A'ja 5x MVP, WNBA Play-Offs, Baseball in October

A'ja Wilson Earns 5th WNBA Most Valuable Player award

A'ja Wilson of the Las Vegas Aces just won the 2026 Kia WNBA Most Valuable Player award.  

I may have come (back) into the WNBA as a fan of what I saw in Angel Reese and Caitlin Clark as that narrative played out, but I pretty quickly clocked who this A'ja Wilson person was when I'd see other teams play the Aces and listen to postgame.  

And by the end of last season, I was a convert.  I own two WNBA items - a general Golden State Valkyries shirt and a Las Vegas Aces shirt with Wilson's number on the back.

So, five MVP titles seems like a lot, right?  

Well, A'ja keeps dominating.  

It's wild to see her actually change between games and improve something she did poorly the last game.  Like in the series with the Fever, she realized what they were doing to defend her, and improved what she was doing to match what they were doing.  

By the way, she immediately scored on the defender shoving a hand in her face.  Saw the opening and took it with a spin and a jump shot.

You'll see a lot about how A'ja has a "magic whistle".  This means the refs call other people for fouls on her when she drives and that A'ja doesn't get called for fouls she's caused.

Look, I watch a lot of WNBA.  There are a few players with magic whistles, but the primary holder of this mystic device is Caitlin Clark, by far.  Sorry, CC fans, that girl gets away with murder *and* flopping to pretend something happened.  It's a wonder she doesn't get a tech every game.

Look, WNBA reffing is an issue across the board, but the sort of no-calls A'ja gets are the same ones *everyone* gets.  Folks are just more sensitive to it because she's A'ja and the myth persists.* I'd also point out *how* A'ja plays defense, and it is conservative.  She's up and down, she doesn't lean in, and when she blocks (which is often) it's a mix of her height and vertical jump.

On the stats sheet, A'ja has been averaging 26.2 points per game.  She gets 9.4 rebounds.  3.2 assists and about 2 blocked shots.  She usually plays around 32 minutes of 40.

Folks out there are trying to make up a statistic that adds assists plus points to show how this player or that player is better, but not every role on the court is the same.  A'ja is not a scoring guard or set-up guard.  She's playing in the paint.  Her points are coming from inside the 3-point line, and she's still having that productivity.  Plus, she gives everyone something to worry about, so by just existing on the court, she's opening up the other 4 players.

She's unselfish.  If Jackie is hot, or Jewel or Chelsea, she plays support and worries about rebounding.  But once she has the ball, she has a 50% shot percentage.  And a Free Throw percentage at about 83%.  And she gets a lot of third points off her buckets as folks love to slap at her as she goes up.

And she does all of it with a minimum of fuss.  There are, generally, no histrionics.  She seems like someone with a good sense of humor about herself and things in general while also being aware of what it takes to be the best.  Like, I do not have her mentality.  She drills and drills.  You can tell she eats, sleeps and dreams basketball.  Her partner is an NBA player.

Who else would she relate to?  Dave from accounting?

I am sure the incident in Indiana delayed the announcement, but talking about the Fever and their fan base is a whole separate discussion and tied up in culture wars.  

You stay at the top, and you lose fans.  It's too predictable, why won't they pick *my* favorite, etc...  But it's not a popularity contest or a way to spread the wealth.  It's a trophy for who had the most impact on a team, and maybe across the league.

Other players should have been in the running.  Breanna Stewart.  Kelsey Mitchell.  These are players who are just excellent every game, every time, who impact the floor just by being there and who make everyone better.  That's a hard thing to call out in baseball and football, but you can see it in real time in basketball.  (But I am happy to write 3000 words on Pete Crow-Armstrong, too.)

I do think how A'ja has been highlighted the second half of the season and the build up to the MVP announcement was part of the W's realization they have a culture war problem they didn't ask for.  As both a player and a person, she's what you want as the face of the league.  

Now, it's A'ja in my commercials and celebrated in my feeds.  Remind people what awesomeness looks like.

Anyway, I'm a fan.

yes, I bought the cereal

WNBA Play-Offs in the Semi-Finals

Well, the Semi-Finals are over.  

To start, I'm a fan of all four teams who played in the Semi-Finals.

• Las Vegas Aces - my primary team.  The ones I try to watch all the time.
• Golden State Valkyries - last year's OG primary team.   And a team I watched a lot this year.
• New York Liberty - I don't know how you like basketball and don't like Breanna Stewart.
• Atlanta Dream - a team that just felt like they found the right combo of players

If you're keeping up, the Atlanta Dream swept the veteran-led New York Liberty.  I was shocked, but they earned it.  New York has some random guy as their coach, and hopefully he's looking for a job this morning.  I think Stewart and Co. played very well - those were tough games and every game was close, but Atlanta just had that moxie you get when you can taste a Championship.  And, while the narrative is that people followed Clark to the WNBA, some of us followed Angel Reese - and then watched her deal with the Chicago Sky's horrendous coaching staff and front office.  And, what do you know?  Reese is a key component to the formula that took them to the Finals.  

It's hard not to like that line-up.  Jordin Canada is a phenom, scoring 19 points in the most recent game, and causing trouble for the defense every play.  Rhyne Howard is the hardest working woman in show business.  And I'll even lift my embargo on Bonner, who looks... happy? 

My Aces fell in a sweep to the Golden State Valkyries.  

Look, Natalie Nakase is the *one* coach who stood a chance against Becky Hammon.  She used to work for her and knows that team.  She knew to put Kiah Stokes on A'ja, and A'ja was productive, but not at her usual level.  Ie:  A'ja couldn't just body people going in for a lay-up and her fadeaway was going to .  And it's hard to undersell how the Valkyries don't rely on any one player - if Burton isn't hitting, you pass to Gabby.  If Gabby isn't doing it, fine, Tiffany Hayes and Kaitlyn Chen are there.  

And no other team, not even the Dream, plays with the same joy I see every time the Valkyries hit the court.  And that matters.  I remember the Showtime Lakers.

Anyway, the Finals start on the 17th, and it's going to kick ass.  

I shall be rooting for offense and defense.

Baseball

Well, I've been busy, been watching WNBA and not watched as much as I'd like.  But October baseball is a marathon, not a sprint.  I've watched some Padres, but we're pulling for the White Sox in this house.  Not sure how that will work out.  

I have very mixed feelings about the Dodgers that I think highlight some major issues with professional sports.  I won't be mad, exactly, if they win.  I mean, they're paying for that win, and if everyone else wanted to spend a few billion to do it, I guess they could.  And if we don't think that should happen, MLB needs to figure out how to manage that.  I'm much more worried about salary basements in Minor League ball and for rookies.  

I also think Dave Roberts is a great manager and the Dodgers are kind of fun to watch play, but baseball loves its villain stories (see: The Houston Astros).  And even I'm kind of eye-rolly about the Yankees.  

Anyway, as fewer teams are in, I'll lock back in.  I may be watching baseball on one screen and WNBA on the other.

 

*I'll also say, on the other end, Aaliyah Boston earns maybe 3/5ths of the fouls called on her.  It's wild.  I don't get it.  Meanwhile, Alyssa Thomas should be in jail, and she never gets a whistle.