A’Ja Wilson is Western Conference Player of the Month
WNBA supertar A’ja Wilson adds yet another honor to stack alongside her closet full of awards and accolades.
The Las Vegas Aces’ multifaceted center was named the Western Conference Player of the Month for May for the ninth time in her illustrious career, according to WNBA.com. She accomplished this record-tying feat by averaging 26.5 points (good for second in the league), 12.5 rebounds (1st), and 2.83 blocks (2nd) per game.
This distinction adds to Wilson’s dizzying array of awards during her six years in the league: She is a two-time league Most Valuable Player, two-time Defensive Player of the Year, two-time WNBA champion, Finals MVP, and Rookie of the Year in 2018. Wilson was also the consensus national Player of the Year and led the South Carolina Gamecocks, under head coach Dawn Staley, to their first national championship.
The two-time defending WNBA champ Aces are off to a 4-2 season and seeking a third consecutive title for the first time since the Houston Comets won four in a row from 1997 to 2000.
Alyssa Thomas, who led the Connecticut Sun to the conference Finals in 2023, was named the Player of the Month for the Eastern Conference.
Thomas averaged 14.6 points, 9.0 rebounds, 1.7 steals, and led the league as a center with 8.7 assists per game in May. The four-time WNBA All-Star commenced the 2024 season by recording her ninth career triple-double against Caitlin Clark and the Indiana Fever (13 points, 10 rebounds, 13 assists).
Thomas became the third player in franchise history to receive this honor as Tina Charles won the honor three times, and Jonquel Jones was named POTM four times, matching Thomas’ team record.
Speaking of Clark, the former collegiate superstar was named Rookie of the Month after averaging 17.6 points and 5 assists per game.
In a historic moment, Clark became just the third player in WNBA history, joining the ranks of Candace Parker and Sabrina Ionescu, to achieve 100+ points, 30+ rebounds, and 30+ assists in her first six games.
