- Las Vegas Aces star A'ja Wilson finished third in voting for the 2023 WNBA MVP award.
- Just one of the 60 members on the voting panel left the 6-foot-4 forward out of their top three.
A'ja Wilson was, by many metrics, the best player in the WNBA this season.
The Las Vegas Aces superstar led the entire league in blocks as well as more advanced statistics like Player Efficiency Rating (PER), total win shares, and defensive rating. She ranked top-three in both points and rebounds per game while leading the reigning champions to an unprecedented 34-6 record on the regular season.
And yet, when the league published the voting breakdown for the 2023 WNBA MVP award on Tuesday, a single voter had placed Wilson in the fourth spot on their ballot. Each of the remaining 59 members of the panel — comprised of sportswriters and broadcasters across the country, including the author of this story — ranked the 6-foot-4 forward in their top three.
#WNBA MVP voting breakdown here ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/zODecgLHIo
— Meredith Cash (@mercash22) September 26, 2023
In what amounted to the tightest three-way MVP race in WNBA history — winner Breanna Stewart and Wilson, who finished just behind Alyssa Thomas to take third place, were separated by just 13 total points — each vote mattered considerably. So it was only natural for fans of the league to express curiosity about that lone fourth-place vote for Wilson.
But that curiosity escalated to confusion and anger for many, not just because the ballot may have altered the final outcome of the race, but also because it stood in stark contrast to the seemingly universal understanding that Stewart, Thomas, and Wilson were the clear top three. Fans on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter, quickly began demanding voter transparency, calling upon the mysterious fourth-place voter to reveal themself, and, in some cases, pushing the WNBA to revoke the individual's voting rights.
Even reporters and analysts joined the manhunt for the individual who gave Wilson the fourth-place tally. Just before Wilson's Aces tipped off against the Dallas Wings Tuesday night, ESPN's Andraya Carter brought the search to live television.
“If you voted @_ajawilson22 4th in MVP voting, make yourself known… stand on it, ten toes down” @Andraya_Carter pic.twitter.com/IVOEe5156V
— CJ Fogler account may or may not be notable (@cjzero) September 27, 2023
Though Wilson admitted "it hurt like hell" to finish third overall in the MVP vote, she didn't publicly address the unexpected fourth-place vote and instead resolved not "to harp on it too long." However, her former college coach, South Carolina's Dawn Staley, wrote on X that the anonymous voter's "hate is real & on display."
Wilson recorded 30 points and 11 rebounds in Las Vegas' 91-84 win against the Wings, marking the two-time MVP's third-consecutive 30-point game. She and the Aces are one win away from reaching their third WNBA Finals in four years.
"This award, it's a cherry on top of all the mountain of ice cream that we've built up," Wilson said ahead of Tuesday's game. "The sundae is still good without the cherry."
"This team still has so much more to do," she added.