The 2025 WNBA regular season ends in exactly two weeks, meaning this is as good a time as any to evaluate the league's top MVP candidates.
Napheesa Collier's recent return from injury has galvanized the Minnesota Lynx, who still have the WNBA's best record at 30-7. But A'ja Wilson has resurrected the Las Vegas Aces, the league's hottest team at present, while Alyssa Thomas is making history down in Phoenix, where the Mercury is trying to secure home-court advantage in the first round of the playoffs next month.
Honorable mentions: Sabrina Ionescu, Liberty and Allisha Gray, Dream
As the New York Liberty have been wracked by injuries, Ionescu has often been the champs' one constant as they try to secure home-court for the opening round. The four-time All-Star is averaging a career-best 18.8 points per game and remains one of the league's more underrated defensive guards.
In her ninth WNBA season, Gray is scoring at a career-best 18.7 point per game clip, while shooting 45 percent from the field and 39 percent from beyond the arc. Her evolution under first-year head coach Karl Smesko is a key reason why Atlanta has been one of the league's surprise teams in 2025.
3. Alyssa Thomas, Mercury
What Thomas is achieving in her 12th WNBA season -- and her first in Phoenix -- has never been seen before in league history.
The heart and soul of a team that turned over more than 80 percent of its roster this season, Thomas is the league's runaway leader in total assists and assists per game. She is shooting a career-best percentage from the field and averaging a career-best in points per game, while ranking just behind Wilson on the rebounding leaderboard and playing elite defense.
MORE: Alyssa Thomas is posting stats only seen from LeBron James, Nikola Jokic and Magic Johnson
Two factors though are working against Thomas. She is the league's leader in turnovers, and the Mercury would need a lot of help to finish higher than fourth in the standings. Phoenix has lost the tiebreakers against Atlanta and Las Vegas, with both teams ahead of Thomas' Mercury in the standings.
2. Napheesa Collier, Lynx
Collier remains the WNBA's leader in points per game, a testament to her efficient shooting (54.3 percent). The reigning Defensive Player of the Year ranks fourth in blocks and third steals per game, and she returned Sunday from a sprained right ankle to drop 32 points on the Indiana Fever.
Napheesa Collier came back with a vengeance (out for 7 games) in the @minnesotalynx's victory against the Fever, 97-84 ‼️
— WNBA (@WNBA) August 25, 2025
Her contributions helped the Lynx become the first team this season to reach 30 wins.
32 PTS | 9 REB | 2 STL#WelcometotheW pic.twitter.com/rAWaxkrqOt
However, the Lynx remained comfortably the top team in the league while Collier was injured, mustering a 5-2 record without their star player. The five-time All-Star's absence coincided with the Aces beginning their winning streak, which may tip the scales toward...
1. A'ja Wilson, Aces
The Aces have won 12 consecutive games and vaulted from ninth in the standings to second, leapfrogging the Atlanta Dream on Wednesday night. Wilson scored 34 points in the win over Atlanta, continuing her stellar individual form as Las Vegas has gotten its act together.
Wilson leads the WNBA in total points, total rebounds, blocks per game and win shares. She ranks second in total blocks, field goals made and rebounds per game.
If the Aces (26-14) hold onto the #2 seed despite ranking in the bottom half of the league in offensive and defensive rating, the momentum might be unstoppable for Wilson as she seeks her record-shattering fourth MVP award.
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Dream star makes true feelings on A'ja Wilson MVP chants crystal clear
Coming up Aces: Las Vegas wins 12th straight game, down Atlanta
Fever's Aliyah Boston continues to tear up the Indiana record book