People’s Choice Awards Nominees for Athlete of the Year Draw Shade From WNBA

On Thursday, the People’s Choice Awards unveiled the finalists for Athlete of the Year. Some of the nominees have raised eyebrows.

The eight finalists for the award are reigning US Open tennis champion Coco Gauff, two-time NBA MVP Giannis Antetokuonmpo, four-time NBA champion LeBron James, soccer superstar Lionel Messi, New York Liberty All-Star guard Sabrina Ionescu, Olympic gymnast Simone Biles, four-time NBA champion Stephen Curry and two-time Super Bowl champion Travis Kelce.

The Ionescu nomination, in particular, is the subject of a bit of consternation — including from one of her fellow WNBA players.

Las Vegas Aces guard Chelsea Gray, whose team knocked off Ionescu and the Liberty in last October’s WNBA Finals, tagged her teammate — two-time league MVP and reigning Finals MVP A’ja Wilson.

The People’s Choice Awards, of course, factor a person’s popularity into their nominations. That explains why Kelce, and not Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes, is on the list — the former has seen his profile rise considerably since his relationship with Taylor Swift began.

But Ionescu being the lone WNBA player on the list is definitely a curious choice.

The 26-year-old has been extremely productive throughout her four-year WNBA career, with two All-Star nods and a pair of All-WNBA Second Team appearances.

But Wilson, and Ionescu’s Liberty teammate, Breanna Stewart, are far more accomplished. Both are two-time league champions, both have won two league MVP awards and both have been named MVP of the Finals — with Stewart receiving her two honors during her time with the Seattle Storm, and Wilson being named MVP after last year’s Finals (Gray won the 2022 Finals MVP for the Aces).

That led Gray to chime in, stoking the flames of what has become a bit of a rivalry between the two teams.

Come the first Aces-Liberty regular-season matchup on June 15, we could see this mini-beef will play out on the court between the two point guards — after all, they are sure to defend each other up and down the court.