| Women's National Basketball Leagueawards and honours |
|---|
| Championship |
| Individual awards |
| Honours |
The WNBL Defensive Player of the Year Award is an annual Women's National Basketball League (WNBL) award given since the 1990 WNBL season to the best defensive player throughout the regular season. Since 2000, the award has been known as the Robyn Maher Defensive Player of the Year (commonly known as the Maher Medal). [1] Emily McInerny has won the award nine times, while Tully Bevilaqua has won it on four occasions. [2]
| Denotes player whose team won championship that year | |
| Denotes player inducted into the Australian Basketball Hall of Fame | |
| Denotes player who is still active | |
| Player (X) | Denotes the number of times the player had won at that time |
| Team (X) | Denotes the number of times a player from this team had won at that time |
| Rank | Player | Team(s) | Awards | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Emily McInerny | Melbourne Tigers (2) / Dandenong Rangers (7) | 9 | 1998, 1999, 2001, 2002, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008 |
| 2 | Tully Bevilaqua | Perth Breakers | 4 | 1999, 2000, 2003, 2004 |
| 3 | Karen Dalton | Sydney Flames | 2 | 1990, 1993 |
| Robyn Maher | Perth Breakers (1) / Sydney Flames (1) | 1992, 1994 | ||
| Rachael McCully | Townsville Fire | 2010, 2011 | ||
| Alicia Poto | Sydney Uni Flames | 2009, 2012 | ||
| Stephanie Talbot | Adelaide Lightning | 2020, 2023 | ||
| Lauren Nicholson | Adelaide Lightning (1) / Sydney Flames (1) | 2019, 2024 |
The Women's National Basketball League (WNBL) is the pre-eminent professional women's basketball league in Australia. It is currently composed of eight teams. The league was founded in 1981 and is the women's counterpart to the National Basketball League (NBL). Several WNBL teams have NBL counterparts. The Adelaide Lightning, Melbourne Boomers, Perth Lynx, Southside Flyers and Sydney Uni Flames are the current WNBL teams sharing a market with an NBL team. The current league champions are the Townsville Fire, who won their fourth title in 2023.
Suzy Batkovic is an Australian professional basketball player and politician. Suzy played her junior basketball with the Port Hunter Basketball Club in Newcastle. She has played basketball for several European clubs including the French Valenciennes, the Spanish side Ros Casares, the Russian side UMMC Ekaterinburg, and Italian side Cras Basket. In the United States, she has played for the Seattle Storm after having been selected as a first round draft pick in 2003. She has played professional basketball domestically for the Australian Institute of Sport in 1996–1999, the Sydney Uni Flames from 1999–2001, and 2009–2010, the Townsville Fire in 2001–2002, the Canberra Capitals in 2010–2011, and the Adelaide Lightning in 2011–2013; she returned to the Fire for the 2013–14 season. She has been a member of the Australia women's national basketball team, being named to the team for the first time in 1999. She won a silver medal with the team at the 2004 Summer Olympics and the 2008 Summer Olympics and a bronze medal at the 2012 Summer Olympics.
The University of Canberra Capitals are an Australian professional women's basketball team competing in the Women's National Basketball League (WNBL). The team is based in Canberra, Australian Capital Territory. In 2014 the University of Canberra Union took control of the Capitals from Basketball ACT. The University of Canberra is the current naming rights sponsor for the Capitals.
Trisha Nicole Dykstra is an Australian retired basketball player in the Australian Women's National Basketball League and the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) of the United States. She also played with the Australian national team during the three consecutive Summer Olympics, starting in 1996, including as captain at the 2004 Athens Olympics. Fallon started her career at age sixteen.
Kristi Harrower is an Australian professional basketball player, who three times won the silver medal with the Australian Women's Team at the Summer Olympics, and also the bronze in 2012. She played in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) from 1998 to 2005 for the Phoenix Mercury and Minnesota Lynx.
Robyn Maher is a retired female basketball player from Australia, who played for the Sydney Uni Flames. A three-time Olympian she was a member of the national women's team that won the bronze medal at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, Georgia.
Jennifer Hazel (Jenny) Whittle is a retired Australian women's basketball player. Whittle was a regular member of the national team for over a decade, from 1994 until 2006. Playing Centre, Whittle was a key contributor to the Opals' success at international events during the 1990s and 2000s, with strong rebounding and defence a feature of her game. Following an outstanding national and WNBL career, Whittle was elected to the Australian Basketball Hall of Fame in 2016.
Natalie Porter is an Australian basketball player who played for the Australian national team and became an Olympic medalist. In her home country, she has played for four different top-level teams including the Dandenong Rangers, Townsville Fire, Sydney Uni Flames and Canberra Capitals. In 2000, she was drafted by the Women's National Basketball Association. She has also played basketball in Italy. She has been a member of the Australia women's national basketball team, and won a silver medal at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens as a member of the team.
The Women's National Basketball League Most Valuable Player (MVP) is an annual Women's National Basketball League (WNBL) award given since the league's second season. MVP voting takes place throughout the regular season and is determined by a players' accumulated score from game-by-game voting. In every game, each head coach and the referees from each respective game complete a voting card, with three points being awarded for a first place vote, two for second, one for third, a player can take a maximum of nine votes from any one game. It is the most prestigious award for individual players in the WNBL.
Rachael McCully is one of Australia's most accomplished female basketballers. During a decorated WNBL career, McCully played for the Adelaide Lightning, Dandenong Rangers and Townsville Fire, earning the WNBL's Robyn Maher Defensive Player of Year award in 2009/2010 and 2010/2011. She played her 324th and final WNBL game in the 2014/15 WNBL Grand Final as she led the Townsville Fire to their inaugural championship. McCully was also a member of the Australia women's national basketball team, being named in the team for the first time in 2010 and narrowly missing out on selection for the 2014 FIBA World Championship for Women.
Lauren Elizabeth Jackson is an Australian professional basketball player. Arguably the most notable Australian women's basketball player, Jackson has had a decorated career with the Australia women's national basketball team and has had multiple stints in the Women's National Basketball League (WNBL) between 1997 and 2024. Between 2001 and 2012, she played in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA).
Karen Dalton is a former Australian women's basketball player.
Samantha Thornton is a former Australian women's basketball player.
Emily Katherine "Macca" McInerny is a former Australian women's basketball player.
The All-WNBL Team is an annual Women's National Basketball League (WNBL) honour bestowed on the best performing players in the league following every WNBL season. From 1988 to 2018–19, the honour was known as the All-Star Five. As of 2020, it is awarded in two teams to the ten most outstanding players in the league.
Rebecca "Spida" Allen is an Australian basketball player for the Phoenix Mercury of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA).
Renae Lisa Camino is an Australian women's basketball player, who has represented the country at both junior and senior levels. In 2014, Camino married her long-time partner Tom Garlepp.
Tracey Lea Rowley Beatty is a retired Australian women's basketball player, who represented the country at both junior and senior levels.
The Southside Flyers are an Australian professional basketball team based in Melbourne, Victoria. The Flyers compete in the Women's National Basketball League (WNBL) and play their home games at the State Basketball Centre. For sponsorship reasons, they are known as the Jayco Southside Flyers.
