WNBA MVP ladder 1.0: Can A’ja Wilson or Alyssa Thomas challenge the favored Napheesa Collier?

Taking on the vibe of some sort of fame monster (à la the Lady Gaga album), the Caitlin Clark hype machine convinced Vegas sportsbooks to put Clark as the MVP favorite entering this WNBA season despite A’ja Wilson being in her prime and coming off the greatest individual season in league history. Napheesa Collier, also in her prime, finished second in MVP voting last year and was WNBA general managers’ pick to take home the award in 2025.

Clark has played in just nine of 17 Indiana Fever games so far, but, if she returns relatively soon, she should still be in MVP discussions at the end of the season. That doesn’t mean we should just hand her the award. In my last power rankings, shortly after she had an amazing performance in a 14-point win over the New York Liberty, it was conceivable that she would indeed give Collier a run for her money in the MVP race, despite her injury absence. Now, she is dealing with another injury absence and has converted on just one of her last 23 3-point attempts.

So, here is Swish Appeal’s first MVP ladder of the season, with no extra or lesser favor given based on team record, as is my style. I think the MVP should be given to the player with the best individual season. How much they impact winning is given consideration, but simply being on a team with a better record isn’t.

1) Napheesa Collier, Minnesota Lynx, All-Star Captain

Five main stats combined (assists count x1.5): 41.6; Games: 14; FG/3PT/FT: 52.5/37.7/94.7; TOV: 2.4

Photo by Ellen Schmidt/Getty Images

Collier is widely considered the clear MVP frontrunner, and, while she barely comes out ahead of A’ja Wilson when totaling the five main statistical categories, her historically-strong efficiency catapults her far above Wilson. Before a 1-for-5 effort from 3 Thursday night, she was on pace for the second 50/40/90 season in WNBA history, with the first being accomplished by Elena Delle Donne with the Washington Mystics in 2019. Collier’s 3-point percentage was barely hanging on; it only met the criteria if you rounded up, and now it’s down to 37.7. It’s still very impressive though and impressive for her, as it’s her best since shooting 40.8 percent in the Wubble, and that was on 0.9 makes per game. She’s now making a career-best 1.4 per contest.

2) A’ja Wilson, Las Vegas Aces, All-Star Starter

Five main stats combined (assists count x1.5): 41.2; Games: 14; FG/3PT/FT: 44.3/19/85.7; TOV: 2.7

Photo by David Becker/NBAE via Getty Images

Wilson’s Aces have struggled and may be in for a tough battle down the stretch of the season just to make the playoffs. On the other hand, they still have time to turn things around and make the playoffs easily. I thought Michael Voepel put it well in this tweet:

Wilson “is embracing leading them through it.” This is a player who wants to go down as a top three player in the history of the W. This is an assassin. You’re not going to find someone with more heart. One more MVP and she’ll stand alone with the most all-time. She’s putting up the averages to be in the mix, including career highs in assists and steals. She just has to improve her efficiency if she wants to get anywhere near Phee.

3) Alyssa Thomas, Phoenix Mercury, Hopeful All-Star Reserve

Five main stats combined (assists count x1.5): 37.7; Games: 13; FG/3PT/FT: 52.5/0/69.1, TOV: 3.1

Photo by Jeremy Chen/Getty Images

Can AT extend her streak of top five MVP finishes to four seasons in a row? I expected her to finish top three and she is quietly having the third-best season in the W. At times, Clark has seemed destined to own the assists per game title for the next 10 years in a row, and Thomas deserves a lot of credit for currently leading Clark (and everyone) in that category with a career-best 9.4. That’s on pace for the second-highest single-season average in league history behind only Courtney Vandersloot’s 10 for the Chicago Sky in the Wubble. Thomas has two 15-assist games to her credit this season. Meanwhile, her 14.3 points per game is higher than when she finished fifth in MVP voting last year and when she finished fourth in 2022. Once again, people aren’t talking about her enough. Some might even think Satou Sabally has been the best player on the Mercury this year. It’s been Thomas.

4) Caitlin Clark, Indiana Fever, All-Star Captain

Five main stats combined (assists count x1.5): 38.9; Games: 9; FG/3PT/FT: 39/29.5/81.6; TOV: 5.9

Photo by David Dow/NBAE via Getty Images

Clark comes out ahead of Thomas in the main statistical categories added up, but I had to take into consideration that she’s played in four fewer games, has committed 2.8 more turnovers per game and is shooting under 40 percent from the field. I feel like she has a better chance than Thomas of moving up to second or first on this list, though. That’s because she’s certainly capable of averaging far more than 18.2 points per game. I mean, don’t we all expect to see Clark, eventually, be in the mid-20s year in and year out? And I say that seriously; I’m not mocking those who have already crowned her the greatest player to ever play the game. I think her rebounds (five) and assists (8.9) per game will be higher by the end of this season as well. And hopefully her 3-point percentage will rise back to the mid-30s, where it was last year.

5) Allisha Gray, Atlanta Dream, All-Star Starter

Five main stats combined (assists count x1.5): 32.4; Games: 18 ; FG/3PT/FT: 45.6/41.5/82.4; TOV: 1.7

Photo by Andrew J. Clark/ISI Photos/ISI Photos via Getty Images

It’s a close call from No. 5 all the way down to No. 10 on this ladder, in my opinion, and even extending to some honorable mentions after 10. I have Gray leaping over quite a few players who lead her in main stats combined.

The Dream are contending. They’re tied for fourth place at 11-7 and are only 1.5 games out of second place. Gray is driving their success. Rhyne Howard is their next-best player; she’s among the league leaders in main stats combined, but very inefficient. Meanwhile, Gray is shooting a great field goal percentage for a guard, a very good free throw percentage and a phenomenal 3-point percentage. Her 41.5 percent from downtown is 11th in the league, and she has at least seven more makes than every player above her. Plus, she’s taking care of the ball with just 1.7 turnovers per contest.

6) Paige Bueckers, Dallas Wings, All-Star Starter

Five main stats combined (assists count x1.5): 34.4; Games: 14; FG/3PT/FT: 47.5/34.8/86.7; TOV: 2.3

Photo by Stacy Revere/Getty Images

I was someone who said Bueckers might not be an All-Star this year (not even a reserve), and look how high I have her on this list! Her play in college left me wondering if she could be a superstar at the next level or just a star. Was she going to be explosive enough to jump off the screen against faster and stronger competition?

Well, she has proven to be not only the distributor we expected her to be, but also a high-volume scorer who is eighth in the league with 18.7 points per game. Her already phenomenal field goal percentage rose Thursday night, as did her 3-point percentage. Her better 3-point and free throw clips, as well as her having the same amount of turnovers per game despite being a guard, gave her the edge over the player below.

7) Breanna Stewart, New York Liberty, All-Star Starter

Five main stats combined (assists count x1.5): 35.2; Games: 17; FG/3PT/FT: 50/20.8/82.3; TOV: 2.3

Photo by Adam Hagy/NBAE via Getty Images

It’s the same old Stewie in a lot of ways, and perhaps I’m being too hard on her. But the differences are in her career-low 6.5 rebounds per game (1.1 below her previous low) and her glaring career-low 20.8 percent clip from downtown (8.7 below). The latter is with 0.6 makes per game (0.6 below). I didn’t give her the team-success bump; most voters (I’m not one of them this year) will. A lot of Liberty fans are probably going to be mad that she and Sabrina Ionescu did not fare well on this list. Perhaps I should have shown a little more respect for the league’s third-leading scorer (20.5 points per game), who is averaging close to a career high in assists with 3.7. But I’m very impressed with Gray and Bueckers, and that’s nothing against Stewie. In some previous seasons, Stewart, a two-time MVP, was the overwhelming winner when looking at main stats added up. I truly used to believe she was the best player in the world.

8) Skylar Diggins, Seattle Storm, Hopeful All-Star Reserve

Five main stats combined (assists count x1.5): 31.5; Games: 18; FG/3PT/FT: 45.6/42/80; TOV: 2.6

Photo by Alika Jenner/Getty Images

Diggins has received MVP votes in four separate seasons; her best finish has been sixth place (2022). At age 34 (she’ll be 35 by the end of the regular season), she’s at it again as the oldest player on this list. You’re not going to find someone with more competitive fire. She had some people, including me, scratching their heads when she said coming into this season that the 2025 Storm were the most talented team she’d ever been a part of. Yet, they have indeed shown flashes of championship potential—they handed Minnesota their only loss with Phee until the Commissioner’s Cup championship game. And all the while, Diggins has been excelling; she’s 10th in the league in scoring with 18.5 points per game and fifth in distributing with 5.9 helpers.

Diggins’ 3-point success has varied considerably over the course of her career and had been below 30 percent in her two most recent seasons (2024 and 2022), so I wasn’t expecting much efficiency from her in that department this year. Yet, here she is shooting 42 percent. That gave her the edge over Kelsey Plum on this list. However, some will argue that Nneka Ogwumike should be Seattle’s representative on here instead.

9) Kelsey Plum, Los Angeles Sparks, Hopeful All-Star Reserve

Five main stats combined (assists count x1.5): 33.5; Games: 17; FG/3PT/FT: 37.3/32.5/90.3; TOV: 3.4

Photo by Juan Ocampo/NBAE via Getty Images

Plum’s main stat score is bolstered by her 20.1 points per game (fourth in the league), 5.7 assists (seventh) and 1.4 steals (19th). Her endurance should not be overlooked; she leads the league in minutes per game (35.9).

She actually finished third in MVP voting with Wilson (the winner that year) on her team. It’s quite impressive any time teammates can both finish that high. Now that she is the best player in LA, I have her ninth. Her averages are up from that 2022 season in every category except points, which is only 0.1 lower. But her 3-point shooting is a career-low 32.5 percent. In 2022, it was at 42 percent with a career-best 3.1 makes. 32.5 percent isn’t that bad, but it made a difference when I was splitting hairs on this list.

Overall, I think the Sparks have to be happy with what KP has provided. The team is struggling, but Plum is the Batman we expected her to be—and there was never really any doubt that she would be considering she’s a former top three MVP finisher. I’m sure she’s more concerned with getting more wins than climbing up this list.

10) Aliyah Boston, Indiana Fever, All-Star Starter

Five main stats combined (assists count x1.5): 31.5; Games: 17; FG/3PT/FT: 60.3/25/74.5, TOV: 1.5

Photo by David Dow/NBAE via Getty Images

Boston is averaging 3.5 assists per game—impressive for a center. She’s also sixth in the league with 8.1 boards per game and tied for eighth with 1.2 blocks to go along with her 16.2 points (17th). The main reason she made this ladder is because of her comfortable league lead in field goal percentage (60.3 percent, 4.2 ahead of second-place Kamilla Cardoso of the Sky).

Boston received the Clark bump in All-Star voting, finishing second in the fan vote for frontcourt players, when really she should have finished lower. But give her credit for the season she is having. At times, she has played like a superstar, not just a star, and it’s only her third season. Don’t look now, but how about the Fever being the only team to get two players on this list? Maybe Clark-Boston is already the best duo in the league?