WNBA Awards Watchlist: A'ja Wilson, Caitlin Clark and more

With the regular season winding down and the playoffs just around the corner, most teams and fans have their eyes set on the WNBA Finals.  

But there is another exciting component to the regular season coming to an end — the WNBA awards and honors.

Players and coaches have fought all year to make themselves and their teams better, and some of them have become among the very best in the league. Let’s see who could be in line for each major award:

WNBA Most Valuable Player

• Frontrunner: A’ja Wilson, C, Las Vegas Aces
• Biggest challenger: Sabrina Ionescu, G, New York Liberty
• Darkhorse: Napheesa Collier, F, Minnesota Lynx
• Also considered: Breanna Stewart, F, New York Liberty

If you’ve paid attention to the W at all this year, then you know who the biggest, baddest wolf in the league is: A’ja Wilson. She continues to rewrite history with her performances night in and night out, leading the league in points, defensive rebounds, and blocks per game. Her efficiency rating is lightyears ahead of anyone else’s, and she is second in overall rebounds per game as well as third in steals. By every metric she has been the most dominant player in the league this season and she is poised to win her third MVP award. 

Sabrina Ionescu has been the main catalyst for the New York Liberty, owners of the league’s best record. She has the sixth most points and the fifth most assists in the league, and she is one of the top shooters in the game as well. She has made the second most 3-pointers in the WNBA this season and is third in free throw percentage, as well as top 10 in every major all-in-one metric. She does not have a realistic shot of dethroning Wilson, but she has put together an impressive campaign and could come away from it with a title.

Napheesa Collier has been everywhere on the leaderboards this season for one of the league’s most improved and overall best teams. She is fourth in the WNBA in both points and rebounds per game, as well as second in steals and ninth in blocks per game. With a late run by her and the Lynx, she could position herself to finish second in MVP voting and jump over Ionescu. 

WNBA Rookie of the Year

• Frontrunner: Caitlin Clark, G, Indiana Fever
• Biggest challenger: Angel Reese, F, Chicago Sky
• Darkhorse: Kamilla Cardoso, C, Chicago Sky
• Also considered: Rickea Jackson, G, Los Angeles Sparks

The WNBA has had a banner year, and that is in large part due to the stardom of this year’s rookie class. These special athletes are all deserving of honors, but only one can come away with the WNBA Rookie of the Year Award. Obviously, that player will be Caitlin Clark.

Clark leads all rookies in points, assists, and steals per game, and is third in both rebounds and blocks. She is 10th in the entire league and points and leads the W in assists, and she is the betting favorite by every major publication and has a chance to win the award unanimously. Not much else needs to be said about the groundbreaking season she has put together.

Angel Reese has also had a record-setting rookie campaign and will likely end up by herself with the most double-doubles in a single rookie season in the league’s history, and she has a chance to set the overall WNBA record as well if she can finish strong. Reese is also second in scoring among rookies and leads the whole league in overall rebounds per game. In almost any other year she would win the award in a landslide, but she has the misfortune of being in the same class as Caitlin Clark. 

Kamilla Cardoso has put together a very solid rookie campaign as the frontcourt counterpart to Reese. She is fourth among rookies in scoring and second in rebounds per game and total blocks. She is also one of the best offensive rebounders and shot blockers in the league as well. 

WNBA Defensive Player of the Year

• Frontrunner: A’ja Wilson, C, Las Vegas Aces
• Biggest challenger: Napheesa Collier, F, Minnesota Lynx
• Darkhorse: Ezi Magbegor, F/C, Seattle Storm
• Also considered: Alanna Smith, F, Minnesota Lynx

A’ja Wilson is the back-to-back winner of the WNBA Defensive Player of the Year Award, and she has not slowed down one bit. She leads the league in blocks and defensive rebounds per game and is third in steals per game. Wilson’s ability to alter shots in the paint does not always show up on the stat sheet but has a huge impact. She could easily win both major awards and collect her third straight DPOY.

There is a legitimate argument to be made for Napheesa Collier taking home the Defensive Player of the Year Award. She has the second most steals and ninth most blocks per game, and she is the anchor of the league’s best defensive unit. It will be tough to beat out Wilson but if anyone can do it this season, it will be Collier.

Ezi Magbegor is a criminally underrated player in the league, and she is a dark horse for the DPOY Award. She is second in the league in blocks per game and averages nearly a steal and a half per game to accompany that. Magbegor is also 10th in the league in defensive rebounds per game. She is a main catalyst for the Seattle Storm’s defensive unit which is among the best in the league.

WNBA Sixth Woman of the Year

• Frontrunner: Tiffany Hayes, G, Las Vegas Aces
• Biggest challenger: Jordan Horston, F, Seattle Storm
• Darkhorse: Cheyenne Parker, F, Atlanta Dream
• Also considered: Sophie Cunningham, G, Phoenix Mercury

Tiffany Hayes came out of retirement to join Becky Hammon’s Aces squad, and she has put together an impressive campaign coming off the bench. In just 21.0 minutes per game, she has averaged 8.9 points on a 56.5 effective field goal percentage to go with 2.3 rebounds and 2.0 assists per game, in addition to 0.7 steals and 0.3 blocks. Though she spent the majority of her career as a starter, she finished third in the Sixth Woman of the Year Award voting all the way back in 2013. This year, however, she could bring home the award. 

Jordan Horston is in just her second year of professional basketball but has already made her mark as one of the premier reserves in the W. In addition to her 7.5 points per game, she also averages 4.8 rebounds, 1.9 assists, 1.6 steals and 0.7 blocks per game. Her all-around impact has been critical for the Storm in her 25.1 minutes a night, so she could easily challenge Hayes.

After an All-Star campaign in 2023, Cheyenne Parker has only started 11 of her 25 games for the Atlanta Dream. Though the Dream are not among the best teams in the league, her averages of 9.2 points, 4.8 rebounds, 1.5 assists, 0.8 steals and 0.4 blocks firmly cement her in contention for the Sixth Woman of the Year. 

WNBA Most Improved Player

• Frontrunner: DiJonai Carrington, G/F, Connecticut Sun
• Biggest challenger: Chennedy Carter, G, Chicago Sky
• Darkhorse: Maddy Siegrist, F, Dallas Wings

After not starting a game a year ago, DiJonai Carrington has started in all 28 games she has appeared in this season for the Connecticut Sun. She has increased her scoring average by over four points and nearly doubled her outputs in multiple other categories. Statistically, she has improved across the board and is a large reason why the Sun are poised for a deep postseason run. 

Chennedy Carter has been on a tear for the Chicago Sky this season after not playing the entire 2023 WNBA season. But based on her 2022 campaign with the Los Angeles Sparks, she has increased her scoring average by eight points per game, and her rebound, assist, and steal numbers are up as well. Her shooting percentage increased by five percentage points and she is, at times, the main catalyst for the Sky. When she is on, she is one of the most unstoppable guards in the entire league. 

The fact that Maddy Siegrist plays for the worst team in the league may hurt her chances of winning a major WNBA award like this, but there is a legitimate case that she is the most improved player in the entire league. Her scoring average is up to 13.2 points per game after averaging less than four points a contest last season. Her rebound, steal, and block averages have doubled this season and she went from a mere 0.2 assists a game to 1.1 a contest. She is now playing nearly 31 minutes per game as opposed to the 8.2 she played last year. She has only played in 15 games this year which may also hurt her chances, but she is likely the most improved player in the W regardless of what the awards say.

WNBA Coach of the Year

• Frontrunner: Sandy Brondello, New York Liberty
• Biggest challenger: Cheryl Reeve, Minnesota Lynx
• Darkhorse: Noelle Quinn, Seattle Storm
• Also considered: Nate Tibbetts, Phoenix Mercury

After winning a Gold Medal at the Olympics in Paris, Cheryl Reeve may continue her 2024 campaign with a Coach of the Year Award. Ranked ninth in the preseason, the Lynx won the Commissioner’s Cup and have climbed up to third in the WNBA standings, already clinching a playoff berth. Her team has the best defense in the league and several of her players have improved dramatically this season. If the Lynx finish strong she could bring home her fourth Coach of the Year Award.

While Sandy Brondello and the New York Liberty have the best record in the WNBA, voters do not always choose the coach of the best team to bring home the award. Still, she has a legitimate case considering the Liberty will likely host the entirety of the playoffs and they have the best net rating in the league. This award likely means nothing to Brondello or the Liberty, who are looking to get their first WNBA title in franchise history this season.

The Seattle Storm were the second worst team in the league last season, but Noelle Quinn led a turnaround that has the team on the brink of homecourt advantage in the playoffs. Currently fourth in the WNBA standings, the Storm could be poised for a deep post season run. After having the worst offensive rating and the 11th best overall a year ago, they rose to seventh and fourth this season, and that is in large part due to the resilience of coach Quinn and her squad.