Now that we are about a quarter of the way through the WNBA regular season, the players who will be making their case for the 2025 WNBA Most Valuable Player award are becoming increasingly clear.
Leading the pack without a doubt is the Minnesota Lynx's Napheesa Collier. The 2024 MVP runner-up picked up right where she left off last season as arguably the game's best two-way player, while also increasing her statistical scoring output in a massive way to 26.1 points per game from last year's 20.4. "MVPhee" being crowned looks more likely by the game, but it is certainly too early to make any crowning decision.
Another player with a case to make is the Indiana Fever's Caitlin Clark who has returned to the lineup and immediately caught fire against the Liberty in her return with 32 points and a near triple-double. Clark has played in only five out of the ten games for Indiana so far this season, but the struggles with her out could play into a potential MVP storyline. Nothing shows your value more than how a team struggles without you.
The dark horse MVP candidate
While Collier and Clark are likely the top two candidates as of today, there is one player who is having the best season of her career that has not received the attention those two have. The Atlanta Dream's Allisha Gray.
Through 11 games for the Dream so far this season, Gray is averaging a career high in points (21 PPG), rebounds (5.5 RPG), and assists (4.5 APG). Her jump coincides with her prioritization amongst her teammates in addition to the system ran by Head Coach Karl Smesko who is in his first year leading Atlanta.
Gray has certainly been given scoring responsibilities in the past, especially since being traded to Atlanta from Dallas in 2023, but this year there is finally a scheme to get her shots.
The additions of bigs Brittney Griner and Bri Jones draws so much attention down low that Gray, the reigning WNBA Three-Point Contest champion, is now shooting some of the easiest shots of her career. Her rise in field goal percentage reflects that taking a massive leap from 40.3% to 51.4%, and Gray's three point percentage going from 34.2% to 41.8%, her first time above 40% from deep since 2022 in Dallas.
While Gray doesn't have the momentum from last season like Napheesa Collier or the flashy moments of Caitlin Clark, her play has Atlanta operating at some of the highest levels the franchise has seen in years. It will take some statement moments and wins to truly start building a case for MVP, but her play absolutely is deserving of recognition and being in the conversation.