2024 Olympics: A'ja Wilson named women's basketball MVP after leading U.S. to eighth straight gold medal

Wilson was also named to the All-Star Five along with Breanna Stewart

By Jack Maloney

Aug 11, 2024 at 1:56 pm ET • 1 min read

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The United States women's national basketball team survived a major scare from France in the final of the 2024 Paris Olympics on Sunday, winning a one-point thriller to earn its eighth consecutive gold medal. The Americans did so thanks in large part to A'ja Wilson, who finished with 21 points, 13 rebounds and four blocks.

For her effort in the gold medal game, and throughout the tournament, Wilson was named MVP of the Olympics by FIBA, who released their awards shortly after the medal ceremony. Over six games in Lille and Paris, Wilson averaged 18.7 points, 10.2 rebounds and 2.7 blocks on 59.2% shooting from the field. Among all players she was third in scoring, second in rebounding and fourth in blocks, while also recording the most double-doubles (four).

THE MVP OF #Paris2024 Women's #Basketball ⭐️

A'ja Wilson, United States of America 🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/9HN4a7tDWH
— FIBA (@FIBA) August 11, 2024

This is the first Olympic MVP award for Wilson, who was also named to the All-Star Five alongside her American teammate, Breanna Stewart. Though Stewart was not at her best in the gold medal game, she was the second-best player for Team USA to that point and averaged 16.3 points, 5.3 rebounds, 2.8 assists and 1.7 blocks.

Here's a look at the full All-Star Five, along with the other award winners from the Olympics:

All-Star Five

Player	Country
Emma Meesseman	Belgium
Alanna Smith	Australia
Breanna Stewart	United States
Gabby Williams	France
A'ja Wilson	United States

Best Defensive Player: Gabby Williams, France

The WNBA veteran was France's best player in the tournament and led the country to the silver medal on home soil. She was also named to the All-Star Five and picked up the Best Defensive Player award after averaging 2.8 steals per game and playing stifling perimeter defense.

Rising Star: Jade Melbourne, Australia

Australia beat Belgium for the bronze medal on Sunday thanks in part to seven assists from 21-year-old point guard Jade Melbourne. She averaged seven points and 2.8 assists for the tournament, but had a few big games, including an 18-point, five-rebound, four-assist showing in the quarterfinals versus Serbia.

Best Coach: Rene Wakama, Nigeria

Nigeria began their Olympics by upsetting Australia in their first group stage game, which helped them become the first African team, men or women, to qualify for the knockout rounds. Though they ultimately lost to the United States in the quarterfinals, this was an impressive tournament for the Nigerians, who were led by coach Rene Wakama.