A'ja Wilson is a five-time MVP! How does her run compare? - ESPN

Like death and taxes, A'ja Wilson winning the WNBA's Most Valuable Player award is quickly becoming one of life's certainties.

The Las Vegas Aces center claimed her third consecutive nod (and fifth in her career) on Thursday, after leading her Aces to their eighth straight playoff appearance with averages of 26.0 points and 9.4 rebounds. She scored at a near-career-high 62.5% True Shooting clip and blocked at least 2.0 opposing shots per game for the fourth consecutive season. Wilson was, once again, the best statistical player in the league by a wide margin, making her selection for the award something of a foregone conclusion as the regular season was wrapping up.

Needless to say, five MVPs is a lot. No other player in WNBA history has won the award more than three times — accomplished by Sheryl Swoopes, Lisa Leslie and Lauren Jackson. Wilson has now personally won about 17% of all MVPs awarded in the entire three-decade history of the W.

If we zoom out and compare Wilson's MVP feats with those from other leagues, she has joined some pretty special company. Only eight players in the NBA, NFL, MLB, NHL and WNBA have won five or more MVPs in their careers — and it's a who's who of all-time sports legends:

The list of three consecutive MVP winners is roughly as exclusive and contains some additional greats — names such as Larry Bird, Wilt Chamberlain, Shohei Ohtani, Bobby Orr and Brett Favre:

And Wilson's most exclusive club of all doesn't even necessarily involve a streak but rather a set of MVPs won in a specific period. In all of major North American pro sports history, only six players — including Wilson, now — have won at least four MVPs in a five-year span. And they're basically all serious GOAT candidates:

It's