Becky Hammon isn’t letting go of the disrespect shown to A’ja Wilson in WNBA MVP voting.
Wilson finished third in voting for the award, behind winner Breanna Stewart and Connecticut’s Alyssa Thomas. One voter even had Wilson in fourth place on their ballot. And following the announcement of MVP, Hammon brought evidence to reporters to argue Wilson’s case.
After Wednesday’s 104-76 win against the New York Liberty in Game 2 of the WNBA Finals, the Las Vegas Aces head coach reiterated her opinion, saying that Wilson’s third-place finish is “a joke.”
“This lady has been ridiculous, and she’s heard it all,” Hammon said. “Third in MVP voting? Okay. Rest on that. It’s a joke. She’s been off the charts efficient. She got – and I love Stewie, you know I love bigs that can shoot threes – but her efficiency on both ends, it’s been ridiculous.”
Hammon also attributed some of Wilson’s lower stat lines to the fact that she often rested her star player during the Aces’ blowout wins. Wilson had 26 points and 15 rebounds in the team’s blowout victory over New York on Wednesday.
The 2022 WNBA MVP also is averaging better numbers than she did in the regular season, putting up 24.9 points and 11.3 rebounds per game in the postseason. In Game 1 of the Finals, Wilson had 19 points, 8 rebounds and 3 blocks.
Three times, Wilson has eclipsed the 30-point mark in the playoffs, and she came close again Wednesday as the Aces took a commanding 2-0 lead in the championship series..
“If I would have played her as many minutes, she would’ve averaged 28 and 13,” Hammon said. “And that’s all anybody would’ve been talking about, but she got screwed because her coach didn’t play her in fourth quarters.”