A’ja Wilson stood atop the WNBA again in 2025, winning an unprecedented fourth MVP as her Las Vegas Aces earned a third championship in four seasons.

For that, she earned The Associated Press Female Athlete of the Year on Wednesday for the first time in her career. It’s the second consecutive year a basketball player won the award after Caitlin Clark was honored in 2024.

Wilson is only the fifth basketball player to be honored as the Female Athlete of the Year since it was first presented in 1931, joining Sheryl Swoopes (1993), Rebecca Lobo (1995), Candace Parker (2008, 2021) and Clark.

A group of 47 sports journalists from the AP and its members voted. Wilson received 17 votes, tennis star Aryna Sabalenka was second with nine and Paige Bueckers was third with five.

Practice squad for NFL refs?

The NFL is seeking to create a practice squad of officials and wants postseason assignments to be based on performance rather than seniority.

Those were among the key points league executive Troy Vincent emphasized to owners in a virtual meeting on Wednesday.

The league and the NFL Referees Association have been negotiating a new collective bargaining agreement since the summer of 2024. The current CBA expires on May 31, 2026.

So far, discussions with the game officials’ union have been unsuccessful, according to a memo that was sent to teams and obtained by The Associated Press.