"Yeah, I'm messy": South Carolina's Dawn Staley challenges A'ja Wilson's snubber to reveal identity

Dawn Staley doesn't seem to have gotten over a snub of her talented protégé A'Ja Wilson in the 2023 WNBA MVP race. Although a year has passed, Staley refuses to leave Wilson's loss in the past, voicing her lingering frustrations on social media on Thursday.

Just over a week after visiting the White House with her NCAA champion South Carolina Gamecocks, Staley called out the only individual who gave Wilson a fourth-place vote.

"Let’s see if the last season’s 4th place voter reveals herself/himself with a 2nd, 3rd or another 4th place vote this season…..yeah I’m messy," Staley tweeted

Wilson was named the 2022 WNBA MVP following a stellar season for the Las Vegas Aces in which they won their first league title. In 2023, she was engaged in a tight battle with Breanna Stewart and Alyssa Thomas for the honor.

The MVP race is determined by 60 voters, with 10 points given for a first-place vote, seven for a second-place vote, five for a third-place vote, three for a fourth-place vote and one for a fifth-place vote.

Wilson was touted by many to take home her third MVP award last year. Although most voters rotated those three players in the voting process, she was the only one of the three to land a fourth-place vote.

Wilson finished third, with 433 points, landing 17 first-place votes. Breanna Stewart, the winner, had 20 first-place votes and 446 points, while Alyssa Thomas finished second with 23 first-place votes and 439 points.

Dawn Staley's protégé, A'ja Wilson, emerging as a clear favorite for the 2024 WNBA MVP

A'ja Wilson has underlined her credentials to take the MVP title home yet again this season, leading the Aces. With the season concluding on Thursday night, she averages 26.9 points, 11.9 rebounds and 2.6 blocks. Her shooting percentages of 51.8% from the field, 31.8% from 3-point range and 84.4% from the free-throw line further highlight the threat she is.

Las Vegas Aces star A'ja Wilson is a favorite to win the 2024 WNBA MVP.

Current projections for the 2024 WNBA MVP race all point toward Wilson winning the honor for the third time in her career. The only uncertainty lies around whether she can win the title unanimously. Should she do so, she would become the first player since Houston Comets icon Cynthia Cooper in 1997.

Wilson, who has been instrumental to the Aces' changing fortunes in recent years, will look to make them the only team apart from the Comets to do a three-peat of the WNBA title this season.