| Women's National Basketball Leagueawards and honours |
|---|
| Championship |
| Individual awards |
| Honours |
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. [1] It is the most prestigious award for individual players in the WNBL.
Suzy Batkovic is the most decorated player in WNBL history, winning the prestigious award a record six times. Due to this, from 2019 onwards the award will be known as the Suzy Batkovic Most Valuable Player Award (known as the Suzy Batkovic Medal). [2] Highly regarded as one of the greatest of all time, Lauren Jackson also won the award four times, and solely held the record until 2016.
| 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 been named MVP 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 | Suzy Batkovic | Adelaide Lightning (2) / Townsville Fire (4) | 6 | 2012, 2013, 2014, 2016, 2017, 2018 |
| 2 | Lauren Jackson | Australian Institute of Sport (1) / Canberra Capitals (3) | 4 | 1999, 2000, 2003, 2004 |
| 3 | Kathy Foster | North Adelaide Rockets (1) / Hobart Islanders (2) | 3 | 1985, 1986, 1989 |
| 4 | Karen Ogden | St Kilda Saints | 2 | 1982, 1983 |
| Julie Nykiel | Noarlunga Tigers | 1984, 1988 | ||
| Debbie Slimmon | Bulleen Melbourne Boomers | 1990, 1992 | ||
| Rachael Sporn | Adelaide Lightning | 1996, 1997 | ||
| Penny Taylor | Dandenong Rangers | 2001, 2002 | ||
| Katrina Hibbert | Bulleen Melbourne Boomers | 2005, 2006 |
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.
The Adelaide Lightning is an Australian professional women's basketball team competing in the Women's National Basketball League (WNBL). The club is based in the city of Adelaide, South Australia. The club was formed in 1993 and they play in the 8,000-seat Titanium Security Arena.
The Townsville Fire are an Australian professional female basketball team competing in the Women's National Basketball League (WNBL). They are the only female professional sporting team of any discipline in the northern half of Australia. The team was established in 2001 by Townsville Basketball Inc. In 2014, James Cook University became the team's principal partner and naming rights sponsor.
Micaela Cocks is a professional basketball player from New Zealand. She currently plays for the Townsville Fire in the WNBL.
Kelly Louise Wilson is an Australian professional basketball player.
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.
Nicole Elaine Romeo is an Australian-Italian basketball player.
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.
Tianna Marie Hawkins is an American professional basketball player for the Townsville Fire of the Women's National Basketball League (WNBL). She played college basketball at the University of Maryland and attended Riverdale Baptist School in Upper Marlboro, Maryland.
Samantha Allison Whitcomb is an American-Australian professional basketball player for the Rockingham Flames of the NBL1 West. She is also contracted with the Seattle Storm of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). She played college basketball for the Washington Huskies before making a name for herself in Australia with the Rockingham Flames in the State Basketball League (SBL) and the Perth Lynx in the Women's National Basketball League (WNBL). She made her debut in the WNBA in 2017 and won championships with the Seattle Storm in 2018 and 2020. She became an Australian citizen in 2018 and made her debut for the Australian Opals.
Monique Conti is an Australian rules footballer and basketballer. Conti currently plays for the Richmond Football Club in the AFL Women's (AFLW), having previously played for the Western Bulldogs from 2018 to 2019, and plays for the Melbourne Boomers in the Women's National Basketball League (WNBL), having also played for the Southside Flyers from 2020 to 2023.
Anneli Maley is an Australian professional basketball player for the Perth Lynx of the Women's National Basketball League (WNBL). She is also contracted with the Perth Redbacks of the NBL1 West. She made her WNBL debut in 2016 and then spent two seasons in the United States playing college basketball for the Oregon Ducks and TCU Horned Frogs. With the Bendigo Spirit in 2022, she was named the WNBL Most Valuable Player.
The 2017–18 WNBL season was the 38th season of the competition since its establishment in 1981. The regular season began on 5 October 2017, with the Melbourne Boomers visiting the Dandenong Rangers. The Sydney Uni Flames were the defending champions but were defeated in the semi-finals by Townsville. The Townsville Fire took home their third WNBL championship after defeating Melbourne, 2–0.
The 2017–18 Townsville Fire season is the 17th season for the franchise in the Women's National Basketball League (WNBL).
Shyla Jade Heal is an Australian professional basketball player.
Zitina Aokuso is an Australian professional basketball player.
