WNBA awards: A'ja Wilson, Napheesa Collier headline All-WNBA teams; Paige Bueckers makes cut as rookie

Las Vegas Aces star A'ja Wilson, the 2025 WNBA MVP and co-Defensive Player of the Year, and Minnesota Lynx star Napheesa Collier headlined the 2025 All-WNBA First Team as unanimous selections. No. 1 overall pick and Rookie of the Year Paige Bueckers of the Dallas Wings made the Second Team in her debut season. 

The All-WNBA teams were released on Friday, bringing the 2025 award announcements to a close. Players were selected without regard to position and received five points for each First Team vote and three points for each Second Team vote from a panel of 72 media voters. 

The league did not release the full voting results, so it's unclear which players did not make the cut. On a team level, the Aces (two) and Indiana Fever (two) were the only franchises with multiple players represented. The expansion Golden State Valkyies were the only playoff team not represented. 

Here are this season's honorees:

2025 All-WNBA First Team

As expected, the five finalists for MVP made up the First Team, and there was a major gap between these five and every other player. No one else even received 200 total voting points. As such, the most notable aspect of these results is the voting breakdown. 

One voter had Thomas on Second Team, which is a major surprise considering the season she put together for the Mercury -- she nearly averaged a triple-double and led the league in assists -- and the fact that she wasn't below fourth on anyone's MVP ballot. That means someone voted her at least fourth for MVP, and then put her on the Second Team, which doesn't make any logical sense in a world where All-WNBA teams are position-less. 

It's also quite stunning that Gray (three) and Mitchell (four) were left off some ballots entirely after what they did for their respective teams. Gray was seventh in the league in scoring, sixth in 3-pointers and led the Dream to a franchise-record 30 wins and the No. 3 seed. Mitchell was third in scoring and put the Fever on her back to lead them to the playoffs despite a rash of injuries. 

2025 All-WNBA Second Team

It's no surprise to see Ogwumike, Young, Ionescu and Boston on the Second Team. Ogwumike and Young, in particular, seemed like locks to make the cut after their impressive campaigns. Ionescu was expected to make it as well as the only member of the Liberty's Big Three not to miss significant time this season, and Boston's sixth-place MVP finish suggested she would be be honored. 

The big question heading into Friday was whether Bueckers would make it. Bueckers had an incredible individual season. She finished fifth in scoring and ninth in assists, and tied the rookie single-game scoring record with 44 points. However, her Wings finished in last place at 10-34. While their poor record wasn't Bueckers' fault, it's rare for players from last-place squads to make an All-WNBA team. In the end, enough voters determined that Bueckers' impressive campaign was too hard to overlook.