titles, and Lisa Leslie has 3 rebounding titles and 2 block titles. Among those whose names get mentioned in GOAT discussions, that’s her company, and she’s tied for the lead in leading, so to speak.
Other Awards
Compared to Wilson’s ROY and 3 DPOYs there isn’t much competition. Tamika Catchings has five DPOYs to go along with her ROY and Sylvia Fowles has 4 DPOYs. Swoopes has 3 DPOYs and everyone else has two combined or less. Even though she isn’t first, yet, we can chalk this category up as another W for A’ja.
All-WNBA selections
Finally, a category where she falls a little short. Right now she has five All-WNBA selections in 8 years. There are several women who either have more selections or who were All-WNBA for a bigger part of their careers. Taurasi made it 14 times in 20 years, Lisa Leslie made it 12 times and Candace Parker 10. And that’s just a few examples. A’ja has a ways to go hear but if she stays healthy then she should reach double digits soon enough.
Final Verdict
There’s enough there to call it and declare her the most accomplished WNBA player ever. She probably won’t get to 14 All-WNBA selections, but 10 is within reach and she’s very likely to get another MVP or two along the way and at least one more DPOY. Longevity is really the only argument you can hold against her right now and that will fix itself soon enough. Now if you want to say someone was a better player based on your own personal eye test then I won’t fight you. As somebody who watched the league in it’s infancy, took a long break, and just came back to it in 2024, I’ll gladly say that she is the best player today for sure and the most overall skilled player that I’ve ever watched. Now is she the GOAT women’s basketball player ever? I think the shadow of Cheryl Miller will forever hover over that question. Unfortunately there was no WNBA for her to play in after college so we can only play what-if? But for what we can measure today, I don’t see any reason to say A’ja isn’t, so why the hell not?
Stroke of Genius 