A'ja Wilson wins sixth National Player of the Year award, and it's a big one

Six down, one to go.

A'ja Wilson continued her historic streak of national player of the year honors on Saturday, claiming the Naismith Trophy presented by the Atlanta Tipoff Club.

Wilson is the first Gamecock to win the Naismith Trophy, first awarded on the women's side in 1983. Named for James Naismith, the game's inventor, it is the second-oldest national player of the year award. The oldest is the Wade Trophy, given by the Women's Basketball Coaches Association.

Wilson won the high school version of the Naismith Trophy in 2014, making her just the eighth player in the award's history to win both. Her coach, Dawn Staley, also won the award during her playing days at Virginia.

The Naismith Trophy is Wilson's sixth national player of the year honor and likely the penultimate one — the Wooden Award will be handed out on April 6, and Wilson is the overwhelming favorite after sweeping every previous award.

Here's the full list of all the honors Wilson has won this season:

▪ espnW National Player of the Year

▪ USA Today National Player of the Year

▪ Wade Trophy for National Player of the Year (WBCA)

▪ Associated Press National Player of the Year

▪ Ann Meyers Drysdale National Player of the Year (USBWA)

▪ First-Team All-American (USBWA, WBCA, AP, espnW, USA Today)

▪ Lisa Leslie Award (Best center in the country)

▪ SEC Player of the Year (Coaches, AP)

▪ SEC Co-Defensive Player of the Year

▪ SEC Tournament Most Outstanding Player

This story was originally published March 31, 2018 at 1:24 PM with the headline "A'ja Wilson wins sixth National Player of the Year award, and it's a big one."