A’ja Wilson, Kelsey Plum named to All-WNBA first team

UNCASVILLE, Conn. — Aces forward A’ja Wilson and guard Kelsey Plum were named to the All-WNBA first team Thursday.

Wilson, who recently was named the league’s MVP and Defensive Player of the Year, was one of two unanimous selections after appearing on all 56 ballots submitted by a national panel of sports writers and broadcasters and receiving the maximum 280 points.

In five seasons in the league, Wilson has made the All-WNBA first team three consecutive years and also was a second-team choice.

Plum made the All-WNBA team for the first time in six years in the league (she missed the 2020 season because of injury). She received 265 points and was a first-team selection on 50 ballots.

Wilson also won the MVP award in 2020, becoming the seventh player in league history to claim the award multiple times. She averaged 19.5 points, 9.4 rebounds and a league-leading 1.94 blocks. She also led the league with 17 double-doubles.

“Every year, I feel like I still have something to give,” Wilson said after winning the MVP award. “I still have something to figure out about the league, gotta add something more to my game.”

It’s the fifth time in league history that a player was named MVP and Defensive Player of the Year in the same season and the first time since Seattle Storm center Lauren Jackson in 2007.

Plum’s rise has been more sudden. After winning the Sixth Player of the Year award in 2021, she was moved into the starting lineup by first-year coach Becky Hammon.

Plum responded with the best season of her career. She was second in the league in scoring at 20.2 points per game and led the league in 3-pointers with 113. Her 5.1 assists per game ranked ninth, and she shot 42 percent on 3s, fourth in the league.

“It’s been a long time coming,” Plum said in May. “It’s my fifth year, and I feel very comfortable in my own skin — on the court, off the court. I feel like I’m ready.”

Plum also made her first All-Star Game appearance and was named the game’s MVP. She finished third in MVP voting for the regular season.

Wilson and Plum were joined on the first team by Seattle Storm forward Breanna Stewart, Phoenix Mercury guard Skylar Diggins-Smith and Chicago Sky forward Candace Parker.

Stewart, the league’s scoring leader at 21.4 points per game, was the other unanimous selection. Diggins-Smith and Parker each finished with 183 points.

Connecticut Sun forward Alyssa Thomas, New York Liberty guard Sabrina Ionescu, Los Angeles Sparks forward Nneka Ogwumike, Sun center Jonquel Jones and Minnesota Lynx center Sylvia Fowles comprised the second team.

“Our league is hard,” Wilson said. “It’s full of elite, great players.”

Contact reporter Andy Yamashita at ayamashita@reviewjournal.com. Follow @ANYamashita on Twitter.