A’ja Wilson just became the first player in WNBA history to win five MVP awards. She celebrated by refusing to celebrate.

Speaking Thursday afternoon, moments after commissioner Cathy Engelbert handed her a phone carrying a congratulatory message from former Vice President Kamala Harris, Wilson got emotional about what the milestone means.

“This one here is just a little bit different,” Wilson said. “As a girl, you dream so big, and you write your goals out, and you just never imagine that you will be able to check them off. That’s why I cried harder on this one.”

It was no surprise, really. Wilson earned 65 of 74 first-place votes, with nine second-place votes — a runaway. Her fifth MVP comes after a season in which she remained the engine of a Las Vegas Aces team chasing another championship.

But not everyone got the news early. Miami Heat star Bam Adebayo, Wilson’s boyfriend, knew about the fifth MVP before the announcement — and kept it a secret. “Admire greatness,” he said of keeping the news under wraps.

Then came the part that showed exactly who Wilson is. The Aces planned a pregame ceremony Friday night before Game 3 of their semifinal series against the Golden State Valkyries, the traditional moment when the MVP receives the trophy in front of the home crowd. Wilson said no.

“I love the fans, but I will not be doing that,” Wilson said. “I will be warming up with my team.”

It is hard to argue with her priorities. The Aces entered Friday down 2-0 in the best-of-five series to the second-year Valkyries, after dropping Game 1 71-60 and Game 2 83-81 at Chase Center. The defending champions were facing elimination on their own floor — trophy ceremonies could wait.

Las Vegas finished the regular season 31-13, third in the Western Conference, and Wilson carried them all year. Whether the Aces can survive the weekend depends on whether the rest of the team can match the standard she set on Thursday: focus, sacrifice, and one obsession above everything else.

Winning.