| Women's National Basketball Association awards and honors |
|---|
| Championship |
| Commissioner's Cup Champions |
| Individual awards |
| Honors |
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.
Tamika Catchings has won the defensive player of the year award more times than any other player with the record of 5. [1]
| Denotes player who is still active in the WNBA | |
| Inducted into the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame | |
| Inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame | |
| Denotes player whose team won championship that year | |
| Player (X) | Denotes the number of times the player has won |
| Team (X) | Denotes the number of times a player from this team has won |
| Awards | Player | Team(s) | Years |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5 | Tamika Catchings | Indiana Fever | 2005, 2006, 2009, 2010, 2012 |
| 4 | Sylvia Fowles | Chicago Sky / Minnesota Lynx | 2011, 2013, 2016, 2021 |
| 3 | Sheryl Swoopes | Houston Comets | 2000, 2002, 2003 |
| 2 | Teresa Weatherspoon | New York Liberty | 1997, 1998 |
| Lisa Leslie | Los Angeles Sparks | 2004, 2008 | |
| Brittney Griner | Phoenix Mercury | 2014, 2015 | |
| Alana Beard | Los Angeles Sparks | 2017, 2018 | |
| A'ja Wilson | Las Vegas Aces | 2022, 2023 |
The Minnesota Lynx are an American professional basketball team based in Minneapolis, playing in the Western Conference in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). The team won the WNBA title in 2011, 2013, 2015, and 2017.
The Indiana Fever are an American professional basketball team based in Indianapolis. The Fever compete in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) a member of the Eastern Conference. The team was founded before the 2000 season began. The team is owned by Herb Simon, the founder of Simon Property Group, who also owns the Fever's NBA counterpart, the Indiana Pacers.
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 Rookie of the Year Award is an annual Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) award given since the 1998 WNBA season, to the top rookie of the regular season. The winner is selected by a panel of sportswriters 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(s) with the highest point total, regardless of the number of first-place votes, wins the award.
Alana Monique Beard is an American former professional basketball player. After playing college basketball for the Duke Blue Devils, she was drafted second overall by the Washington Mystics in the 2004 WNBA draft. She signed on with the Los Angeles Sparks as a free agent in 2012. Beard was the 2017 and 2018 WNBA Defensive Player of the Year. Beard announced her retirement from the WNBA on January 23, 2020.
Tamika Devonne Catchings is an American retired professional basketball player who played her entire 15-year career for the Indiana Fever of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). Widely considered as one of the greatest female basketball players and one of the most decorated players in WNBA history, Catchings has won a WNBA championship (2012), WNBA Most Valuable Player Award (2011), WNBA Finals MVP Award (2012), five WNBA Defensive Player of the Year Awards, four Olympic gold medals, the WNBA Rookie of the Year Award (2002), and an NCAA championship with the University of Tennessee Lady Vols (1998). She is one of only 11 women to receive an Olympic gold medal, an NCAA Championship, a FIBA World Cup gold and a WNBA Championship. She has also been selected to ten WNBA All-Star teams, 12 All-WNBA teams, 12 All-Defensive teams and led the league in steals eight times. In 2011, Catchings was voted in by fans as one of the WNBA's Top 15 Players of All Time, and would be named to two more all-time WNBA teams, the WNBA Top 20@20 in 2016 and The W25 in 2021.
Kathryn Elizabeth Douglas is an American former professional basketball player. Her primary position was shooting guard, her secondary was small forward. She was known league-wide as one of the most prominent two-way players for her long-range shooting and high scoring abilities on offense as well as her defensive abilities.
The Kim Perrot Sportsmanship Award is an annual Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) award given since the league's inaugural season, to the player who most "exemplifies the ideals of sportsmanship on the court—ethical behavior, fair play and integrity." This is the same criterion used by the analogous NBA Sportsmanship Award, given by the NBA since its 1995–96 season.
The Chicago Sky are an American professional basketball team based in Chicago. The Sky compete in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) as a member club of the league's Eastern Conference. The franchise was founded prior to the 2006 season. The Sky experienced a period of success from 2013 to 2016, making four playoff appearances and playing in the 2014 WNBA Finals. They experienced a second period of success from 2019 to 2022 and won their first championship in the 2021 WNBA Finals.
Sylvia Shaqueria Fowles is an American former professional basketball player. Fowles played for the Chicago Sky and Minnesota Lynx during her WNBA career. She won the WNBA MVP Award in 2017 and the WNBA Defensive Player of the Year award four times. She led the Lynx to win the WNBA Championship in 2015 and 2017, and she was named the MVP of the WNBA Finals both times. In 2020, Fowles overtook Rebekkah Brunson to become the WNBA's career leader in rebounds. In 2025, Fowles will be inducted into the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame.
The WNBA All-Defensive Team is an annual Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) honor given since the 2005 WNBA season to the best defensive players during the regular season. Voting is conducted by the WNBA head coaches. who are not allowed to vote for players on their own team. The All-Defensive Team is composed of two five-woman lineups, a first and a second team, comprising a total of 10 roster spots. The players each receive two points for each first team vote and one point for each second team vote. The top five players with the highest point total make the first team, with the next five making the second team. Starting with the 2023 season, players are selected without regard to position; this follows the WNBA having adopted a "positionless" format for the All-WNBA Team in 2022. Before 2023, each team consisted of one center, two forwards, and two guards. During that time, if there was already a center on the first team, but another center received more points than two of the guards on the first team, that center would still be on the second team.
The 2011 WNBA season is the 6th season for the Chicago Sky of the Women's National Basketball Association. Sky center Sylvia Fowles finished the season as only the second player in WNBA history to average at least 20 points and 10 rebounds per game. Pokey Chatman was named the head coach and general manager, after Steven Key resigned following the 2010 season.
The 2013 WNBA season is the 8th season for the Chicago Sky of the Women's National Basketball Association.
Napheesa Collier, nicknamed "Phee", is an American professional basketball player for the Minnesota Lynx of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). Collier is also a founder of the Unrivaled basketball league along with Breanna Stewart. After playing college basketball for the University of Connecticut Huskies, Collier was drafted by the Lynx with the 6th overall pick in the 2019 WNBA draft. She has won two Olympic gold medals playing on the United States women's national basketball team in the Tokyo 2020 and the Paris 2024 games. She is also currently a vice president on the Women's National Basketball Players Association executive committee.
The 2017 WNBA season of the Minnesota Lynx is their 19th season in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). The Lynx finished the 2016 season with a record of 28–6, finishing first in the Western Conference and qualifying for the playoffs, before ultimately beating Los Angeles in the WNBA Finals to win their league-tying best fourth championship.
The 2018 WNBA season was the 22nd season of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). The Minnesota Lynx are the defending champions. The regular season began on May 18, with the Phoenix Mercury hosting the Dallas Wings. The season ended with the Seattle Storm defeating the Washington Mystics 3-0 in the WNBA Finals. This was the third championship for the Storm. Seattle's Breanna Stewart was named regular season and finals MVP.
This page details the all-time statistics, records, and other achievements pertaining to the Minnesota Lynx.
The 2022 WNBA All-Star Game was an exhibition basketball game that was played on July 10, 2022, at Wintrust Arena. The Chicago Sky hosted the game and related events for the first time.
The 2023 WNBA season was the 27th season of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). The defending champions, the Las Vegas Aces, repeated as champions after defeating the New York Liberty 3 games to 1 in the Finals.
