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Michael VoepelSep 18, 2025, 09:24 PM ET
- Michael Voepel is a senior writer who covers the WNBA, women's college basketball and other college sports. Voepel began covering women's basketball in 1984, and has been with ESPN since 1996.
Napheesa Collier left the court at Gainbridge Fieldhouse on July 19 with a WNBA All-Star Game-record 36 points and the MVP trophy. The Minnesota Lynx forward looked likely to add a bigger honor at season's end: the league's MVP award.
The WNBA will announce the winner Sunday. But in perhaps the biggest shift in the narrative around the MVP award in league history, what appeared to be a foregone conclusion two months ago has turned into a hotly contested race.
Will Collier win her first MVP? Or will Las Vegas Aces center A'ja Wilson become the first WNBA player to win the honor four times?
After the All-Star break, an Aug. 2 injury cost Collier the next seven games. During that absence, the Aces went unbeaten, with Wilson leading them to an eventual 16-game winning streak to end the regular season. Phoenix Mercury forward Alyssa Thomas had eight triple-doubles in the regular season and also deserves consideration, but the MVP debate largely narrowed to Wilson vs. Collier, who returned Aug. 24.
The No. 1 seed Lynx and No. 2 seed Aces have advanced to the WNBA semifinals. But the playoffs have no bearing on MVP. Award ballots had to be cast two days before the postseason began.
ESPN picked Wilson to win MVP earlier this month, but which player most impressed the largest number of voters on the media panel? Let's look at how the battle for MVP played out as one of the signature storylines of the 2025 season.
May 7: Wilson was No. 1 in ESPN's preseason ranking of the top 25 players in the WNBA. Recounting Wilson's 2024 season, we wrote: "She won her third MVP award with career-high averages in points, rebounds, blocks and steals. Her (26.9) scoring average was the highest for any season in league history. She made the all-WNBA and all-defensive first teams."
May 16: On the opening night of the 2025 season, Collier scored what ended up being a season-high 34 points. She averaged 26.8 points on 52.7% shooting from the field in her first five games, and Minnesota started the season with nine consecutive victories. Collier, who finished second in MVP balloting last season, staked an early claim to the award.
June 17: The Lynx beat the Aces 76-62 to wrap up a league-best 5-1 record in Commissioner's Cup games, though Indiana beat Minnesota in the July 1 final. Collier had just seven points against the Aces as she left early in the second half with back pain. It was the only time in her 33 regular-season games that she didn't score in double figures.
June 27: After missing two games with lingering back issues, Collier returned with 26 points, 7 rebounds and 6 assists in a 96-92 overtime victory at Atlanta.
July 14: Collier started out at No. 2 in ESPN's preseason ranking of the top 25 players but took over No. 1 on ESPN's midseason top-25 list, with Wilson dropping to second. We wrote: "For the first time, Collier tops our rankings after submitting a first half that has her in pole position for MVP. Collier leads the WNBA in scoring by more than three points per game and is a leading contender to repeat as Defensive Player of the Year."
July 19: Team Collier beat Team Caitlin Clark 151-131 at the All-Star Game in Indianapolis. The No. 2 vote-getter behind Clark in All-Star fan balloting, Collier stole the show as she made 13 of 16 shots and had nine rebounds along with her 36 points. Wilson had a quiet All-Star Game, playing 12 minutes and scoring four points.
July 25: Collier had 25 points and nine rebounds on July 25 as Minnesota won 109-78, beating Las Vegas for the second time this season and moving to 22-4. Wilson had 15 points and seven rebounds as the Aces dropped to 12-13.
1:27
Lynx come back to win thriller to end first-round series
The Lynx storm back vs. the Valkyries with a 75-74 win to close out the series.
Aug. 2: Collier had 18 points and five assists as Minnesota clobbered Las Vegas 111-58 in the teams' third meeting, the largest road victory (53 points) in WNBA history. However, Collier suffered a right ankle sprain in the third quarter and missed the next seven games. That opened the door for Wilson's MVP challenge.
Aug. 3: The night of the loss to Minnesota, Wilson told her teammates via text that they needed to atone for the "embarrassing" defeat. The next day, the Aces' winning streak started. Wilson had 14 points and 14 rebounds as the Aces beat Golden State by 24 points.
Aug. 10: Wilson scored 32 points on 13-for-25 shooting -- the first of eight games during the winning streak in which she scored 30 or more points -- as the Aces beat Connecticut 94-86.
Aug. 13-15: Wilson had a combined 47 points and 32 rebounds in back-to-back victories against New York and Phoenix, two of the teams challenging Las Vegas for the No. 2 seed. That gave the Aces six wins in a row and 20 on the season, but a lot more was to come.
1:19
A'ja Wilson: 'We weathered the Storm ... but the job’s not done'
A'ja Wilson reflects on the Aces’ gritty 74-73 win over the Storm to advance to the WNBA semifinals.
Aug. 19: Wilson had 32 points and 12 rebounds in a key 74-72 win over Atlanta, another team vying for the No. 2 seed. At this point, there was no doubt the MVP race was on.
Aug. 24: The Lynx had already clinched their playoff spot Aug. 12 but were thrilled as Collier returned. She had 32 points and nine rebounds in a victory over Indiana. In all, she played seven games after her return from injury, averaging 20.4 points.
Sept. 4: After losing the first three meetings with Minnesota this season, the Aces won the fourth 97-87 behind Wilson's 31 points -- on 12-of-15 shooting -- with eight rebounds. Collier had 12 points and six rebounds for the Lynx, who had already clinched the No. 1 seed and home-court advantage through the playoffs on Aug. 30.
Sept. 7: In an 80-66 win over Chicago, Wilson tallied her 13th game of the season with 30 or more points; it also was her 10th with 30-plus points and 10-plus rebounds. Both are WNBA records. She also topped the 60-steal mark to go along with 80-plus blocks, making her the first player in league history to have multiple 60/60 seasons in those categories.
Coach Becky Hammon compared Wilson after the game to both a gazelle and a lion, saying, "She can dance around you, or she can eat you up."
Sept. 11: Both players ended the regular season on a high note. Collier finished averaging 22.9 points, 7.3 rebounds and 3.2 assists and became just the second player in WNBA history, following the retired Elena Delle Donne, to shoot 50/40/90 for the season. Collier shot 53.1% from the field, 40.3% from behind the arc and 90.6% from the free throw line.
"I don't know how long it will be before it happens again," Lynx coach Cheryl Reeve said. "She deserves MVP."
The Aces, meanwhile, clinched the No. 2 seed with a victory at Los Angeles, as Wilson concluded the season averaging 23.4 points and 10.2 rebounds. She became the first player in league history to average at least 20 points and 10 rebounds in multiple seasons. (She also did it last season.) Wilson has led the league in scoring the past two seasons.
Does history favor Collier or Wilson?
With Thomas in the mix, this year's race compares to 2023, when New York's Breanna Stewart won MVP, Thomas (then with Connecticut) was second and Wilson third, with just 13 points separating the trio. That year also is remembered for Thomas getting the most first-place votes (23 to Stewart's 20 and Wilson's 17) despite finishing as runner-up, and Wilson getting a much-maligned fourth-place vote.
Hammon also said she sees parallels between this season and 2022, when Wilson edged Stewart 478-446 in points and 31-23 in first-place votes.
The closest WNBA MVP race between two candidates was in 2005, when the Houston Comets' Sheryl Swoopes defeated Seattle's Lauren Jackson by just two points (327-325) despite Jackson earning more first-place votes (20-16). Swoopes and Jackson finished their careers with three MVP awards, as did Los Angeles' Lisa Leslie.
In 2013, Los Angeles' Candace Parker topped Minnesota's Maya Moore 234-218 in points, with both players getting 10 first-place votes. There wasn't much consensus that season as three other players -- Delle Donne and then Chicago teammate Sylvia Fowles and Atlanta's Angel McCoughtry -- also got first-place votes.
