Las Vegas Aces forward A’ja Wilson was named the WNBA’s Most Valuable Player, the league announced on Thursday.
The WNBA also named Minnesota Lynx guard Crystal Dangerfield and Cheryl Reeve as the recipients of the league’s Rookie and Coach of the Year Awards, respectively.
Wilson, 24, received 43 of 47 first-place votes and 458 total points from a national panel of sportswriters and broadcasters. She placed second on the other four ballots.
Seattle Storm forward Breanna Stewart, the 2018 WNBA MVP, finished in second place with 308 points (three first-place votes). Los Angeles Sparks forward-center Candace Parker, was third with 219 points, followed by Chicago Sky guard Courtney Vandersloot (135 points; one first-place vote) and Lynx forward Napheesa Collier (36 points).
Wilson averaged 20.5 points, 8.5 rebounds, 2.0 assists, 2.0 blocked shots and 1.23 steals in 31.7 minutes per game this season.
Dangerfield, who received 44 of 47 votes for the rookie award, led the Lynx in average scoring (16.2) and assists (3.6) in her first season since being selected in the second round of the WNBA Draft out of UConn. She was the lowest draft pick to win the award.
Atlanta Dream guard Chennedy Carter, the fourth overall draft pick, was second with two votes. Dallas Wings forward Satou Sabally, the No. 2 draft pick, was third with one vote.
Reeve won the WNBA Coach of the Year Award for the third time after guiding Minnesota to a 14-8 record and its 10th consecutive playoff appearance. She won the award in both 2011 and 2016.
Las Vegas’ Bill Laimbeer was second in voting, while Los Angeles’ Derek Fisher and Washington’s Mike Thibault tied for third.
–Field Level Media
