WNBA End-of-Season Awards: MVP, DPOY, and all of our picks

WNBA awards are being unveiled this week — so we wanted to share who we voted for here at SB Nation.

For the past week, we’ve been putting out our picks and explanations, but here are all the picks in full:

MVP: A’ja Wilson, Las Vegas Aces

When Wilson has been off the floor this season, the Aces have been outscored by 15.2 points per game. And when she’s been on the floor, the Aces have outscored opponents by 11.7 points per game.

That’s a 26.9 point per game swing.

It’s the highest in the WNBA (among high-minute rotation players), and it’s honestly one of the most ridiculous stats I’ve come across this year.

Wilson has the highest win-shares (9.5) of any player in the league, as well as the highest offensive win-shares (6.2) and defensive win-shares (3.3), per Basketball Reference.

Defensive Player of the Year: Alanna Smith, Minnesota Lynx

Collier, a DPOY candidate herself, made Smith’s case after the Lynx’s playoff opener on Sunday, per Andrew Dukowitz.

“She’s so impactful — I mean, I think she’s the Defensive Player of the Year,” Collier said. “The way that she is able to guard post players, guards… just the impact she has on the defensive end is so huge and crucial for our team… she’s our anchor.”

The numbers back it up: Smith has the third-highest block percentage in the league (53%) and the 9th-highest steal percentage (24.7%).

And, per WNBA analyst Nekias Duncan, only three WNBA players contested at least 100 shots at the rim, while holding opponents to under 50% on those shots: Alanna Smith (137 shots defended, holding opponents to 46%), A’ja Wilson (170 shots defended, holding opponents to 47.1%), and Ezi Magbegor (169 shots defended, holding opponents to 47.9%).

Most Improved Player: Veronica Burton, Golden State Valkyries

Veronica Burton is my selection for the WNBA’s Most Improved Player — and it was an easy choice. She’s actually the most improved player we’ve seen in a while. And, she’s one of the WNBA’s most impactful two-way guards.

To put it plainly: in one season, the Golden State Valkyries guard went from a borderline WNBA player (who was waived from the Dallas Wings last June) to a borderline WNBA All-Star.

Last season, playing for the Connecticut Sun, Burton averaged 3.1 points, 1.9 assists, and 1.4 rebounds. She shot 36% from the field and finished the season with a 54.4 true shooting percentage (TS%). After the season, she wasn’t one of the six players the Sun protected from being selected in the Valkyries’ expansion draft, and as such, she began her fourth WNBA season in Golden State.

This season, as the Valkyries’ starting point guard, Burton has averaged 12 points, 6 assists, and 4.4 rebounds. Typically, as shot attempts increase, players’ efficiency goes down, but Burton’s efficiency has actually improved — she shot 39.3% from the field (a 3.3% increase) and finished with a 56.8 TS% (a 2.4% increase). And, Burton has done this while leading a brand-new team to the playoffs and often being responsible for guarding opposing teams’ top guards.

Sixth Player of the Year: Natisha Hiedeman, Minnesota Lynx

Natisha Hiedeman’s national popularity has skyrocketed this season; the Minnesota Lynx guard serves as one-half of the popular Stud Budz Twitch streaming duo that has captivated the world.

But as massive as Hiedeman’s year has been off the floor (who could have projected she’d be sharing a Vogue cover with good friend Courtney Williams in 2025?), what she’s done on the floor has been equally remarkable.

Hiedeman has averaged 8.8 points and 2.8 assists for the Lynx across 43 games this season — she’s shooting 48.5% from the field and 36.1% from three. And, there have been times where her play has been so strong that she’s closed out games over Williams, an All-Star in her own right.

Earlier this month, she tallied at least 20 points in three consecutive games, recording a career-high 24 points in a win over the Golden State Valkyries last Saturday.

Coach of the Year: Natalie Nakase, Golden State Valkyries

No one expected the Golden State Valkyries to make the playoffs.

ESPN projected the Valkyries to be the worst team in the WNBA.

The Athletic projected they’d be the third-worst.

But those projections were way off. Instead, Golden State is on track to finish the season with the league’s 6th-best record, securing a playoff spot with a week to spare. It’s a better record than the Seattle Storm, who are headlined by veteran All-Stars like Skylar Diggins, Nneka Ogwumike, and Gabby Williams. It’s a better record than the Kelsey Plum-led Los Angeles Sparks, and the Kelsey Mitchell and Aliyah-Boston led Indiana Fever.

The success has come despite the fact that their only first-round 2025 draft pick, Juste Joyce, remained overseas this season.

It’s come despite the fact that their leading scorer, Kayla Thornton, suffered a season-ending injury midway through the year.

It’s come despite the fact that they mostly whiffed in free agency, securing only one big name (Tiffany Hayes).

And, though we’ll never be able to pinpoint exactly why Golden State has outplayed so many other teams this season, much of the credit has to go to their thoroughly prepared head coach, Natalie Nakase.

Rookie of the Year: Paige Bueckers, Dallas Wings

After years in the public eye, Paige Bueckers entered the WNBA with sky-high expectations, as a consensus No. 1 pick fresh off a national title.

And, five months removed from draft night, it’s safe to say that Bueckers has exceeded all of those expectations, save for team success.

This season, Bueckers has averaged 19.1 points, 5.3 assists, 3.8 rebounds, and 1.6 steals per game. Her scoring average is the 7th-highest in WNBA history among rookies, and the 5th-highest in the WNBA this season.

Her 56% true shooting (which accounts for two-point and three-point shots as well as free throws) is higher than veteran WNBA guards like Sabrina Ionescu, Skylar Diggins, and Courtney Williams, among dozens of others.

It’s incredibly unusual to come in as a highly-touted rookie guard, carry the offensive load, and be efficient while doing so; Kelsey Plum, who was the NCAA’s all-time leading scorer when she was drafted, averaged 8.5 points on 34.6% shooting as a rookie. Sabrina Ionescu missed most of her rookie season with an ankle sprain, but averaged 11.7 points on 37.9% shooting in her subsequent first full season.

Bueckers’ 19.1 points on 47.4% shooting blows those seasons out of the water.

Last month, Bueckers tied the WNBA record for most points in a single game by a rookie, exploding for 44 points on 17-21 shooting. Before Bueckers, no WNBA player has ever taken more than 20 shots in a game and missed four or fewer.

All-WNBA

First Team: Kelsey Mitchell (Indiana Fever), Allisha Gray (Atlanta Dream), Napheesa Collier (Minnesota Lynx), A’ja Wilson (Las Vegas Aces), Alyssa Thomas (Phoenix Mercury)

Second Team: Paige Bueckers (Dallas Wings), Nneka Ogwumike (Seattle Storm), Jackie Young (Las Vegas Aces), Aliyah Boston (Indiana Fever), Breanna Stewart (New York Liberty)

All-Defense

First Team: Napheesa Collier (Lynx), Alanna Smith (Lynx), A’ja Wilson (Aces), Gabby Williams (Storm),
Alyssa Thomas (Mercury)

Second Team: Breanna Stewart (Liberty), Veronica Burton (Valkyries), Rhyne Howard (Dream), Ezi Magbegor (Storm), Monique Akoa Makani (Mercury).

All-Rookie Team: Paige Bueckers (Wings), Sonia Citron (Washington Mystics), Kiki Iriafen (Mystics), Janelle Salaun (Valkyries), Monique Akoa Makani (Mercury).

Sportsmanship Award: Saniya Rivers, Connecticut Sun