List of winners
Player was a member of the winning team in the WNBA Finals
Player was a member of the losing team in the WNBA Finals
† WNBA Finals MVP
The Best WNBA Player ESPY Award is an award given at the ESPY Awards show. It has been presented annually since 1998 to the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) player who has been voted the best in the preceding year before the ceremony. Beginning in 2003, the winner has been chosen by online voting, [1] [2] before that, determination of the winners was made by an panel of experts. [3]
The inaugural winner was Cynthia Cooper, who would go on to win three consecutive awards. Candace Parker has won the award a record four times, while Lauren Jackson, Lisa Leslie and Diana Taurasi have won the award three times. Only Cooper and Taurasi had their three wins in consecutive years. All winners other than Jackson, who is Australian, have been American. Winners have played all five of the standard Basketball positions, the most honored position is power forward, players playing power forward have won eight awards. The award wasn't awarded in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Player was a member of the winning team in the WNBA Finals
Player was a member of the losing team in the WNBA Finals
† WNBA Finals MVP
The Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) is the premier women's professional basketball league. It is composed of 12 teams, all based in the United States. The league was founded on April 22, 1996, as the women's counterpart to the National Basketball Association (NBA), and league play started in 1997. The regular season is played from May to September, with the All Star game being played midway through the season in July and the WNBA Finals at the end of September until the beginning of October.
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.
The Women's National Basketball Association's Defensive Player of the Year Award is an annual Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) award given since the league's inaugural season -- 1997, to the top defensive player of the regular season. The winner is selected by a panel of sportswriters and broadcasters throughout the United States, each of whom casts a vote for first, second and third place selections. Each first-place vote is worth five points; each second-place vote is worth three points; and each third-place vote is worth one point. The player with the highest point total, regardless of the number of first-place votes, wins the award.
Diana Lorena Taurasi is an American professional basketball player for the Phoenix Mercury of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA).
Suzanne Brigit Bird is an American former professional basketball player who played her entire career with the Seattle Storm of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). Bird was drafted by the Storm first overall in the 2002 WNBA draft and is considered to be one of the greatest players in WNBA history. As of 2021, Bird is the only WNBA player to win titles in three different decades. She held a front office position for the NBA's Denver Nuggets as their Basketball Operations Associate. She has also played for three teams in the Russia league; and also has dual citizenship, with both U.S. and Israel.
Candace Nicole Parker nicknamed "Ace", is an American former professional basketball player. Widely regarded as one of the greatest WNBA players of all time, she was selected as the first overall pick in the 2008 WNBA draft by the Los Angeles Sparks. She spent 13 seasons on the Sparks, two seasons with the Chicago Sky, and one season with the Las Vegas Aces, winning a championship with each team.
Elena Delle Donne is an American professional basketball player for the Washington Mystics of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). Delle Donne played college basketball for the Delaware Blue Hens from 2009 to 2013. She was drafted by the Chicago Sky with the second overall pick of the 2013 WNBA draft, and led the Sky to the 2014 WNBA Finals, where they were defeated by the Phoenix Mercury. Delle Donne was traded to the Washington Mystics in 2017 and led them to their first WNBA championship in 2019.
Maya April Moore is an American social justice advocate and former professional basketball player. Naming her their inaugural Performer of the Year in 2017, Sports Illustrated called Moore the "greatest winner in the history of women's basketball". Moore was selected for the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame in 2024.
The ESPY Award for Best College Athlete, Men's Sports, known before 2021 as the Best Male College Athlete ESPY Award, is an annual award honoring the achievements of a male individual from the world of collegiate sports. It was first presented as part of the ESPY Awards in 2002, following the subsumption of the Best College Football Player and Best Male College Basketball Player ESPY Awards, each of which had been presented annually between 1993 and 2001, inclusive. The award trophy, designed by sculptor Lawrence Nowlan, is awarded to the sportsman adjudged to be the best in a given calendar year of those contesting collegiate sport in the United States through the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA).
The ESPY Award for Best College Athlete, Women's Sports, known before 2021 as the Best Female College Athlete ESPY Award, is an annual award honoring the achievements of a female individual from the world of collegiate sports. It was first presented as part of the ESPY Awards in 2002, following the subsumption of the Best Female College Basketball Player ESPY Award, which was presented annually between the 1993 and 2001 ceremonies, inclusive. The award trophy, designed by sculptor Lawrence Nowlan, is awarded to the sportswoman adjudged to be the best in a given calendar year of those contesting collegiate sport in the United States through the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). Since the 2004 awards, the winner has been chosen by online voting through three to five nominees selected by the ESPN Select Nominating Committee. Before that, determination of the winners was made by an panel of experts. Through the 2001 iteration of the ESPY Awards, ceremonies were conducted in February of each year to honor achievements over the previous calendar year; awards presented thereafter are conferred in July and reflect performance from the June previous.
The Women's National Basketball Association Peak Performer Awards are given each year to players who lead the WNBA in scoring, rebounding, and assists. The award has been given since the league's inaugural season, but the honor has varied since then.
Nnemkadi Chinwe Victoria "Nneka" Ogwumike is an American professional basketball player for the Seattle Storm of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA), after being drafted No. 1 overall in the 2012 WNBA draft. Soon after being drafted, Ogwumike signed an endorsement deal with Nike. She is the older sister of Chiney Ogwumike, who most recently played for the Sparks. Ogwumike was named WNBA MVP for the 2016 WNBA season and won the WNBA Finals the same year She was named to The W25 the league's list of the top 25 players of its first 25 years, in 2021.
The UConn Huskies women's basketball team is the college basketball program representing the University of Connecticut in Storrs, Connecticut, in NCAA Division I women's basketball competition. They currently play in the Big East Conference.
Brittney Yvette Griner is an American professional basketball player for the Phoenix Mercury of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). She is a two-time Olympic gold medalist with the U.S. women's national basketball team and a six-time WNBA All-Star. She was additionally named one of the 100 most influential people in the world by Time magazine in 2023.
The Nancy Lieberman Award, named for Basketball Hall of Fame legend Nancy Lieberman, was given annually by the Rotary Club of Detroit in the Award's first 14 years to the nation's top collegiate point guard in women's Division I basketball. Sue Bird won the inaugural award in 2000, making her the first of only three players to have won three Lieberman Awards. Paige Bueckers is the first freshman to win the award in 2021, and only three players have won as sophomores —Bird in 2000; the other three-time winners, Sabrina Ionescu, in 2018; and Caitlin Clark in 2022.
The 2011 WNBA All-Star Game was played on July 23, 2011 at the AT&T Center in San Antonio, Texas, home of the San Antonio Silver Stars. The game was the 10th WNBA All-Star Game, which has been held annually since 1999 except in 2004, 2008, and 2010. This was the first time San Antonio hosted the basketball showcase, and only the second time in league history for the game to be held by a Western Conference franchise.
Breanna Mackenzie Stewart is an American professional basketball player for the New York Liberty of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) and Fenerbahçe of the Women's Basketball Super League, Euroleague Women.
The 2013 WNBA season was the 17th season of the Women's National Basketball Association. The regular season began on May 24, and playoffs concluded on October 10. The Minnesota Lynx won their second league championship, defeating the Atlanta Dream three games to none in the 2013 WNBA Finals. The year represented a positive turning point for the long-struggling league. Both attendance and television viewership were up, driven by an influx of talented rookies, multiple teams reported that they were near a break-even point, and at least one franchise announced that it was profitable.
The 2021 WNBA Finals, officially the WNBA Finals 2021 presented by YouTube TV for sponsorship reasons, was the best-of-five championship series for the 2021 season of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). The finals featured the fifth-seeded Phoenix Mercury facing off against the sixth-seeded Chicago Sky, a rematch of the 2014 Finals. The Sky defeated the Mercury in 4 games, winning their first WNBA Championship, as well as Chicago's first professional basketball championship since 1998.
