Breanna Stewart edges A'ja Wilson for AP WNBA Player of the Year honors by 1 vote - ESPN

Breanna Stewart wanted to get closer to home after spending her entire WNBA career in Seattle so she signed with New York as a free agent in a seismic move during the offseason.

The decision has paid major dividends for Stewart and the Liberty.

She finished the regular season second in the league in scoring, averaging a career-best 23 points per game and helped New York secure the second-best record in the league. On Tuesday, she became the first player to repeat as The Associated Press Player of the Year.

«To be honored as the AP Player of the Year is an incredible honor,» said Stewart, who also won the award in 2018. «It's quite different after switching teams and coming to New York and having such a positive season going 32-8. It's been a lot of amazing basketball going on this year and makes you feel good going into the playoffs.»

Stewart narrowly edged Las Vegas' A'ja Wilson by one vote from the 12-member media. Alyssa Thomas was third in voting. Stewart and Wilson finished one-two in the balloting last year with the Aces' star winning the league's MVP award.

The WNBA will announce its awards over the course of the postseason which begins Wednesday. The league MVP will be announced on Sept. 26.

«We're at a special place in women's basketball when there are so many great players doing so many great things every single night,» said Stewart, who is the first three-time winner of the award since voting began in 2016.

Wilson was selected as the AP's Defensive Player of the Year for the second consecutive season, edging Thomas and Washington's Brittney Sykes. Wilson anchored the Aces' defense, averaging 2.2 blocks and 1.4 steals. Las Vegas earned the top seed in the playoffs.

Her Aces teammate Alysha Clark was chosen as