A’ja Wilson’s WNBA MVP snub is ‘a joke’

(Ethan Miller/Getty Images)

Becky Hammon is standing up against the disrespectful treatment of A’ja Wilson in the WNBA MVP voting.

Wilson finished in third place for the award, with Breanna Stewart taking first place and Alyssa Thomas of Connecticut in second. A voter even ranked Wilson fourth on their ballot. Following the MVP announcement, Hammon provided evidence to reporters to support Wilson’s case.

After the Las Vegas Aces’ 104-76 victory over the New York Liberty in Game 2 of the WNBA Finals, Hammon expressed her opinion again, calling Wilson’s third-place finish “a joke.”

“This woman has been outstanding, and she’s faced it all,” Hammon stated. “Third place in MVP voting? Come on. Reflect on that. It’s ridiculous. She’s been incredibly efficient on both ends of the court. I love Stewart too, bigs who can shoot threes, but Wilson’s efficiency has been off the charts.”

Hammon also attributed some of Wilson’s lower statistics to the fact that she often rested her star player during blowout wins. Wilson had 26 points and 15 rebounds in the team’s blowout victory over New York.

The 2022 WNBA MVP is also performing better than she did in the regular season, with averages of 24.9 points and 11.3 rebounds per game in the postseason. In Game 1 of the Finals, Wilson recorded 19 points, 8 rebounds, and 3 blocks.

Wilson has scored over 30 points three times in the playoffs and came close again in Wednesday’s game as the Aces took a commanding 2-0 lead in the championship series.

“If I had played her as many minutes, she would have averaged 28 and 13,” Hammon explained. “That’s all anyone would be talking about. But she got cheated because her coach didn’t play her in the fourth quarter.”