Las Vegas Aces superstar A'ja Wilsonis TIME's Athlete of the Year, because, of course, she is.
The 6-foot-4 South Carolina native earned her second WNBA scoring title, thirdDefensive Player of the Year (DPOY) awardandfourth MVP(the first in league history to accomplish the feat) weeks before winning her third championship. The nowtwo-time Finals MVPand theAces swept the Phoenix Mercuryin the WNBA Finals.
Wilson is the first player in WNBA or NBA history to win a championship, Finals MVP, regular-season MVP and DPOY award in the same season. She's also one of four players in the WNBA or NBA to win four MVP trophies before the age of 30. Fittingly, Wilson wore aThanos-inspired gloveto Las Vegas' championship parade earlier this year to celebrate.
"When you've collected everything, that's Thanos,"Wilson told TIME. "And this year, I collected everything. I don't really talk much s---, I mean crap. I kind of let my game do it. This was my biggest moment of doing it, because no one's ever done what I've done. And I think people really needed to understand that."
Game 1: Las Vegas Aces guard Chelsea Gray (12) celebrates with teammates after the Aces defeated the Phoenix Mercury, 89-86, at Michelob Ultra Arena." style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> 
Game 1: Jackie Young #0 of the Las Vegas Aces battles for the ball with Alyssa Thomas #25 and Kahleah Copper #2 of the Phoenix Mercury." style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> 
Game 1: Chelsea Gray (12) and A'ja Wilson (22) of the Las Vegas Aces grab a rebound past DeWanna Bonner (14) and Satou Sabally (0) of the Phoenix Mercury." style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> 
Game 1: Alyssa Thomas (25) of the Phoenix Mercury shoots the ball against Jackie Young of the Las Vegas Aces." style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> 
Game 1: Las Vegas Aces guard Jewell Loyd (24) looks to tip a loose ball away from Phoenix Mercury guard Sami Whitcomb (33)." style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> 
Game 1: Las Vegas Aces forward NaLyssa Smith (3) shoots against Phoenix Mercury forward Natasha Mack (4)." style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> 
Game 1: A'ja Wilson (22) of the Las Vegas Aces celebrates after making a basket against the Phoenix Mercury." style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> 
Game 1: Satou Sabally (0) of the Phoenix Mercury shoots the ball against Megan Gustafson (17) of the Las Vegas Aces." style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> 
Game 1: Satou Sabally (0) of the Phoenix Mercury looks to shoot the ball against NaLyssa Smith (3) of the Las Vegas Aces." style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> 
Game 1: NaLyssa Smith (3) of the Las Vegas Aces reacts during the third quarter." style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> 
Game 1: Chelsea Gray (12) of the Las Vegas Aces reacts against the Phoenix Mercury during the fourth quarter." style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> 
Game 1: Alyssa Thomas (25) of the Phoenix Mercury drives to the basket against Jackie Young (0) of the Las Vegas Aces." style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> 
Game 1: Alyssa Thomas (25) of the Phoenix Mercury shoots the ball against Jackie Young (0) of the Las Vegas Aces." style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> 
Game 1: Las Vegas Aces guard Jackie Young (0) dribbles against Phoenix Mercury guard Kahleah Copper (2)." style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> 
Game 1: Las Vegas Aces guard Jewell Loyd (24) drives against Phoenix Mercury guard Kahleah Copper (2)." style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> 
Game 1: Kahleah Copper (2) of the Phoenix Mercury celebrates after her 3-point basket." style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> 
Game 1: Head coach Nate Tibbetts of the Phoenix Mercury looks on during the first quarter." style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> 
Game 1: Maddy Westbeld of the Chicago Sky (left) and Rae Burrell of the Los Angeles Sparks look on." style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> 
Game 1: Jackie Young (0) of the Las Vegas Aces reacts in front of Kahleah Copper of the Phoenix Mercury." style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> 
Game 1: Las Vegas Aces head coach Becky Hammon looks on." style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> 
Game 1: Dana Evans of the Las Vegas Aces, shoots the ball between Monique Akoa Makani and Natasha Mack of the Phoenix Mercury." style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> 
Game 1: A'ja Wilson of the Las Vegas Aces drives to the basket against Alyssa Thomas of the Phoenix Mercury." style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> 
Game 1: Kahleah Copper of the Phoenix Mercury grabs a rebound against the Las Vegas Aces." style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> 
Game 1: Chelsea Gray of the Las Vegas Aces shoots the ball against Monique Akoa Makani of the Phoenix Mercury." style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> 
Game 1: A'ja Wilson of the Las Vegas Aces grabs a rebound against Kahleah Copper of the Phoenix Mercury." style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> The best photos as Aces, Mercury meet in 2025 WNBA Finals
Wilson was part of several TIME honorees for 2025, including KPop Demon Hunters as the 2025 Breakthrough of the Year, YouTube's Neal Mohan as the CEO of the Year and Leonardo DiCaprio as the Entertainer of the Year.
Her ascension to the greatest year in her careerdid not come without some struggles. At the midway point of the WNBA season, the Aces were sitting at .500 and were on the receiving end of a 50-plus blowout loss to the Minnesota Lynx.
Then, a switch flipped. Las Vegas rattled off 16 straight wins to get to the postseason, and endured back-to-back playoff series that required the team to play every game possible (three against the Seattle Stormand five against the Indiana Fever) before getting to the Finals."Sometimes you've just got to get knocked down to get built back up," Wilson said. "I think 2025 was a wake-up call that I needed, to let me know that I can't be satisfied with anything. There's somebody out there that's going to try to take your job. You need to make sure you're great at it, every single day."
Wilson further cemented her legacy and perhaps her TIME Athlete of the Year award when she hit agame-winning shotagainst the Mercury during Game 3 of the WNBA Finals. The shot, released with a fitting 2.2 seconds left on the clock (a subtle ode to her No. 22 jersey), cemented the series for the Aces and catapulted Wilson into the conversations for the WNBA's greatest player of all time. Still, the WNBA star wouldn't quite put herself in that category just yet. That said, she believes that she's making it hard for people to chase after her.
"When you think about a lot of GOATs, they have those career-defining shots that solidify you as the best…", she said. "I didn't really have one of those. I had championships, yeah. But it was never really like a moment of like, 'Whoooooooo. That's why she is who she is. She's exactly who she thinks she is.'"
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY:Las Vegas Aces star A'ja Wilson named TIME's 2025 Athlete of the Year
