The Women's National Basketball Association Most Valuable Player (MVP) is an annual Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) award given since the league's inaugural season in 1997. MVP voting takes place immediately following the regular season. The award recipient is decided by a panel of sportswriters and broadcasters throughout the United States. Panel members were asked to select their top five choices for the award, with 10 points being awarded for a first place vote, seven for second, five for third, three for fourth and one for fifth.
In 2008, fans could also have a say in who won the award. Fans were able to vote online for their top five MVP picks. These selections accounted for 25% of the total vote, while the media panel's selections accounted for the other 75%.
Sheryl Swoopes, Lisa Leslie and Lauren Jackson have won the award the most times, with three selections each. Two players have won the award with different franchises—Elena Delle Donne in 2015 with the Chicago Sky and 2019 with the Washington Mystics, and Breanna Stewart in 2018 with the Seattle Storm and 2023 with the New York Liberty. Cynthia Cooper, Candace Parker, and A'ja Wilson have also won the award twice.
Candace Parker is the only player to win Rookie of the Year and MVP in the same season—2008.
Jackson, both born and trained in Australia, is the only award winner trained outside the United States.
The sculptor of the WNBA MVP Award is Marc Mellon, who is also the sculptor of the NBA MVP Trophy.
Winners edit
| ^ | Denotes player who is still active in the WNBA |
| * | Inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame |
| † | Inducted into the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame |
| Denotes player whose team won championship that year | |
| Player (X) | Denotes the number of times the player has been named MVP |
| Team (X) | Denotes the number of times a player from this team has won |
Multi-time winners edit
Teams edit
See also edit
References edit
- "WNBA MVP Award - Marc Mellon Sculpture Studio". Retrieved January 18, 2022.
- "WNBA MVP". Retrieved January 19, 2009.