Tue, December 9, 2025 at 6:38 AM
Updated Tue, December 9, 2025 at 6:52 AM
A’ja Wilson is featured on the cover of TIME as the 2025 Athlete of the Year. (Photograph by Kanya Iwana forTIME / TIME Athlete of the Year)
LAS VEGAS (KSNV) — Las Vegas Aces star A’ja Wilson has been named TIME’s 2025 Athlete of the Year.
The magazine announced the honor Tuesday for the four-time WNBA MVP and three-time champion.
A seven-time All-Star, Wilson set numerous superlatives this year: fastest WNBA player to reach 5,000 points; third Defensive Player of the Year award; a record fourth MVP award; and a second WNBA Finals MVP award.
She’s the first player in both the WNBA and NBA to win a title and be named Finals MVP, regular-season MVP and Defensive Player of the Year in the same season.
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“I think I’m on my way there,” she told TIME about the “greatest of all time” discussions. “I’m making it real hard for people to chase after me. That’s what it means to be the GOAT.”
Wilson touched on several topics in her interview with TIME, including her childhood in South Carolina, overcoming the Aces’ slow start to the regular season, and the future of the WNBA amid new collective bargaining talks and the league’s growing profile.
“All of us are going to be at the table,” she said about labor negotiations, “and we’re not moving until we get exactly what we want.”
The 2025 TIME Person of the Year issue will be available on newsstands beginning on Friday, Dec. 19. The choice for Person of the Year will be announced on Thursday, Dec. 11.
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