Key Points
Bullet point summary by AI
- Our updated WNBA MVP rankings show the top five spots holding steady through two weeks of play.
- Breanna Stewart remains fifth despite struggles from long range, while Caitlin Clark's counting stats keep her in strong fourth place.
- A'ja Wilson sits comfortably ahead of the field, but a current injury threatens to complicate her path to another MVP award.
It's been two weeks since he last checked in on the WNBA MVP race and things now look...well, pretty much exactly the same.
While players like Dallas Wings forward Jessica Shepard and Atlanta Dream wing Rhyne Howard have shown a lot of good things over the past two weeks. the top five in the current MVP race looks just basically just like it has for the last month or so.
5. Breanna Stewart, New York Liberty
The betting odds right now have Breanna Stewart in a fairly distant fifth place, though she also holds a sizable edge over anyone behind her in the odds. That suggests that sportsbooks don't really view this race as one that will change much over the second half of the season, with Stewart comfortably settling into fifth place.
The biggest knock against Stewart right now continues to be her jump shooting, as she's hitting just 21.9 percent of her 3-point attempts, which ranks in the 11th percentile of WNBA players. She's been better in other parts of the court, but the fact she isn't challenging teams from the outside has been a serious concern.
Aside from that, though, Stewart has had a strong year. She remains a good inside scorer and slasher as well as a top-tier defender, and she's kept the Liberty afloat amidst a season full of injury concerns for the team's other key players.
4. Caitlin Clark, Indiana Fever
It's been a contentious season for Caitlin Clark, who, in addition to dealing with back issues all season long, has been embroiled in numerous little controversies, with the most recent being her as the subject of a letter from a group of congressmen about physicality in the league.
But don't let all those things distract you from the fact that she's played pretty well. She's top 10 in the league in points and assists per game, even if she's taking some ill-advised shot attempts.
I'm not totally convinced, especially when digging into advanced numbers, that Clark is the most impactful player in Indiana, but her counting stats are very good and the Fever are currently a playoff team. Provided this team can climb up to at least the six seed before the end of the season, voters will almost certainly give Clark the credit for that.
3. Olivia Miles, Minnesota Lynx
Olivia Miles missed a game and the Minnesota Lynx immediately lost to the WNBA's worst team. (Though two nights later, they did end up beating Connecticut with Miles still out.) That right there shows how important she is to a team that's in the battle for the No. 1 seed.
Miles has the Rookie of the Year award essentially wrapped up at the moment. I'm not sure it even matters how long she's out with her current calf injury, because she's built up a resume so good already.
Her actual MVP chances, though, take a hit with each game she misses. Catching up with the top-two players in this race requires near perfection, and with Miles sidelined, she's missing out on valuable opportunities to make her case. Still, she deserves to still be near the top of the conversation because she's been the primary driver of success for the Lynx in 2026.
2. Paige Bueckers, Dallas Wings
There's been no sophomore slump for Paige Bueckers, who has arguably been the league's most clutch player this season. She's basically improved in every way since her rookie campaign. Her points per game are up. Her efficiency is up. The only thing that's gone down has been Bueckers' steal numbers.
The on/off data really highlights how much Bueckers has impacted the court, especially on offense. The Wings have an offensive rating that's 9.2 points per 100 possessions better with Bueckers on the court than when she sits, and while the defense has been better with her off the floor, the team's overall net rating is still 3.0 points better when Bueckers is out there.
Her performance has skyrocketed her to the No. 1 spot on the "players without an MVP award who will one day win one" list. (In fact, that list might just be Bueckers at the moment, though Clark has a strong claim to be on it as well.) The only thing preventing her from taking home the MVP trophy this season? The continued existence of A'ja Wilson.
1. A'ja Wilson, Las Vegas Aces
The only thing that can realistically stop A'ja Wilson from winning another MVP award is an injury, so it's probably not great that she is currently sidelined with an ankle injury, with her timeline for return not quite clear, though it shouldn't be too long until she's back out there.
That little issues aside, how can Wilson not be considered the prohibitive favorite at this point. She leads the league in points per game and blocks per game, highlighting why she's the best player in the league on both ends of the floor. The only real knock on her is that she's averaging a career-high 2.7 turnovers per game.
There could be a theoretical point where voter exhaustion leads to Wilson losing out on an MVP award that she deserves, but the rest of the field is a little too far back for 2026 to be that year, provided she gets back on the court soon.
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